User reviews

The ruler of the the nation of Khalid is dying, so he's secretly whisked off to the States so that Dr. Trenton can transplant his brain into a new body. The disorganized doctor starts the operation without actually having a body to move the brain to, so when his mentally challenged, extremely large, facially disfigured servant Gor screws up getting a body, the doctor puts the brain into Gor. Naturally, the patient is not happy waking up to find out that he's a giant with a badly scarred face. Mayhem ensues. Oh yeah ... the doctor's dwarf assistant keeps women chained up in the basement as blood donors (it seems that the good doctor is not worried about blood types), and one of them escapes.

If I had to pick a worst director of all time, I'd go with Al Adamson. People have made worse films than his, and at least a couple of his are mildly entertaining, but he has a long career of consistently not giving a crap about any of the films he made. That said, this one is one of his better films ... barely. While it has VERY long stretches of nothing happening, it has about 10-15 minutes of inspired nuttiness. It was made around the same time as "Dracula vs. Frankenstein", so both Dracula (Zandor Vorkov) and the Frankenstein monster (John Bloom) are in this one, along with Angelo Rossito and the ever-present Regina Carrol.

1971's "Brain of Blood" was strictly work for hire as Al Adamson's addition to Hemisphere's trio of 'Blood Island' entries, minus the wooden presence of John Ashley (his "Beast of the Yellow Night" went out through Roger Corman's New World Pictures, so Hemisphere needed a replacement quickly), with Adamson's usual cast of characters for location shooting over 8 days in California rather than the humid Philippines (sadly, no scantily clad jungle beauties). Two ailing actors emerged for one last film role, TV veteran Reed Hadley as dying Kalid ruler Abdul Amir, and Incredible Shrinking Man Grant Williams, whose heroic Dr. Bob Nigserian is given the task of maintaining complete secrecy in keeping Amir's brain alive long enough to transplant from its current cancerous body to a younger, stronger one. Reliable Kent Taylor offers continuity from "Brides of Blood" as mad scientist Lloyd Trenton, the surgeon assisted by dwarf Dorro (Angelo Rossitto) in the delicate operation that will enable him to realize his goal of taking over a Middle Eastern nation. Problems arise when the doctor's mentally deficient henchman Gor (7'4 John Bloom) supplies damaged goods, requiring Gor's noggin to house the brain of Amir, coupled with a special tracking device in his skull that enables Trenton to bend this subject to his will. Meantime, Bob's car is forced off the road by a treacherous Trenton confederate (Richard Smedley), and even Amir's trusted fiancee Tracy (Regina Carrol) turns out to be a heartless harlot, another profiteer itching to earn the ultimate payoff. Apart from Amir's unhappy new countenance, scarred by battery acid, the only one standing in Trenton's way is Bob, the lone survivor of the wreck, but even he cannot prevent the inevitable from happening, a whole host of corpses left behind. It certainly delivers on its promise of blood and brains but very little else, a plot that just dangles like a loose tooth waiting to drop despite the high death count, the picture slowing to a crawl over the entire second half, essentially a simple minded chase picture with everybody on foot. Williams ably carries things along in a part tailor made for him, Kent Taylor repeating his mad doctor from "Blood of Ghastly Horror," Angelo Rossitto and Zandor Vorkov reunited from "Dracula vs. Frankenstein." Vorkov, better known as stockbroker Roger Engel, actually improves on his pasty faced Dracula as Amir disciple Mohammed, lasting a half hour before crashing in a blaze of glory, never again acting before the camera.

