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TITLE: Island
Of Death
DIRECTOR: Nico
Mastorakis
YEAR: 1975
COUNTRY: Greece
DURATION: 110 mins
ORIGINAL TITLE: Ta Pedhia Tou Dhiavolou
(The Killing Of Satan)
ALSO KNOWN AS: A Craving For Lust
(UK cut version), Psychic Killer 2 (UK re-submission, rejected
in 1987), Cruel Destination, Devils In Mykonos (US), Island
Of Perversion (US)
STARRING: Bob
Belling (Christopher), Jane Ryall
(Celia), Nikos Tsachiridis (Shepherd) |
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| THIS FILM CONTAINS DISTURBING SCENES OF
SEX & VIOLENCE AND SHOULD ONLY BE VIEWED BY ADULTS & THE INEPT |
| The
lucky ones got their brains blown out... |
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IF
EVER a film made you question your moral judgement,
sense of humour and film-buying decisions, then Island Of
Death is it. This succinctly-titled Seventies
Greek blasterpiece is something of a tour
de force of sado masochistic
sex and violence, and
after watching it you can't help but sit there and think:
"how on earth did they ever get to make a film like this?"
The catch is: you'll probably be giggling to yourself as you
think this - trying to work out how you're going to explain
what you just saw to your friends and colleagues. Such is
the gleeful innocence in which writer/director/producer Mastoriakis
presents the unbelievable on-screen
carnage.
If you've never seen Island Of Death you're probably sat there
thinking: "what could be so bad?"
Well, as a film, Island Of Death is greater than the sum of
it's parts. There's no point writing a big list of all the
shocking scenes it contains.
Better to sum up the way it makes you feel after a viewing.
Which is: dazed, confused,
elated, digusted
and (most probably) turned-on
(though you'd never admit it).
It's a story about a young couple - Christopher (Bob Belling)
and Celia (Jane Ryall), on vacation in Greece. Initially they
seem like a normal, fun-loving couple, but very quickly it
becomes apparent that there is a screw loose when the couple
begin to trap, torture and
murder innocent locals in order
to "rid the island of perversion."
Eventually Christopher and Celia are
tracked by the police, but only after maiming and raping
half a Greek island. It's hilarious, wince-inducing
stuff, and thankfully well-filmed. Mastorakis undoubtedly
pushes it with the sex and violence, but there is an undoubted
charm and naivety
to this film that prevents you from turning it off. It's,
strangely, very watchable. In fact, no one could accuse Island
Of Death of being unwatchable. Questionable - yes. And possibly
unlistenable, to some (it's got a very unique soundtrack).
But not unwatchable.
Those bound by the laws of political correctness will hate
this film and the way it victimises minorities. Those
with a sense of humour, though, will realise that Island Of
Death is one of the most daring
films ever made. Mastorakis may not have had much of a budget,
but he had massive balls.
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| Cheesy as hell in places (the dummy from the plane
being the worst instance), but deviant, varied and unusual. Too
funny to be scary, but sure to break the ice at parties. |
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| A twisted nugget of taboo-shattering, exploitation gold that proudly lives up to the term 'video nasty'. And with a killer soundtrack that heightens the delirium on display! Essential viewing... |
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| Dodgy Seventies Euro trash with high fun quotient.
Hilarious soundtrack too. I started to get bored towards the end,
but the first hour is relentless in it's twistedness. |
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| My corpse of a girlfriend threw me out of the house
for putting this on. It's not a nice film you know. |
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