“Dr. Gerard what kind of animal is it you have downstairs? What do you call it?
William Fitzgerald (Richard Derr) is the sole survivor of a shipwreck. He ends up washed up on the shore of Blood Island. Dr. Charles Girard (Francis Lederer) finds him and takes him to his home to recuperate. Dr. Girard is a scientist who has come to the island to work on a secret experiment. With him he has brought his wife Frances (Greta Thyssen) who is also his nurse.
He also brought with him a panther. The panther escaped and was terrorizing the island inhabitants. They flee the island leaving a servant girl Selene and her young brother Tiago. The doctor and his assistant Walter Perrera (Oscar Keesee) trap the animal and bring it back to the doctor’s compound. Fitzgerald finds out that the doctor is experimenting on the panther. He is performing a series of operations to turn the panther into a man. Frances does not approve of her husbands experiments. She is partly afraid of the beast and partly feels sorry for it.
Eventually Fitzgerald and Frances have an affair. She asks him to take her away. He promises to do whatever he can. The creature also falls in love with Frances. When Walter tries to rape her the creature tries to protect her. Frances flees and Walter picks up a piece of wood and beats the panther. Now the panther is carrying a grudge about Walter. Eventually the panther escapes again and goes on a rampage. Then it kidnaps Frances and takes off into the jungle with her.
“Terror is a Man” was released in 1959 and was directed by Gerardo de Leon and Eddie Romero. It is also known as “Blood Creature”, “Creature from Blood Island”, “The Gory Creatures”, “Island of Terror” and “Gore Creature”. The movie is a Filipino/American horror film.
It was the first in a series of four movies produced by Eddie Romero and Kane W. Lynn known as the "Blood Island" series. Included in the series are “Brides of Blood”, “The Mad Doctor of Blood Island” and “Beast of Blood”. All four films took place on the same island called Blood Island. It has the distinction of being the first Filipino horror movie. The movie is loosely based on H.G. Wells’ novel Island of Dr. Moreau.
To me it wasn’t a horror movie. The creature was not the panther but the doctor and the assistant Walter. I felt pity for it. If it was a human being tortured it would have been a tear jerker. Instead it’s a panther and it’s still sad. The pacing may be a little slow and the gore is not there like you would expect but there is a dark intensity that is almost noir.
There is one stupid thing about the movie. Taking a page from William Castle the movie warns movie goers that they may be shocked by what they see so when they hear a bell ring they should ‘look away’ so as not to faint. The bell sounds like a phone ringing and I only heard it once.