Beast of the Yellow Night (1971)

Another Philippines produced horror movie from producer/star John Ashley and director Eddie Romero.  This time around, Ashley plays the monster rather than the hero.  Toward the end of World War Two an American soldier goes rogue, teaming up with bandits and embarking on the usual campaign of rape, murder and robbery.  Finally cornered by the police, he does a deal with the devil for immortality in return for his soul, a bargain he seals by eating human flesh.  Apparently killed by the cops, Ashley's soul, over the next couple of decades, is reincarnated in the bodies of various people, influencing those around them to evil.  Fast forward to the present day, well, 1971 - his latest gig is to be reincarnated in the body of a wealthy industrialist whose head as been mangled in an industrial accident and who died briefly on the operating table.  In a twist, the devil ensures that a plastic surgeon rebuilds the industrialist's face to look like Ashley.  This time around, Ashley tries to exert his free will and renege on his deal.  The devil responds by placing a new curse on him - whenever he rebels he will turn into a hairy flesh eating monster.  Adding to Ashley's troubles, a police inspector involved in the 1945 manhunt recognises him and starts investigating.

Unfortunately, the story isn't told that clearly, the viewer has to read between the lines and fill in a lot of gaps.  It doesn't help that, while setting up some interesting ideas about the nature of evil, free will and identity, the script never develops them.  The whole plot seems to unfold too hastily, with too much talking about events instead of showing them - especially frustrating with regard to Ashley's reincarnations prior to 1971, which we never see and are only cursorily mentioned.  It wraps up very abruptly as well, leaving the viewer feeling more than slightly unsatisfied.  On the plus side, though, the monster make up is particularly good, as are some of he gore effects and Eddie Romero directs with typical efficiency.  Overall, it looks a lot better than most of the same team's previous efforts, with better production values and a seemingly bigger budget.  The main cast all give decent performances, but the stand out is Vic Diaz as the devil.  The short fat and pencil mustachioed Diaz might seem to be an unlikely choice to portray the Prince of Darkness, but his urbane, witty and imperturbable Satan is quite outstanding.  Despite its shortcomings, Beast of the Yellow Night makes for an entertaining watch.