Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Go Ape On Mexico!


NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES-1969-A woman named Lucy (Laura Lazareno) is a red masked pro wrestler. During a match she throws her opponent out of the ring and an ambulance has to be called. Meanwhile a doctor and his assistant go to a zoo and drug and capture a gorilla. The injured wrestler needs an operation and a specialist Dr. Krallman (Jose' Elias Moreno) is called in. The same guy who drugged the gorilla. He has a bed ridden son Julio (Augstin M. Solares) and his assistant Goyo (Carlos Lopez Moctezuma) calls him “master”so you know he's up to no good. When Krallman is told his son’s days are numbered he decides to transplant the gorilla’s heart into Julio’s body and then give him the gorilla's blood. It’s a bloody operation. 

Lucy’s policeman/boyfriend Martinez (Armando Silvestre) and his force search for the missing gorilla. After Martinez has to stand Lucy up to meet with his boss, Julio turns into an ape man, escapes and kills a woman. He's recapture and the doc decides that maybe a gorilla's heart wasn't such a good idea (gee..ya think?). It's better if they get a new living human heart and put it in Julio. The reluctant donor is the comatose wrestler Lucy fought! While the duo goes to get their “donor”, Julio the ape man escapes again. He tears out a guy’s throat while his girlfriend runs away conveniently tearing the top of her dress off. He rapes the woman (not shown), stabs a good Samaritan and plucks a passerby’s eye out! Then he’s recaptured. The doc who besides being nuts is also head of the hospital reprimands his staff for losing their patient and the toady doctors all agree to a cover-up. Meanwhile through fingerprints, Martinez proposes that the killer isn't a gorilla but some kind of man beast hybrid (good guess!). His boss thinks he has been watching too many “movies of horror”. Later Julio changes back into man but while the doc is out he becomes the man beast again and kills Goyo. Doc confronts his son but trips and hits his head. 

Julio goes prowling and kills a policeman (he scalps him) and then chases Lucy into a park. Martinez goes after them but so does the doc. Julio and Martinez fight and Julio turns into his old self. They are both taken to a hospital where Julio once again transforms and kills a doctor and a nurse. He then grabs a sick little girl and heads for the roof. Martinez and dad follow and the doc convinces sonny to give up the child. He/it is then fatally shot by the cops below. Dad loses his mind. 

Mindlessly bloody sleaze with real gory footage of open heart surgery. Mad scientist portrayer Jose' Elias Moreno had the lead as jolly old St. Nick in the Mexican made SANTA CLAUS in 1959!, which was directed by BLOODY APES director Rene Cordona who had a prolific career as a director and actor in Mexico (and a son who became a director).




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