
Hot Picks 
|
|
|
Misterio en la Isla de los Monstruos
Mystery on Monster Island
Reise zur Insel des Grauens / Monster Island / Das Geheimnis der Monsterinsel
Spain / USA 1981
produced by Juan Piquer Simón for Almena Films, Fort Films
directed by Juan Piquer Simón
starring Ian Sera, David Hatton, Gaspar Ipua, Blanca Estrada, Terence Stamp, Peter Cushing, Ana Obregón, Frank Brana, Paul Naschy, Gérard Tichy, Manuel Pereiro, Daniel Martín, Luis Barboo, Jorge Bosso, Ioshio Murakami
screenplay by Ron Gantnam, Joaquín Grau, Juan Piquer Simón, based on the novel L'École des Robinsons by Jules Verne, music by Alfonso Agullo, Alejandro Monroy, Carlos Villa, special effects by Basilio Cortijo, visual effects by Emilio Ruiz del Río
review by Mike Haberfelner
|
|

|
 |
Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
|
|
|
 |
|
Before marrying his sweetheart Meg (Ana Obregón), Jeff (Ian Sera)
wants to go on a trip around the world, so his uncle (and her foster
father) Kolderup (Peter Cushing) books him a passage on a boat, but sends
tutor Artelect (David Hutton) along with him ... but the boat is overrun
by monsters and ultimately blows up, and only Jeff and Artelect manage to
save themselfes on a dessert island. There they meet and defeat all sorts
of monsters, save a native, Carefinatu (Gasphar Ipua), from a tribe of
cannibals, whom they chase off the island, meet beautiful castaway
Dominique (Blanca Estrada), find a goldmine, and suddenly find themselves
on the run from a gang of hooded men. And ultimately, all turns out just
to be an elaborate hoax by Kolderup, who wanted to give his nephew life
experience without exposing him to real danger - thus toy monsters, fake
cannibals, the native who's actually an actor, and even a fake volcano.
Only the hooded men and their guns are waaay too real, they are led by
baddie Taskinar (Terence Stamp), who knew about the goldmine but lost the
island to Kolderup at an auction - but ultimately, he and his men are
overcome by ... fake fireworks, mainly. The cast of this film
of course sounds like a genre fan's dream come true: Terence Stamp, Peter
Cushing and Paul Naschy in the same movie - but there really isn't much in
the movie to justify that excitement, Cushing and Stamp only appear in the
framing story while Naschy's appearance is limited to the prologue. The
main portion on the other hand is (not really) carried by the bland hero
(Sera), his clumsy sidekick (Hutton, hamming it up without managing to
create laughs or even giggles), and the black guy (Ipua) in a typically
subservient role which seems to be outdated even in 1981. Add to that a
rather old-fashioned and unexciting directorial effort (despite some
rather sensational plot devices), and a simply not very good script (that
has enriched Jules Verne's novel with quite a few monsters for
saleability), and you've got ... a really not very good film, but one that
might be enjoyed by schlock movie fans like myself for its shortcomings
rather than despite of them. That said, there are better
so-bad-they're-good films of the same ilk out there ...
|