SunnyHello
Nice effects though.
Pacionsbo
Absolutely Fantastic
Scott LeBrun
Note: this review pertains to the Americanized version, known as "Screamers", devised by Roger Corman. The balance of the original Italian film, "Island of the Fishmen", was kept, and a new prologue, written and directed by Miller Drake, and featuring Mel Ferrer and Cameron Mitchell, was filmed. All in all, this movie is great fun. It's pure nonsense, but it throws a couple of different ideas into its brew, with irresistible results for schlock lovers. We have treasure hunting (in two separate eras), biological mutations, the supposed Lost City of Atlantis, and an international cast also including Claudio Cassinelli, Barbara Bach, Richard Johnson, Joseph Cotten, and Beryl Cunningham.Cassinelli plays Lt. Claude de Ross, a military doctor who's one of a handful of shipwreck survivors. They come across an isolated tropical island, populated by Creature from the Black Lagoon type monsters, and a number of humans, chief among them the dastardly Edmond Rackham (the charismatic Mr. Johnson of "The Haunting" and "Zombi 2"), his female companion Amanda (the stunning Ms. Bach), and her scientist father Ernest (Mr. Cotten).The additional American footage actually doesn't stick out that much from the Italian film; the material was pretty hokey from the start. But it's got tons of atmosphere, a whole lot of beautiful scenery, some pretty gnarly creature suits, and flavourful music composed by Luciano Michelini. The acting in the main story is pretty good, with Cassinelli making for a studly hero and Bach as an appealing leading lady. Johnson comes off the best; he's one of those villains you actually can't help but like. People such as Mitchell, Ferrer, and Cotten were clearly hired for name value and don't get to do all that much.If you're like this viewer, and are partial to this kind of thing to begin with, you should have a fine time watching this.Eight out of 10.
ferbs54
Previously, my respect for the brothers Martino--director Sergio and producer Luciano--had been a result of the quartet of excellent giallo films that the pair had come out with from 1971-'72: "The Case of the Scorpion's Tail," "The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh," "All the Colors of the Dark" and (hang on for one of the greatest titles in cinema history!) "Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key," those last three starring the so-called Queen of Giallo, Edwige Fenech, girlfriend of Luciano at the time, the lucky bastid! (I still have not seen the Martinos' 1973 giallo entitled "Torso," which is supposed to be excellent.) But, as most of their fans know, the brothers often ventured outside of the realm of giallo, and with some surprisingly good results, if their 1979 effort, "Island of the Fishmen," is any example. Originally released under the Italian title "L'isola degli uomini pesce" (and later, with additional gore footage shot here in the States, as "Screamers"), the film turns out to be a pleasingly old-fashioned, Saturday matinée-style monster bash, with a hissable villain in black, a hunky good guy dressed in white, a beautiful damsel in distress, a mad scientist, jungle natives, bug-eyed creatures and an explosive climax. What kid--or kid at heart--could ask for more?In the film, a prison ship sinks in what the viewer infers to be the Caribbean, in the year 1891. Only Lt. Claude de Ross (charismatically played by Claudio Cassinelli) and a half dozen or so convicts manage to survive, their lifeboat washing ashore on a mysterious, volcanic island. The men are quickly done in by various island perils (poison water, staked pitfalls and, most especially, some lumbering, bipedal, amphibious creatures!), until only the lieutenant and two others remain to encounter the island's HUMAN inhabitants: Edmond Rackham, who is exploiting the island creatures in furtherance of his own schemes (deliciously well played by Richard Johnson, who had starred in the scariest movie ever made, "The Haunting," back in '63, as well as Lucio Fulci's cult item "Zombie" that same year); a beautiful young woman who the viewer automatically assumes is his wife, Amanda (Barbara Bach, apparently game for some physical stunts here); a half-mad biologist (the great Joseph Cotten, here cashing a paycheck for perhaps three minutes of overacted screen time); and a whole gaggle of voodoo-practicing natives, who carry out Rackham's every wish. And before long, treasure hunting, the lost continent of Atlantis, and a volcanic blowup (has there EVER been a volcano shown in a film that failed to eventually blow up?) are all conflated into this truly wild and crazy tropical stew...."Island of the Fishmen" features surprisingly solid acting from its three leads, endearingly cheezy monster effects (the fishmen look like something out of an old "Outer Limits" episode; for example, the monsters in the 12/23/63 episode entitled "Tourist Attraction") and a fairly thrilling windup, as the titular monsters go on a murderous frenzy when the island tears itself to bits. Sergio's direction is imaginative and stylish, as his giallo fans might have expected, and the music by Luciano Michelini is by turns lovely and gripping. I don't want to oversell the film, which in essence is a somewhat hokey schlockfest, but darn it, for those of us who love their BEMs (bug-eyed monsters) and their matinée material of this ilk, the picture should prove a nicely winning diversion. Think Jules Verne's "Mysterious Island" crossed with H.G. Wells' "The Island of Dr. Moreau" and you might start to get an idea of the pulpy fun in store. Further good news regarding the film is that its current DVD incarnation, from an outfit apparently called Mya, is a nice one, with a very decent print on display and proper framing of the film's CinemaScope image. Sadly, no subtitles have been provided, but a very adequate job of dubbing does serve to compensate. Break out the popcorn, sit down with your 8-year-old nephew, and enjoy!
TheHrunting
This ambitious film is set in the 19th century, gave a dab of action-adventure with mythology to boot, some shocks of horror and a nod to science fiction if that wasn't enough. "Island of Dr. Moreau" it wasn't entirely, though the initial premise is no doubt given nod to.The zoom ins, dated synthesizers and blatantly overdubbed sound effects that usually came with campy Italian cinema can give these pictures charm like no other. However, the inconsistent creature effects and cringe worthy miniatures unabashedly shown in close-ups, instead of rolling in the fog or covering up with shadows, were just asking too much from a viewer's imagination. Most of these films have flaws from cheap production to speedy filmmaking, mirroring what was done in the '50s/'60s, but it's just a matter of how many you are willing to overlook (especially by '79). If really easy, this could be more up your alley. If not, take the detour.The acting and even the English dubbing were of decent and serious caliber to moving this along without being one giant accidental farce; which leads me to believe the producers gave the green light with a tight cast but without realistically scaling back their overzealous production costs. The owner of the island was villainous though a charming and eccentric gentleman, his former Bond-girl (Barbara Bach of "The Spy Who Loved Me") wife was an exquisite treat to look at, and the guest of honor, that got there from a shipwreck, was a commanding and confident presence on screen."Island of the Fishmen," aka "Screamers," was not as mystifying as set out to be as an adult fantasy film. Applied to the goals the filmmakers had and their ability to realistically pull them off, the old idiom "less is more" usually works better in these cases, otherwise it's a challenge to step in with both feet and truly let yourself go minus the unintentional smirks. (Also submitted on http://fromblacktoredfilmreviews.blogspot.com/)
lonegurge
action packed,with my favorite type of creature.I won't give any of it away if you have'nt seen it,cause it's worth taking the time to sit down and unravel in the mystery of things as presented in this film.It did gets slow at times and those were the moments my mind wondered which does easily anyways but moist of it kept me quietly thrilled,where you keep it in your head instead of letting it out,probably the mood I was in at the time.Special effects and action sequences you could feel made up for the occasional lulls.Of course there'es a duschload of movies out there exactly like this,the film still has it's own style and flavor,which I respect from underground independent horror movies anyways.
