Director: William Crain
Year: 1975
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Mad Doctor
Plot:
Attempting to work on a special formula, a doctor attempting to fix liver cancer in his patients inadvertently stumbles across a special formula that turns him into a dangerous criminal, and he tries to keep it under control while his personal life is threatened by the change.
Review:
This one wasn't all that bad of a Blaxploitation effort or even a true horror film. What really works well for this one is the fact that there's quite a bit of fun to be had here, with its traditional horror elements taking place within the confines of the blaxploitation story. The first half here, showing his slow transformation into the titular beast following his honest quest to carry out the experiment for the necessary procedure and then just accidentally stumbling upon the change, makes for quite a fun horror- based effort throughout here.
Those scenes, from the patients' change in the hospital to the first round of changes he experiences where he goes out and begins attacking the goons on the city streets, make for some rather fun times here, as this one really ups the action and makes for quite an improved pacing during this section. There's even more good fun in the final half, as the fact that this one really enhances the action with him going on a more pronounced and explicit rampage, as it involves elements quite commonplace here, with the pimp encounter in the alleyway as well as the stalking and brawling inside the girlfriend's house that leads into the foot chase that carries across the city, which becomes quite fun and has a great overall resolution to it all.
Still, while these are quite enjoyable, there are a few flaws to be had here that hold this one down. One of the main elements wrong with this one is the fact that there's just barely any action within here, as the film goes for more of a slow-build to his change in favor of scenes showing his good- natured doctor career as well as the tepid and feeble romance that really drags the film to a halt. Each of these really holds it back, with the good-natured doctor role being so clichéd and hammered home in the first few minutes that it really doesn't need to be repeated throughout here to further that particular storyline, while the romance is again clichéd and formulaic in these kinds of films.
The way she steadfastly refuses to accept the truth and stays with him as long as she does before she does turn him in for his crimes is way too long to really make an impact in here, as the scenes leading up to that are just bland, boring, and really make the film feel far longer than it really is since it's quite a quick film overall. As well, the makeup effects are simply terrible and look laughable more than terrifying, which does make for a rather goofy main villain when it's hard to feel terrified by him. These are what hold this one back.
Overview: ***.5/5
A really decent blaxploitation offering on the subject, there are some really likable features here that help to make this one quite likeable, despite a few minor drawbacks that hold this one down. Those with an interest in this era of genre fare, who are curious about it, or who don't mind the drawbacks will want to give it a shot, while most others out there should heed caution.
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