Since two of Al Adamson's previous monstrosities, "Dracula vs. Frankenstein" and "Horror of the Blood Monsters," both from 1971, are two of the very worst films that I have ever suffered through, it was with a distinct feeling of what I can only call cinematic masochism that I sat down to watch his 1972 offering, "Brain of Blood." And guess what? The impossible has happened, and I've finally seen an Al Adamson movie that I actually liked! While no one could honestly call "Brain of Blood" a good, well-made picture, at least it has a story that we can follow, hangs together fairly decently, and is actually fun and entertaining to watch, unlike the torture dished out by those previous films. The story here concerns one Dr. Trenton (Kent Taylor, the star of 1968's "Brides of Blood"), who successfully transplants the brain of Amir, leader of the fictitious country of Khalid, into a younger, stronger body. There is one catch, however: The only body available belonged to Gor, Trenton's hulking, imbecilic, acid-scarred servant. And that's when the fun and games begin! As if a deformed monster weren't enough, the film throws in a gross-out surgical sequence, a high-speed car chase, a well-choreographed rooftop dukeout, assorted murders, explosions, corpses, an over-sized spider and on and on. Three members of "Dracula vs. Frankenstein" return here: the maniacal little person Angelo Rossitto, who here delights in torturing some female prisoners in the basement; the blonde gargoyle known as Regina Carrol; and Zandor Vorkov, the blue-faced Dracula himself. Gor, it must be said, looks absolutely ridiculous, his scarred-puss makeup job resembling nothing more than a rubber bathing cap with a side flap. Still, despite everything, the film works, and coming from Adamson as it does, must be deemed a minor miracle. Now: Should I try his 1978 opus, "Nurse Sherri"?

What would you expect from a film entitled "Brain Of Blood"? I settled down for a B-movie extravaganza of bad acting, a preposterous story, and horrendous directing. I was gobsmacked when, ten minutes into the film, I realised I wasn't going to get what I'd planned for.

This is not your average B-Movie.

No! It's your above-average B-Movie.

It's not great, but it ain't no stinker either.

Writers Samuel Sherman (story) & Joe Rodgers (screenplay) give the audience a semi-decent sci-fi thriller.

Amir is the ruler of Kalid. He's a good and caring monarch whose people love him. Unfortunately, he's riddled with cancer. Not knowing of a suitable successor for his beloved country, Amir risks it all on an experimental operation. A brain transplant. Things go disastrously awry when Gor damages the host body. Amir's brain ends up in the scarred body of mentally disabled Gor. This isn't the only blow Amir has to weather as conspirators have other ideas regarding his future.

It would be a stronger film had they managed the story concept correctly.

Though in Al Adamson's hands we receive a film of missed possibilities. Adamson tries his best behind the camera, and there are some interesting shots. I liked the operating procedure where he filmed part of it through a glass jar. The best part of this scene is when the camera pans to the bottom of the jar and we spot the white rat. Though this scene shows his inventiveness the rat breaks the spell.

It's this sort of thing that lessens the film. For example, they fly Amir from Kalid to America and then they transport him to the secret laboratory; which is one small room. The doctor begins the operation immediately and Amir's trusted confidant, Mohammed, is allowed to stay. Trouble is, they don't get him to scrub up or even don a gown. Evidently, hygiene isn't a worry when you're pulling a brain from a skull. This is a good thing. Especially considering the Doctor's assistant needs a chair to stand on... being a midget and all.

I can almost hear you groaning out there. I admit to sighing loudly and shaking my head when the midget appeared, so I can relate.

However, Adamson films the operation well. So if they paired the whole thing back, and Adamson concentrated on the relevant parts of the story, the movie would be stronger.

Since the Doctor is operating secretly, he requires a constant source of blood. This comes from the two female prisoners chained in the dungeon. Yeah, you heard that right. Why this couldn't be a cellar, I don't know(?) It's another element handled incorrectly. We later learn how massive the dungeon is. When I realised this I wondered, why does he have only one room for his lab(?). All these mishandled inconsistencies hinder the movie further.

Nonetheless, the film kept me in its grip... just.

This is because there are some good scenes, and these outweigh the bad. You can see the lack of budget in every shot. But Adamson tries to keep it interesting. He composes the opening sequence of Amir on his deathbed superbly. Even though you know we're not in a mansion or a castle, it doesn't matter too much. The direction holds it together, as does the acting.

This scene leads to one of the best opening credit's I've seen in a B-Movie. It made me reminisce about my youth when I watched Re-Animater and other Brian Yuzna films. It's similar in style and just as good.

