Six tourists agree to take a boat trip to an exotic island’s botanical gardens full of unusual plants. The first leg of the journey is a ferry ride to the island. Their guide, Alfredo (Ricardo Valle) takes a University botanist, Professor Julius Demerist (Hermann Nehlsen), David Moss (George Martin), James and Cora Robinson (Rolf von Nauckhoff, Kai Fischer), Beth Christiansen (Elisa Montes) and Myrtle Callahan (Matilde Munoz Sampedro) in his car up to the mansion owned by Baron von Weser (Cameron Mitchell).
While speeding along the island’s private road a man steps out and is hit before Alfredo can stop the car. On the man’s face is a horrible expression. Just then the Baron appears and explains that the man was his cook. He had been suffering from a tropical disease for quite some time. The Baron tells Alfredo that he is not responsible for the man’s death. He tells the visitors that his staff will attend to the dead man and ushers everyone into his villa. Alfredo takes the car to the side of the building and unpacks the luggage.
The Baron is a reclusive botanist who has been experimenting with grafting various plants to create hybrids. The Baron repeatedly bombards the germplasma of the seeds with X-rays which increases the natural mutation a thousand fold. He also uses ultraviolet light in his process. Some of his plants are carnivorous in nature. One of his specimens is a combination century plant and Venus flytrap. It eats small creatures such as mice. The plant he keeps secret is his pride and joy, a carnivorous plant that drinks human blood. The fresher the better.
Late that night Mrs. Robinson goes looking for Alfredo to have a fling. Unaware that Alfredo has been introduced to the Hydra plant she finds the Baron instead. She makes a pass at him and is rejected. Angry at being spurned she goes back to her room. In the morning both Cora and Alfredo are found. Both of them have been drained of blood. The other tourists are now in a panic and talk of vampires is high on their list of suspects. The Baron reports that the phone is out of order so he can’t call the police. The ferry is not expected until the next day. The remaining guests are trapped on an isolated island with something that is killing them one by one.
“Maneater of Hydra” AKA “Island of the Doomed” AKA “La isla de la Muerta” AKA “The Blood Suckers” was released in 1967 and was directed by Ernst Ritter von Theumer or Mel Welles, depending on who you ask. Some credit Theumer and some credit Welles. Both are credited as writers of the screenplay. It is a West German Spanish co-production horror science fiction film.
It’s a rather obscure film but it can be found on Alpha Video or in a special package from the people that brought you Elvira mistress of the dark. It is also on youtube, but wherever you find it the film is in really bad shape. The dubbing is also not the best. All of these factors make it a cult classic. It’s like an old dark house mystery on a deserted island. The film has tons of atmosphere and an interesting music score that adds to the creepiness. There are a lot of creaking doors and eccentric characters to add to the mix. The climax during a thunderstorm is worth waiting for.
Cameron Mitchell plays Baron von Weser the bizarre botanist who prefers plants to people. As far as mad scientists are concerned he’s about as crazy as they come. One wonders what kind of relationship he really has with his flora. I’m sure they appreciate his over acting. Not everyone can appreciate this heavenly piece of Euro-trash.