A doctor attempts to cure his son's leukemia by giving him an ape’s blood and heart. This has the unfortunate side effect of transforming the poor lad into a bestial monster who escapes from his father’s lab and goes on a blood-hungry, sex-crazed rampage. Also involved in the sinister affair are a wrestling heroine and her secret police boyfriend, who very slowly come to realize the doctor’s diabolic activities after one of her injured ring opponents end up under his knife.
“Night of the Bloody Apes” is a slice of schlock horror which has long enjoyed a cult following, not least due to its high quotient of sex and violence (there is actual footage of a graphic open heart surgery inserted in the ape operation scenes), which actually led to the film being banned in the U.K. during the 1980s when it was listed as one of the dreaded ‘video nasties’. It was directed by René Cardona, a Mexican genre master whose incredibly prolific output during his long career also includes such classics as “Wrestling Women vs. the Aztec Mummy”, and several films featuring the legendary masked wrestling hero Santo.