I have to admit to having a fondness for the car chase. Even though Doctor Bob (Grant Williams) shouts, "He's trying to run us off the road!" the cars never get too close. I want to believe it's because one car is the directors and he's told them, "Scratch my car and you're fired!" Regardless, he deals with the chase admirably, using different angles. I especially liked the upward shot of the passing tree branches. This adds to the feel of speed, anxiety, and unease. At least he gets to set one car on fire.

As for the acting, this is well above average. It's the cast and their portrayals that are the glue to the film. Each gives a believable rendition, and it was this that kept me watching most.

There's only one person who lets the cast down. Regina Carrol, who plays Amir's aid and love interest, Tracy. Three things stand out in her performance. Her hair, which is so heavily lacquered with hairspray, she may be solely responsible for the hole in the ozone. The other two are her breasts... and Adamson's camera loves them. Not once does her acting ability surpass these attributes.

I would only recommend this film to B-Movie lovers and aficionados. This is chiefly because this is a bad film... but it's a good bad film. Everybody else should stay away. You won't appreciate the films badness.

Ratings: Story 1.25 : Direction 1 : Pace 0.75 : Acting 1 : Enjoyment 1 : Total 5 / 10

Transplant yourself into my Absolute Horror and The Final Frontier lists to see where this B-Movie crashed.

Take Care and Stay Well.

A bit of a disappointment, this one. It didn't have a lot of effects and wasn't really all that funny. Sure, the acting was bad, but bad acting alone is not enough. More effects, blood, cardboard sets, please!

If you like these old B-flicks, go see Baron del Terror (aka the Brainiac), it's much better.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a film as bad as this. Awful acting, All over the place plot, terrible special effects. There are some 'so bad its good' moments in here but not really enough to maintain interest. The woman who plays Tracey looks hideous. There are some fairly worrying scenes with a dwarf which leave you feeling ever so slightly violated. On the plus side the operation scenes are fairly amusing for the special effects as is the car chase where one car is "trying to force us off the road" without actually making contact. Guess the budget didn't stretch to trashing cars. Oh and what looks like a Postcard of the Taj Mahal is shown every time they cut to the fictional foreign country.

A man who goes by the name of "Amir" (Reed Hadley) is a rich and powerful leader of a country called "Kalid" and he is dying of cancer. Wishing to prolong his life he turns to an insane surgeon named "Doctor Trenton" (Kent Taylor) who guarantees him that he can transplant his brain from his diseased body into a healthy one. Of course, to do that Dr. Trenton needs a live human specimen and since there are no volunteers, he sends a mentally challenged and seriously deformed henchman named "Gor" (John Bloom) out to procure one. Unfortunately, Gor fails in his assignment and so Dr. Trenton is compelled to use Gor as the recipient of Amir's brain. But things don't go as planned. Anyway, rather than disclose the entire story and risk spoiling this film for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that I don't recommend it to anybody but die-hard, Category-Z movie buffs. For starters, the special effects weren't very good and some of the scenes--like the initial surgical procedure or with the young lady named "Katherine" (Vicki Volante) wandering around in the dungeon--seemed to drag on forever. Likewise, I didn't especially care for the ending at all. Below average.

After Amir (Reed Hadley), the beloved ruler of fictional country Kalid (represented by a postcard picture of the Taj Mahal), dies of cancer, his most loyal followers keep the death a secret, shipping their leader's body to the United States where Dr. Trenton (Kent Taylor) has been hired to perform a revolutionary operation: transplant Amir's brain into a new, healthy body.

You know that you're in serious schlock territory when the movie's mad scientist's assistants are a sadistic dwarf (played with glee by diminutive Hollywood legend Angelo Rossito) and a hulking disfigured man-child called Gor (John Bloom).

Directed by z-grade film-maker Al Adamson, Brain of Blood is cheap and cheerful trash that doesn't attempt to be anything but. Fans of such tawdry nonsense will no doubt be delighted by the movie's more exploitative elements, which include a grisly brain transplant and a couple of young, unwilling, female blood donors shackled in a dank cellar, but even seasoned trash addicts might struggle with the latter half of the film as Adamson runs out of ideas and merely treads water until the end.

