10 Old School Horror Movies Perfect For Halloween

Distributed by Roger Corman, The Twilight People is The Island Of Dr Moreau done on the cheap in the Philippines. John Ashley is Matt Farrell, a “soldier of fortune” who’s kidnapped while skin-diving and forced to become a test subject for Dr Gordon (Charles Macauley). Like any self-respecting mad scientist, Gordon has a comely daughter (Pat Woodell), a psychotic henchman (Jan Merlin) and a cellar full of “experiments”, including an antelope man, a wolf woman and a bat man. Naturally, they escape and….well, you know the drill.

Unlike the bigger-budgeted (and therefore “better”) official remakes of Dr Moreau, this one gets everything said and done in 80 minutes without the need for unnecessary subplots and stars who blather at length about nothing (see the 1996 version with Marlon Brando in this regard). The creature makeup is good, too, particularly when you consider that it was achieved on a miniscule budget without digital enhancement.

Among the creatures, but barely recognisable, is Pam Grier who despite having achieved prominence (and prominent billing) in The Big Doll House, The Big Bird Cage and Women In Cages gets little more than a glorified cameo. Fortunately, following Black Mama White Mama and Scream Blacula Scream AIP gave her Coffy, and a blaxploitation icon was born. Ashley moved on too, later becoming a producer on The A-Team, for which he provided the opening narration.