Twilight People (DVD)
APPROX. 84 MINS. - PROD. YEAR: 1972 - MPA RATING: PG
" ...as forgettable as they come.
Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.
Bless the folks at VCI Home Video who still know how to have a good time. Bob Blair's outfit must own the rights to every quintessentially bad film ever made in the middle decades of the twentieth century, and they aren't afraid of letting people know about it. Of course, they have given us some excellent films, too, like "A Christmas Carol," "And Then There Were None," and "The Southerner." But their stock-in-trade is the old B-grade horror film, of which they can be justly proud, and some of which they are now marketing as "Drive-in Classics." Among their first DVD releases in the series is "The Twilight People," a god-awful fright flick from 1972.
First, though, a word about drive-in movies. Today, these outdoor affairs are a dying breed, replaced by the shopping-mall multiplex and the home theater. But in their heyday of the 1950s, 60s, and early 70s, when that newfangled invention, the television set, was keeping people away from traditional indoor shows, drive-ins were the place to be. They were cheap and casual, especially for large families of young children and for teenagers needing a safe and convenient place to snuggle and neck. What do you mean do I speak from experience? Well, I did graduate from high school in 1962. The movies that customarily showed up at drive-ins were not meant to be appreciated, or in some cases even seen. For their primary audience, teens, they were largely excuses to park and make out. Consequently, it's no wonder so many forgettable films emerged from these circumstances, beach party and horror films in particular.
"The Twilight People," also known as "Beasts," is as forgettable as they come. Directed by Eddie Romero, famous for "Black Mama, White Mama," "The Big Doll House," "Brides of Blood," and "Savage Sisters," the story is a rip-off of "The Island of Dr. Moreau" and "The Most Dangerous Game." A mad scientist on a tropical island is trying to create a race of super beings. He kidnaps people and experiments on them, invariably turning them into half-human, half animal creatures who wander the island aimlessly.
