For horror fans the name John Ashley means one thing and that's the series of films he made in the Philippines on low to know budget with the most gruesome names and images used for ad campaigns ever seen. BEAST OF BLOOD and MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND come to mind immediately. But among the many movies he made in the Philippines there was one that was a solid horror film and thought provoking as well and that was THE BEAST OF THE YELLOW NIGHT.

Opening in WWII we find Joseph Langdon (Ashley) trying to survive after being hunted down as a traitor. Willing to do anything to survive he's approached by Satan (Vic Diaz) who will help him in return of his soul. Langdon agrees and is soon put to use by Satan who has more nefarious plans for him.

Over the next 25 years Satan inserts Langdon into various bodies to do his will until he ends up in the body of Philip Rogers. His face scarred in an accident and with doctors saying he doesn't have long to live his wife Julia (Mary Charlotte Wilcox) and brother Earl (Ken Metcalfe) arrive at the hospital to see him recovered. When the bandages are removed from his face he now appears as Langdon, explained by the damage in the accident.

Rogers/Langdon also has a new attitude towards life, making up with the wife that he neglected for years and eliminating the board of directors of his company. But it's all short lived and in reality a way for Satan to attempt to gain access to more souls. He soon tells his brother that he plans on divorcing his wife knowing he'll be bored with her and suggest that he step in to comfort and marry her since he's had a thing for her for years. The hope is this will make both of their souls prime targets.

But Julia doesn't give up easily on her husband and she supports him in everything he does. In an attempt to force him to do more damage, Satan turns Rogers/Langdon into a werewolf who prowls the streets by night killing those he comes across. Unlike the villagers seen in many European movies the villagers here are having none of it and try and stop him, forcing him to seek sanctuary in an old warehouse. There he meets Sabasas Nan (Andres Centenera), a once feared crime boss who is now old, blind and at ease having settled his debts and cleansed his soul. This gives Langdon hope that he can do the same. But will he be able to do so or will Satan force him to continue on the only life he's known for the past 25 years?

In all honesty while I was aware of these Philippines based films the only one I'd ever had a chance to see before was TWILIGHT PEOPLE and it was always a favorite of mine more because of memories it stirred than how great it was. But it was an entertaining film that I still enjoy. So I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. I was pleasantly surprised to find it more thought provoking than one would think considering the budget was so low.

It was also my first exposure to Ashely in these films and he does a great job here, another thing that caught me off guard. Even more surprising was the performance of Vic Diaz as Satan. I'd seen him in numerous films throughout the years but always in more cardboard cutout type roles. He presents a wonderful Satan here more cunning and conniving than frightening in a visual sense.

The entire film turned out to be a movie I enjoyed from start to finish, passing what I call the fast forward test. I call it that because there are times when watching movies that you feel compelled to press that fast forward button when a film bogs down or gets boring. That never happened with this one.

VCI has done a great job with the film too. This is no cheap knock off edition of the film with a scratched print, terrible sound and no extras. They've done a nice transfer here with a great picture with a 2K restoration from the 35mm picture negative and archival print. Extras include a new audio commentary track with film historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson, a video interview with director Eddie Romero, a tribute John Ashley, expanded interviews with the cast and crew taken from Mark Hartley's 2010 documentary Machete Maidens Unleashed!, TV spots and trailers and reversible alternate cover art for the sleeve.

Eddie Romero directing and John Ashley starring? That was all I really needed to know. Man, anything remotely connected with these two - like the Blood Island films - and I'm ready to go.

This was also the first release for Roger Corman's distribution company New World Pictures. After successfully distributing Beast of Blood in 1970, Kane W. Lynn's Hemisphere Pictures tried to get the distribution rights to this, but got cut out of the deal.

Ashley's new company, Four Associates Ltd. went on to produce The Twilight People, The Woman Hunt and Ebony, Ivory & Jade. As for Lynn, he worked with Sam Sherman to make Brain of Blood. Me? I'm happy all around at whatever these maniacs decided to make.

While Ashley would say that this was the most cerebral of the Philippines-based horror movies he made - and its success led to Corman making more movies there like The Big Doll House - Eddie Romero would say, "We really tried for quality. I don't think it did very well. They prefer out and out gore."

As World War II ends, Satan himself - Vic Diaz from Night of the Cobra Woman spares Joseph Landgon's (Ashley) life, if he becomes his disciple. So over the next 25 years, Langdon possessed people and forces them to do the bidding of his dark master.

However, he wants to free himself from the Lord of the Flies, but instead becomes a hairy monster who could pretty much be a werewolf. He's in the body of Phillip Rogers now and that man's wife tries to save him. An old blind bandit named Sabasas finally saves him, asking him to pray for his soul just as an inspector catches up to him and shoots our - well, I guess he isn't the hero - turning him into an ancient corpse.

Mary Charlotte Wilcox, who plays the wife, is also in the absolutely bonkers film, Love Me Deadly, which I love me dearly. She also shows up in Psychic Killer, Black Oak Conspiracy, Strange Brew and was a cast member of SCTV and Maniac Mansion.

Once he moved back to America, Ashley produced The A-Team. In one episode, he plays a movie producer trying to get a movie made. That movie? Beast of the Yellow Night.