Night of the Bloody Apes DVD Review

Review written by Steve "Alien Redrum" Pattee

DVD released by Salvation

There, around the corner, is a man. And he's dead. – Random lady.

Raising the Tent...

Julio is not doing so well. Actually, he's going to die soon if something radical isn't done.

Fortunately, Julio's father, Dr. Krallman, is ready to try a radical procedure — Swap the young man's heart with that of an ape.

But there are some unforeseen side effects to this experimental treatment. Because soon after the transplant, young Julio goes through some changes. He more or less morphs into an ape — by more I mean his head, by less, his body.

As it goes, this new and improved version of Julio is nothing but a big bag of rage, hormones and animal instinct. A very big bag.

And he's escaped to the city to see what sorts of mischief he can get into.

The Center Ring...

Night of the Bloody Apes has a fantastic opening: A female wrestling match. And we're not talking about that fake crap you see on the WWE. We're talking about the real deal, because one lady ends up in the hospital! You just have to love a movie that opens with two women throwing down in the center ring — even if they are masked.

Fortunately, Apes has that kind of goofy charm throughout — really making it hard, no matter how bad the film gets, not to like it.

Certainly, the English dub has a lot to do with that. Apes' original language is Spanish, but only an English dub is offered on the disc. Normally, that would be an awful thing (and Salvation does lose some points for not offering the original audio track), but, in this case, the dubbing actually adds to the enjoyment of the movie. Everything is said in fantastic monotone — no matter what is going on. And don't confuse "monotone" with wooden, because the actors dubbing the lines aren't stiff. Just emotionless.

While Apes obviously borrows a little from movies such as Frankenstein, it's the ending that is a real hoot, because it all but plagiarizes another famous monster movie — albeit on a much smaller scale. You get the feeling the filmmakers knew exactly what they were doing, and they just didn't care.

And, by the end of the movie, you won't either. Because the movie knows, as well as you, that this is just schlocky fun.

The Application of the Face Paint and the Honking of the Horn...

While Apes' 1.33:1 (full frame) presentation is robust with color, those colors do tend to bleed often. There's also noticeable edge enhancement throughout, and a whole lot of visible print damage. It's obviously better than a VHS copy, but not by much.

The Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack has you reaching for the remote at times, especially during screams. I'm not looking for a DTS track, but the audio could have been cleaned up a little more.

The Side Show...

Not much is offered in the way of special features (five stills and three promotional posters), but it's really tough to criticize Salvation for that. Let's be realistic, how much do you expect them to dig up?

There are also trailers for Requiem for a Vampire and Les Demoniaques.

Send in the Clowns...

Movie –
Video –
Audio –
Features –

Breaking it Down...

(The clown car contains a Mitsubishi WS-48613 48” HDTV, Sony DVP-CX875P DVD player and Onkyo HTS-770 Home Theater System and, in some towns, a Sony 27” WEGA TV and a Sony DVP-NS50P DVD player.)

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