Island of Death 1975 (Unrated Collectors Edition 2003) Directed by Nico Mastorakis Island of Death is one of the famed Video Nasties and was long banned. It was rejected in 1987 in the UK. It was later cut by 13 minutes and resubmitted as Psychic Killer 2 and still rejected. It eventually passed as Certificate 18 in 2002 with over 4 minutes of cuts. The uncut region 0 DVD is now available in the US at Amazon and their official website www.IslandofDeath.com.
The simple plot is this- A British couple, Christopher and Celia, visit an island in Greece on vacation. Unbeknownst to their hosts, they are sexual deviants that terrorize the townies. Celia begins to feel guilty for their crimes and begs Chris to stop. He refuses and spirals out of control, eventually leading to his own demise.
Chris is a psychopath. He has violent urges, paranoid delusions, and is a compulsive liar. His first crime is to rape a goat, then kill it as if to kill his urge and erase him crime. He also concocts reasons for every one of his crimes such as someone being a whore, homosexual, bitch, but his favorite is "pervert". Ultimately, he is a hypocrite preaching punishment for sexual perversion when he does the same. Celia can be viewed as a victim. She is constantly dragged around on his looney binges and is abused by her partner as well. (This bares striking resemblance to the Ken and Barbie murders in the 1990's Canada).
When Celia cheats on Chris with a local painter, she resorts to a childlike state where she cries and sucks her thumb. When Chris crucifies the man with nails and drowns him with paint, she photographs it.
Pretty much no one is off limits here. A gay couple is slaughtered. Animals are killed. A religious man is crucified. A Black man is called "nigger" and hung to death similar to a lynching. Rape, sodomy, stabbings, shootings, and hangings abound.
Ultimately, the film is not that graphic. Anyone looking for extreme gore will be disappointed. What makes the film so horrific is the couple's nonchalant attitudes towards their crimes. They are the embodiment of everything ugly in all humans and yet suffer from incredibly childlike and innocent behavior. It was almost as though director Mastorakis ripped headlines from a newspaper and exaggerated what he sees as society's hatred for others. Chris in particular is racist, sexist, and a homophobe. What makes this discovery especially frightening is that this couple could be anyone on the street including you. They do normal activities and are open about their feelings. It is just that they take it a step further and act on impulse.
There are scenes of romance and intrigue sprinkled throughout their crime spree. After a night killing, they wake up refreshed with a big appetite and enjoy the fresh island air. They plan their sightseeing for the day just as any other couple would. I look at this as a deranged Bonnie & Clyde loose in Greece with plenty of softcore scenes and bits of violence here and there. While their actions are hideous in nature, they are not shown as graphically as you would think. (Director Mastorakis was also his own DP and creatively made up the SFX as they went along which might explain the lack of gore).
Some of the terrible crimes are undercut with funny moments though. There is a hilarious scene where they go off on a romantic bike ride together and sweet music plays. But then the song degenerates into men screaming, "Get the sword. Kill them all" in a weird nod to the "Row, row your boat" 3 Part Round Song.
But all fun must come to an end. Eventually, they find themselves on the run from the law and the nightmares Celia had foreshadowing their fate come true. As they find a hideout with a Shepard, Chris says, "This Island is for the Innocents," but soon finds out he was very, very wrong. The ending is sick and twisted and made my jaw drop. It was the perfect culmination of human degradation and betrayal and I loved how all the nastiness came together seamlessly.
Released by Image Entertainment, the DVD is presented in Dolby Digital sound. The music was especially effective and the lyrics are downright depressing. My only complaint is that the film clocks in at 108mins (just under 2 hours). At times the film does seem a bit slow, but I think it is necessary to show normal couple activities mixed with disgusting behavior to get the point across.
Favorite Quote: Gay man being chased, "Please, I believe in God." Chris replies, "I'm sorry friend, but he doesn't believe in you." DVD Extras: 3 songs played to a Still Gallery and a very intriguing interview with Direcor Mastorakis where in he states that he was "appalled by the violence in Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and that he made Island for money because "perversion helps foreign sales." I really like how he acts like an accidental accomplice to the movie he created (wrote, directed, shot, edited, and acted in as the Mystery Writer).
Mastorakis gives great comments on censorship (the UK is a totalitarian government) and bestiality (this is a part of life). The lead actor playing Chris was a model and is described as disturbed. He later killed himself.
For more info, visit www.IslandofDeath.com or buy it from Amazon for $18.99.
