Saturday, July 8, 2017

Island of the Fishmen (1979)

Original title: L'isola degli Uomini Pesce

AKA: Screamers

Director: Sergio Martino

Writers: Cesare Frugoni, Luciano Martino, Sergio Donati, H.P. Lovecraft

Composer: Luciano Michelini

Starring: Barbara Bach, Claudio Cassinelli, Richard Johnson, Beryl Cunningham, Joseph Cotten, Franco Javarone, Roberto Posse, Giuseppe Castellano, Franco Mazzieri

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Killers from the deep guard the forbidden treasures on . . . Island of Fishmen

Plot: After their prison ship sinks in the Caribbean, a group of prisoners and a doctor wash ashore on a seemingly deserted island. They soon discover a strange couple, who invite them to stay at their house. While the prisoners try to plan an escape, the doctor does some investigating, and soon finds out just what the pair are really doing, and why the prisoners keep disappearing mysteriously.



My rating: 5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

I LOVE the poster art.  The movie is on the boring side.  There is some good atmosphere but you know you're in trouble when you check the time left and you're halfway through.  It was a chore to get through and many scenes go on for way too long (like the finale).  The last couple of minutes are bullshit.  The performances are fine I guess but it's the story that's dragged out beyond belief.  Hell, you could probably tell this story in half the time but there's not enough action, tension or much that's all that entertaining to sustain 90 minutes.  The fishmen kind of look cool but they've got no moving parts except for their arms and legs.  They look more at home in a Hollywood B picture from the 50s.  There's no gore or nudity so it's got that going against it.  I watched this nice anamorphic widescreen print on a 12' screen.  It helped but it wasn't enough.  Lovely poster art, though.


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