La horripilante bestia humana (1969)

Director:

René Cardona

Writers:

René Cardona Jr. (story)
René Cardona (story)

Release Date:

1972 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Half Man, Half Beast, ALL HORROR!

Plot:

This cheap Mexican horror film is a remake of Cardona's Doctor of Doom (1962), spiced with nudity, medical footage...

Plot Keywords:

Wrestling | Gorilla | Nudity | Heart Transplant | Medical Footage

Cast

José Elías Moreno	...	Dr. Krallman
Carlos López Moctezuma	...	Goyo
Armando Silvestre	...	Lt. Arturo Martinez
Norma Lazareno	...	Lucy Ossorio
Agustín Martínez Solares	...	Julio Krallman (as Agustin Mtz. Solares)
Javier Rizo
Gerardo Zepeda		(as Gerardo Cepeda)
Noelia Noel	...	Elena Gomez
Gina Morett	...	Woman in shower

Also Known As:

Gomar: The Human Gorilla
Horror and Sex
Horror y sexo (racier version)
Night of the Bloody Apes (USA)

Runtime:

USA:83 min (dubbed version) | Mexico:81 min

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R | UK:(Banned) (1984-1999) | UK:18 (re-rating, uncut) | UK:X (original rating) (cut)

Filming Locations:

Chapultepec Park, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company:

Cinematográfica Calderón S.A.

Trivia:

Was added to the video nasty list and remained there throughout the panic. The banned video gained attention due to its pre-cert video cover featuring bloody surgeon's hands holding a scalpel, with the caption "Warning: this film contains scenes of extreme and explicit violence."

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the girl is attacked in the park, the fake "grass" is accidently pushed aside, revealing the hard studio floor beneath.

Quotes:

Dr. Arturo Martinez: Prepare the gorilla.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Grindhouse Gorilla: Making the Bloody Ape (2008) (V)

They are Apes...They are Bloody...And Lady Wrestlers, too...

What can I say about this movie? If you are seeing it, you've already heard about it. If you've heard about it, you know what to expect. It is a gory, sleazy and silly movie...

And, I mean that in a good way. The actors don't seem to know that they are in a low budget movie. Some even seem unaware of the fact that they cannot act and TRY anyway. It is beautiful in its way.

The makeup and special effects are pretty bad. The ape-man looks as if someone slapped a mud pack on a professional wrestler. Later, cheesy looking fangs are added, possibly to show that his heart had been replaced again...possibly to show that the makeup man had a very short train of thought.

The biggest waste in this movie is the lady wrestler who is contemplating retirement after putting an opponent into a coma. She is on the periphery of the plot...a plot where, for example, in the Santos movies, wrestling could've played a large part. I was unhappy not to see her in action against the ape-man...

The actors are generally sincere. The doctor does an excellent job. The zaftig nudity of a lady wrestler is also a welcome change from the anorexia we are forced to consume in today's sleaze.

But this movie is BLOODY. Many scenes are simply stock footage taken from heart operations. But there are gougings, scalping's, detoothings and squishings. None of these injuries look particularly authentic; but, the thought of them might be offensive to some. Definitely, this is an adult movie...

For sheer fun, I gave this movie a seven. If you like sleaze and cheese, see it...