Bottom Line: Highly recommended for a completist of the Video Nasty era. This is one of the better banned films. Anyone looking for extreme gore should turn to Cannibal Holocaust though.
Rating: 9/10 Molly Celaschi www.HorrorYearbook.com
The simple plot is this- A British couple, Christopher and Celia, visit an island in Greece on vacation. Unbeknownst to their hosts, they are sexual deviants that terrorize the townies. Celia begins to feel guilty for their crimes and begs Chris to stop. He refuses and spirals out of control, eventually leading to his own demise.
Chris is a psychopath. He has violent urges, paranoid delusions, and is a compulsive liar. His first crime is to rape a goat, then kill it as if to kill his urge and erase him crime. He also concocts reasons for every one of his crimes such as someone being a whore, homosexual, bitch, but his favorite is "pervert". Ultimately, he is a hypocrite preaching punishment for sexual perversion when he does the same. Celia can be viewed as a victim. She is constantly dragged around on his looney binges and is abused by her partner as well. (This bares striking resemblance to the Ken and Barbie murders in the 1990's Canada).
When Celia cheats on Chris with a local painter, she resorts to a childlike state where she cries and sucks her thumb. When Chris crucifies the man with nails and drowns him with paint, she photographs it.
Pretty much no one is off limits here. A gay couple is slaughtered. Animals are killed. A religious man is crucified. A Black man is called "nigger" and hung to death similar to a lynching. Rape, sodomy, stabbings, shootings, and hangings abound.
Ultimately, the film is not that graphic. Anyone looking for extreme gore will be disappointed. What makes the film so horrific is the couple's nonchalant attitudes towards their crimes. They are the embodiment of everything ugly in all humans and yet suffer from incredibly childlike and innocent behavior. It was almost as though director Mastorakis ripped headlines from a newspaper and exaggerated what he sees as society's hatred for others. Chris in particular is racist, sexist, and a homophobe. What makes this discovery especially frightening is that this couple could be anyone on the street including you. They do normal activities and are open about their feelings. It is just that they take it a step further and act on impulse.
There are scenes of romance and intrigue sprinkled throughout their crime spree. After a night killing, they wake up refreshed with a big appetite and enjoy the fresh island air. They plan their sightseeing for the day just as any other couple would. I look at this as a deranged Bonnie & Clyde loose in Greece with plenty of softcore scenes and bits of violence here and there. While their actions are hideous in nature, they are not shown as graphically as you would think. (Director Mastorakis was also his own DP and creatively made up the SFX as they went along which might explain the lack of gore).
Some of the terrible crimes are undercut with funny moments though. There is a hilarious scene where they go off on a romantic bike ride together and sweet music plays. But then the song degenerates into men screaming, "Get the sword. Kill them all" in a weird nod to the "Row, row your boat" 3 Part Round Song.
But all fun must come to an end. Eventually, they find themselves on the run from the law and the nightmares Celia had foreshadowing their fate come true. As they find a hideout with a Shepard, Chris says, "This Island is for the Innocents," but soon finds out he was very, very wrong. The ending is sick and twisted and made my jaw drop. It was the perfect culmination of human degradation and betrayal and I loved how all the nastiness came together seamlessly.
Released by Image Entertainment, the DVD is presented in Dolby Digital sound. The music was especially effective and the lyrics are downright depressing. My only complaint is that the film clocks in at 108mins (just under 2 hours). At times the film does seem a bit slow, but I think it is necessary to show normal couple activities mixed with disgusting behavior to get the point across.
Favorite Quote: Gay man being chased, "Please, I believe in God." Chris replies, "I'm sorry friend, but he doesn't believe in you." DVD Extras: 3 songs played to a Still Gallery and a very intriguing interview with Direcor Mastorakis where in he states that he was "appalled by the violence in Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and that he made Island for money because "perversion helps foreign sales." I really like how he acts like an accidental accomplice to the movie he created (wrote, directed, shot, edited, and acted in as the Mystery Writer).
Mastorakis gives great comments on censorship (the UK is a totalitarian government) and bestiality (this is a part of life). The lead actor playing Chris was a model and is described as disturbed. He later killed himself.
For more info, visit www.IslandofDeath.com or buy it from Amazon for $18.99.
Bottom Line: Highly recommended for a completist of the Video Nasty era. This is one of the better banned films. Anyone looking for extreme gore should turn to Cannibal Holocaust though.
Rating: 9/10 Molly Celaschi www.HorrorYearbook.com