4.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 5 for Dr. Trenton's hand-held 'brain-zapper' which looks like it is straight out of a 1930s Flash Gordon serial.

I can't say I'm a fan of these 60's Blood Island Flicks (although, I wish I liked them), but in the early 70's, a knock-off, or something similar was created by Al Adamson (Dracula vs. Frankenstein) and Sam Sherman. Brain Of Blood is considered the black sheep of the Philippine gore series, mainly because Eddie Romero didn't direct, and, well, it was filmed in California, so it's an unofficial addition to the series. But whatever. Close enough. For something so shclocky and inept, we're working with a pretty decent premise, here. About the ruler of a fictional Middle Eastern country (Kaleed), who has recently discovered he is dying of a terminal disease. Amir fears for the future well-being of his beloved country. Although, there may be hope in the crazy Dr. Trenton, who believes he can perform successful brain transplants. Amir and his peeps have pretty much nothing to lose. Once Amir's brain is removed, the doctor figures now would be a good time to look for a new home for the brain. With very little time to spare, the brain ends up in the nearest available person... That's right, Gor. Gor is some kind of assistant/village idiot/monster, with a fake-looking, messed up face that makes him look kinda like the Toxic Avenger. So, yeah, Amir is now stuck in the body of a monster, and Dr. Trenton doesn't care because he now has plans of taking over the world, and there's pretty much nothing he can do about it. Although, Amir is a hulking, yet ridiculous-looking monster now, so, maybe something can be done. Yeah, so, this is genuine 70's Drive-In trash in all its inept, stock-footage-using glory. Not really gory at all, and if I'm not mistaken, this got a PG rating, but if you have a thing for the more low-budget Horrors of the early 70's, this one is one of the essentials. Highly recommended. 8/10

The film is not good by any stretch, but it's got elements sure to please the fans. A sadistic midget surgeon for one. There is a dungeon with chained women. I suppose the operation scenes are the coolest. I could not tell if the film used real operation stock footage, not that there are brain transplants in the real world. Well, I was not blown away, but I'm glad I watched it.

I usually enjoy the cult movies from Al Adamson but brain of blood was positively one of his worst,the movie poster makes it look like a pretty good movie.Adamson brings most of the cast from Dracula vs Frankenstein like Zandor Vorkov,Regina Carroll,Angelo Rosito and john bloom and the results are embarrassing.its a brain transplant ala Frankenstein.Kent Taylor plays a mad surgeon who pits the brain of the kindly ruler of another country into the head of a big drooling idiot played by John Bloom who plays the part like he did in the 1971 classic the incredible 2 headed transplant,which is way better then this film.Grant Williams (incredible shrinking man)plays another Dr who is the friend of the ruler.the plot thickens there's murders galore,one man is scorched by battery acid,there's explosions,a car chase and a monster that resembles the monster from the brain that would'nt die.i was really expecting a better movie but really i was disappointed.a bad movie thats so bad,its bad.

A pointless but entertaining medical horror outing, "Brain of Blood" is also a rare example of wholeness in the cinematic oeuvre of Al Adamson. This picture was filmed in one go, not chaotically stitched together like "Dracula vs. Frankenstein" or "Blood of Ghastly Horror." (As such, it may be a good introduction to Adamson's work for the uninitiated.) Fun cast, too: a virtual who's who of Adamson regulars (Kent Taylor, Regina Carrol, Vicki Volante, Angelo Rossitto, Zandor Vorkov, John Bloom, Richard Smedley) along with Grant Williams ("The Incredible Shrinking Man") and former TV star Reed Hadley.

