One of my all time favorites.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Back in the 70s director Eddie Romero made a number of horror films in his native country of the Philippines. They had a few things in common other than the location they were shot. They were all incredibly low budget movies. Almost all of them starred John Ashley as their leading man. Most played on double bills at drive-ins across the country. And some of them were actually pretty good.One of those movies was TWILIGHT PEOPLE. I can remember the first time I saw this movie. It was the opening film at the drive-in nearby that showed before the main feature THE DEVIL'S RAIN back in 1975. For some reason I either didn't have my license yet or a car and my friend, his mom and his aunt and I all went to see these two. I remember thinking it wasn't a bad movie. Since then I've had the chance to watch it, more often than not on some obscure Roku channel and not in the best shape. So when I heard VCI was going to release the film on blu-ray I was excited to hear it.Heavy duty plots were never the greatest in these films. This time around adventurer Matt Farrell (Ashley) is taken captive on the high seas by a group of henchmen led by Steinman (Jan Merlin), a pure blooded Nazi Aryan if there ever was one. In charge of kidnapping is Neva Gordon (Pat Woodell).Farrell is taken to a remote island in the Pacific where Steinman and Gordon march him to a castle while a watchful unseen presence keeps an eye on them from the jungle. Farrell is now the "guest" of mad scientist Dr. Gordon (Charles Macaulay), the father of Neva. He has plans for Farrell which can't be good but he doesn't provide details, merely talking about how he will make history and that he is the perfect specimen. Steinman would rather Farrell attempt an escape so he could hunt him down, his favorite past time.Farrell begins to investigate what's happening on the island and soon discovers that Dr. Gordon is creating a new species of man, a hybrid crossing various animals with human beings. An equal opportunist Dr. Gordon has transformed men and women both. On a side note and of particular interest is the fact that Ayesa the Panther Woman is played by none other than Pam Grier who later went on to fame in a number of higher profile films as well as several Blaxploitation films.It doesn't take long for Neva to fall in love with Farrell and attempt to stop her father from his plans to use him in his experiments. She drugs Steinman, releases Farrell from the cage he was placed in as well as the other hybrids and they head out to escape. When Steinman wakes he's glad for the opportunity he wanted all along, to track down and kill a worthy opponent.Made in 1972 the movie didn't have access to the CGI created monsters it would have had today. Instead it relies on practical effects and full on special effects make-up for each creature. Doing so on a miniscule budget you would think the end results would reek but in fact they're actually pretty good. Some are better than others. The standout is that of the bat-man hybrid, a full grown man with wings attached between his arms and body. He's shown flying towards the end of the film and it actually looks fairly decent.As I said before the script was never the biggest item worked on with these films. That being said they don't fall over the Ed Wood cliff and at least sound like conversations real people might actually have. Ashley does a fine job here though most of his role is to simply play the part of a handsome hero. Woodell is attractive and makes her part believable as well. And Merlin as Steinman is particularly villainous as he threatens Ashley.The movie was made for just $150,000 and there is little doubt that it made its cost back and more. It played on double and triple bills at drive-ins for years. The fact I saw it my first time three years after it was released shows that. But the film really doesn't have as low budget a feel about it as you would expect. Yes it's a bit cheezy at times but it's a fun movie as well.VCI has released the film before but this is the first time I've seen it released in blu-ray format. They're known for these forgotten treasures of the past and they've done well with this one. The picture is the cleanest I've seen and the sound well maintained. This version has been remastered to a 2K version from the original 35mm negative in widescreen. They're including several nice extras as well here with a full commentary track with film historian Toby Roan, a near hour long interview with director Eddie Romero and the original theatrical trailer.This is not the cream of the crop in horror movies but it never claims to be. What it does claim to be is a nice little horror film, a PG rated romp with a little bit of blood and a lot of ingenuity. For me after all these years I found it to still be an entertaining movie that I know I'll probably go back and watch again. Leave your expectations at the door and my guess is you'll have fun with it as well.

To his Family, and Fans: I met Mr. Ashley in Hollywood 1971-72, not sure. I was totally impressed with him. A beautiful man and gentleman. I thoroughly enjoyed my meeting with him. He introduced me to Robert Conrad and I was blown away. Talk about beautiful men in my company.Just want to say after after 40 years my heart still remembers John in a positive way. He, to me was a wonderful actor/person/father. I treasure my memories of him.I just wish we could have met again, just for old times (whatever that means), I hear that phrase all the time so thought it was appropriate, excuse me for being so dramatic! The shock came when I learned he passed in 1997 on the set of Scared City in New York. I was devastated . . . John was to live forever.All good things do come to an end, and this was definitely one of those good things. John was the epitome of success, talent, and fortitude. He was brilliant as an actor, and stunning as an individual.To his family: Bless you for being a part of this wonderful human being: Entertainer, Singer, Actor, Husband, Father. Truly a God Send to all of us to learn from.Your Friend, Rita

I thought this film was fun. It's astounding to see Pam Grier as Panther Woman when you're used to seeing her all glammed up and gorgeous. The noises her character makes I'm sure aren't her, but they are still great noises. I wonder if they actually recorded a real panther snarling.People say that the makeup is really bad, but I thought it was really good. At least on the faces it was good. The rest of the body was pretty bad. For example, a wolf girl who is totally hairy all over her head and face, but has no hair anywhere else. The same goes for the ape man. I guess the costume designers were trying to show that they were actually half human/half beast. But it still looked a little hokey. Especially seeing Bat Man's wings were only attached to him at his shoulders and not anywhere on his sides or armpits. How does that work? I never took physics, but that just doesn't make sense.The plot is pretty good, not too dull. I liked the first scene when the man is skin diving and gets reeled up by the ankles. It looks like it would have hurt a lot! It's not like he was wearing socks or anything.I thought the militant, creepy, macho guy was a good character, especially since they hinted at him being attracted to men. The man appears to be incredibly masculine and macho, but he can't hide his attraction to men, though he denies it. I thought his character was a good stray from the stereotypical gay man. Why not have a gay character be ultra masculine for a change? Crush the stereotypes, I say. And did you see how straight and white his teeth were? Wow, that actor should have been in a Colgate commercial!The daughter character sure gets thrown around a lot. It seems everyone wants to push her around. She's so skinny and frail, I was surprised she didn't get hurt more often. She had a cool face, though. Mysterious, pale with dark features. Not the best actress or character, but she had really nice hair, if that makes a difference...Really the best parts of the movie begin well over half-way through it. You get to see the animal-people come out and strut their stuff. How the daughter isn't freaked out by these monsters, I don't know. I'd have been running through that jungle the second Pam Grier gave her first howl. Those beasts were pretty freaky looking! Plus, how often do antelope actually LIKE wolves? In reality, wolves eat antelope, don't they? All it takes is a little human blood to get those primal enemy feelings to go away, right?If you want to see this movie, just fast forward through the first 45-55 minutes. It's not worth it. You'll be better off watching the last half hour and nothing else. Ape Man's disjointed moves and Panther Woman's licks and howls will be all you need to get this films best features.

Plan 9 From Outer Space is generally considered to be the worst film of all time. I contend that the people voting have not seen Twilight People. It's basically The Island of Dr Moreau without a budget. In this version of the story, I believe the Doctor is doing his genetic engineering for the Third Reich, as he and his assistant/security guy are Nazis. The half man/half animal creatures are bizarre. There is a bat man, an antelope man, and even a mole woman. I had nightmares about this flick for years (not because it was scary) until I found it on video and re-lived the horror of one of the most awful films of all time. The acting is bad. The writing is bad. The costumes are bad. This is a bad movie.