Difference between revisions of "The Island of the Fishmen (1979 film)"
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* Ragnarok at Cinemasochist Apocalypse, ([http://cinemasochistapocalypse.blogspot.com/2013/06/island-of-fishmen-1979.html link]) - "Surprisingly timid for an Italian horror flick of its vintage, it's a bizarre and really enjoyable movie. The cast is strong, the sets and model work for the underground caverns and ruins are cool, and most importantly, the monsters appear early and often and the suits are great. While the insanely rapid plot twists in the last half hour might leave you a little dizzy, there's plenty of H.P. Lovecraft-meets-Jules Verne fishman mayhem to be enjoyed. This mostly forgotten curiosity is highly recommended...." | * Ragnarok at Cinemasochist Apocalypse, ([http://cinemasochistapocalypse.blogspot.com/2013/06/island-of-fishmen-1979.html link]) - "Surprisingly timid for an Italian horror flick of its vintage, it's a bizarre and really enjoyable movie. The cast is strong, the sets and model work for the underground caverns and ruins are cool, and most importantly, the monsters appear early and often and the suits are great. While the insanely rapid plot twists in the last half hour might leave you a little dizzy, there's plenty of H.P. Lovecraft-meets-Jules Verne fishman mayhem to be enjoyed. This mostly forgotten curiosity is highly recommended...." | ||
* Michael Den Boer at 10k Bullets ([http://10kbullets.com/reviews/i/island-of-the-fishmen/ link]) - "This film also has a tremendous amount of visual style as it takes full advantage of its locations." | * Michael Den Boer at 10k Bullets ([http://10kbullets.com/reviews/i/island-of-the-fishmen/ link]) - "This film also has a tremendous amount of visual style as it takes full advantage of its locations." | ||
| + | * Mitch Lovell at The Video Vacuum (2 stars) ([http://thevideovacuum.livejournal.com/760071.html link]) - "Island of the Fishmen has a potentially ridiculous premise but it plays things more or less with a straight face. I don’t think this was the way to go." | ||
| + | * Justin McKinney at The Bloody Pit of Horror (2.5 Stars) ([http://thebloodypitofhorror.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/lisola-degli-uomini-pesce-1979.html link]) - "While nothing spectacular, this is a perfectly acceptable and enjoyable juvenile fantasy / adventure / monster movie very much in tune with the writings of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells (most notably the latter's "''The Island of Dr. Moreau''"), with a dash of H.P. Lovecraft and ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' thrown in there as well. | ||
* Dave Sindelar at Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings ([http://www.scifilm.org/musing5050.html link]) - "Probably the main reason this version is pretty light on gore is that it really isn't a horror movie; the story plays out more like an adventure story. It's an odd hodgepodge of genres and ideas; it's partially inspired by ''The Island of Dr. Moreau'' and The ''Mysterious Island'', and it throws in elements of voodoo as well as the lost continent of Atlantis before it's all through. It's not well regarded, but I actually found the hodgepodge rather interesting..." | * Dave Sindelar at Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings ([http://www.scifilm.org/musing5050.html link]) - "Probably the main reason this version is pretty light on gore is that it really isn't a horror movie; the story plays out more like an adventure story. It's an odd hodgepodge of genres and ideas; it's partially inspired by ''The Island of Dr. Moreau'' and The ''Mysterious Island'', and it throws in elements of voodoo as well as the lost continent of Atlantis before it's all through. It's not well regarded, but I actually found the hodgepodge rather interesting..." | ||
Revision as of 17:08, 13 March 2018
Island of the Fishmen, AKA Screamers, The Fishmen, Island of Fishmen, Island of Mutations, Volcano Island, Something Waits in the Dark (1979)
Summary
"They're men turned inside out! And worse... they're still alive! Killers from the deep guard the forbidden treasures on . . . Island of Fishmen!" Aquatic creatures threaten the existence of a mysterious island near Atlantis.
Details
- Release Date: 1979
- Country/Language: Italy, Italian
- Genres/Technical: Horror, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Action
- Setting: 1970s Atlantic Ocean
- Runtime: 1 hr 21 min
- Starring: Barbara Bach, Claudio Cassinelli, Richard Johnson
- Director: Sergio Martino
- Writer: Cesare Frugoni and Luciano Martino (story), Sergio Donati (screenplay)
- Producer/Production Co: Dania Film, Medusa Distribuzione, Roger Corman (USA)
- View Trailer: (link)
- IMDb (link)
Ratings
MPAA Ratings
- Rated: R (Violence)
Tentacle Ratings
A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:
- S____ (One Tentacle: Debateably Lovecraftian; has almost no direct connection to Lovecraft's work)
I've not seen this one since the 1980s, but it seems unlikely to have much in common with Lovecraft beyond a common interest in fish-men from Atlantis (a common pulp fantasy/sci-fi trope from Lovecraft's era). Still, that might be enough to interest fans of "Lovecraftian" cinema from Innsmouth....
Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.
Reviews
Review Links:
- Ragnarok at Cinemasochist Apocalypse, (link) - "Surprisingly timid for an Italian horror flick of its vintage, it's a bizarre and really enjoyable movie. The cast is strong, the sets and model work for the underground caverns and ruins are cool, and most importantly, the monsters appear early and often and the suits are great. While the insanely rapid plot twists in the last half hour might leave you a little dizzy, there's plenty of H.P. Lovecraft-meets-Jules Verne fishman mayhem to be enjoyed. This mostly forgotten curiosity is highly recommended...."
- Michael Den Boer at 10k Bullets (link) - "This film also has a tremendous amount of visual style as it takes full advantage of its locations."
- Mitch Lovell at The Video Vacuum (2 stars) (link) - "Island of the Fishmen has a potentially ridiculous premise but it plays things more or less with a straight face. I don’t think this was the way to go."
- Justin McKinney at The Bloody Pit of Horror (2.5 Stars) (link) - "While nothing spectacular, this is a perfectly acceptable and enjoyable juvenile fantasy / adventure / monster movie very much in tune with the writings of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells (most notably the latter's "The Island of Dr. Moreau"), with a dash of H.P. Lovecraft and Creature from the Black Lagoon thrown in there as well.
- Dave Sindelar at Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings (link) - "Probably the main reason this version is pretty light on gore is that it really isn't a horror movie; the story plays out more like an adventure story. It's an odd hodgepodge of genres and ideas; it's partially inspired by The Island of Dr. Moreau and The Mysterious Island, and it throws in elements of voodoo as well as the lost continent of Atlantis before it's all through. It's not well regarded, but I actually found the hodgepodge rather interesting..."
Synopsis
Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)
A madman's daughter and a shipwrecked convict flee a volcano island of fish-men, near Atlantis.
Notes
Comments, Trivia, Dedication
- Thanks to the involvement of Roger Corman ("King of the Exploitation Film") in the American distribution, the tagline "They're men turned inside out! And worse... they're still alive!" was added to the early 1980s American promotion of the film along with the title Screamers after its earlier release as Something Waits in the Dark failed to draw an audience. The tagline apparently succeeded in drawing the desired audience, but, unfortunately, no character gets turned inside-out in the film, leaving disappointed film audiences in the 1980s angry enough to riot in some theater locations. According to film legend, a scene of someone getting turned inside out from a completely unrelated film was hastily spliced into Screamers to satisfy the audience demand for inside-out people, though this added scene does not seem to be included in modern distributions of The Island of the Fishmen....
Associated Mythos Elements