The intent, of course, was to create a sort of unofficial installment in the Filipino "Blood Island" series directed by Eddie Romero, but from the music cues to the agonizing closeups, this is unmistakably an Al Adamson/Sam Sherman production...which is precisely what I like about it. That the acid scars on the face of misshapen giant Gor (John Bloom) are obviously a combination of flesh-colored gauze and a novelty store bald cap is part of the no-budget charm. (It'll drive you crazy if you're measuring this film against "Citizen Kane," but why would you do that?) Occasionally it seems as if the characters are just performing random actions until the scene is over, so be prepared for a few jarring instances of dead air. Near the end, there's a surprisingly touching conversation between earnest hero Grant Williams and dungeon escapee Vicki Volante; it's somewhat corny yet awkwardly believable, humanizing characters who otherwise were merely cartoonish.

"Brain of Blood" isn't scary, but you won't get bored: there's a lot of movement and violent action, including the obligatory Adamson car crash. It's consistently entertaining and will, to some extent, appeal to viewers who aren't fans of Adamson (or of horror movies in general).

I felt compelled to comment on this film because it's listed as the fourth lowest-rated sci-film of all time on the IMDb. WHAT!?!? Sure, this movie is crappy, but it's HILARIOUS! It's not awful on an Ed Wood level, it's more surreal and uneven.

There are some classic moments in the film. The brain surgery is gross and great- and even nuttier when you consider that the film was rated PG! Gor chasing after his dolly before getting battery acid dumped on his face- "Mine! Gimmee!" Zandor Vorkoff's speeches at the beginning of the film- "Before Amir, Kali was but another weak nation struggling to break free from centuries of stagnant feudalism!" Angelo Rossito also has some great lines- "No, Gor! No!" "You want these keys, don't you, my pretties?" It is absolutely wrong that this is the 4th lowest-rated sci-film on the IMDb because it is ENTERTAINING. No matter how bad a film is, if it still manages to be weird, quirky, unsettling, or entertaining, it has merit and doesn't deserve to be dumped on and dismissed. I won't defend most of Al Adamson's films, but this one, along with Dracula VS. FRANKENSTEIN and BLOOD OF GHASTLY HORROR, are entertaining enough to make up for their awfulness.

BRAIN OF BLOOD is another dose of cinematic agony from Director Al Adamson.

When Amir (Reed Hadley), a foreign leader, dies, it's up to mad science to save him. Said leader is in the hands of Dr. Trenton (Kent Taylor) and his assistant, Bob (Grant Williams), who plan on transplanting Amir's brain into another body, resulting in a new lease on life.

How could this possibly fail?

After a suitable subject proves to be too fragile, it falls to one of Trenton's henchmen to receive the transplant. Trenton must choose between a mindless giant named Gor (Tom Bloom), and a sinister "dwarf" named Dorro (Angelo Rossitto), who keeps women chained in the dungeon.

Can you guess who gets the brain?

Tragedy strikes and untold horror ensues. Or, something like that.

Mr. Adamson pulls out all the stops, making this movie as insufferably dull as possible.

BEST BITS AND BOBS: #1- Amir, wrapped in aluminum foil like a Thanksgiving turkey, ready for the roaster! #2- The international intrigue angle, added simply to pad things out, and as an attempt to make this movie interesting! #3- Bob's driving hat! #4- Gor's "makeup" (i.e., a rubber shower cap melted on his head)! #5- The constant water dripping in the dungeon, sounding exactly the same no matter what part of the dungeon the characters are in!

So, sit back, relax, and prepare for cranial blisters!

EXTRA POINTS FOR: Katherine's (Vicki Volante) mile-high, haymow of hair!...

Another winner from Adamson and co.Plot in a nutshell:Middle East ruler dies;body is flown to the USA for a doctor to transplant his brain into a new body.Doctor's deformed,idiot henchman Gor gets the wrong body;Gor's brain goes out and the dictator's brain goes in...needless to say the dictator is not amused.He escapes...dictator's fiance,friend,and mad scientist go after him.There is twist ending that you can see coming from the middle of the film. Bad acting,terrible lighting and cinematography,and some of the poorest production values in film will not hamper those that enjoy cheeseball, sleazy films. All others bring a sixpack and leave your brain at the door.