First of all, a word of advice - don't buy or watch this thinking of it as a horror film. It most definitely is not, despite the best efforts of the American distributors who re-cut the movie, added in an opening sequence complete with graphic gore of men turned inside out, put in cameos from genre standbys Mel Ferrer and Cameron Mitchell and gave the film a horror-sounding title. All that aside, the film reviewed here is Sergio Martino's original Italian movie which plays it straight as an adventure film in the style of those Doug McClure movies of the mid '70s, with slightly rougher edges and a little bit more mild gore than they gave us. Despite being best-known for his series of above-average gialli in the early '70s, Martino is a perfectly capable director who also gave us a handful of adventure and post-apocalypse type movies in the late '70s and early '80s.ISLAND OF MUTATIONS begins well enough with a boat of assorted guys floating in the middle of a desolate sea. The film's first problem is apparent - half of the men are dubbed with some of the most appallingly fake British accents you're ever likely to hear, making this scene pretty laughable. Thankfully they all die pretty quickly. Soon enough the boat is attacked by some unseen rubbery creature which smashes it on the rocks and washes the men up on the shore of an island somewhere in the Atlantic. After encountering mysterious man-eating monsters, jungle traps, and treacherous lands, our sole survivor, as played by Claudio Cassinelli, then gets to meet the island's various unfriendly inhabitants.These include a tribe of natives; a mad scientist on the brink of death; a voodoo priestess; an evil gold-hungry bachelor; an army of genetically-mutated "fish men"; an erupting volcano; a laboratory of slimy mutations and lots more. The few things that aren't trying to kill Cassinelli include the underwater city of Atlantis (quite impressively shown, and enhanced by some fine underwater photography), and love interest Barbara Bach. The special effects are of the cheap-but-cheerful quotient, especially those rubbery fish men which you just have to love as they throttle minor cast members and threaten others with their gnashing teeth. Although the plot is somewhat familiar, it's helped along by various adventure staples including a man being put in a cell filling with water; somebody shinning down a rope over a pool of killer monsters; enduring fist-fights; chases and a number of exploding models.ISLAND OF MUTATIONS isn't an intellectually demanding movie; it rather feels like Martino is simply treading water for the first hour and preparing for his denouement. But what a finale it is, offering up tons of excitement and near-death experiences for our heroes. Cast-wise, Cassinelli is a somewhat ineffectual hero who doesn't actually do anything heroic for the first hour, but instead just stands around and watch other events playing out. Only in the climax does he get to fight baddies and monsters as a hero should in this type of movie, but never with the same cheesy determination as a Doug McClure would. Barbara Bach is the attractive love interest with a partly-developed character, so that's better than most for a start. Overacting honours go to Richard Johnson who really enjoys himself as the wicked, greedy, ruthless, selfish bad guy (plus half a dozen adjectives along those lines), while the ancient Joseph Cotten has fun as the atypical mad scientist on the verge of death. Then there's Beryl Cunningham, again in a wasted caricature role of a voodoo priestess who doesn't actually do anything and just seems to be there to free Cassinelli from his imminent watery demise, and a bit part from an unrecognisable Bobby Rhodes (DEMONS) as one of Johnson's native servants.Although it seems in retrospect to be aimed at kids or undemanding young adults, ISLAND OF MUTATIONS is actually an enjoyable and tight little film, done well on what quite clearly is a low budget. Although it has its misses - it repeatedly fails to be scary or chilling when it attempts to be - the hits are more memorable and the film is often exciting, and the last thirty minutes are what an action movie should always be - fast-paced and with lots of battles and stuff going on. Despite its predictability this is perfectly enjoyable stuff and great in an old-fashioned way; in fact it's nice to see they could make old-fashioned films like these when they wanted to in an era and country most recognised for its sadistic violence and bloodshed in its genre films.

Screamers (1980) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Lieutenant de Ross (Claudio Cassinelli) is leading some convicts through a rough sea when they end up washing up on a mysterious island. The island has a volcano but that's not what the men needs to be afraid of. No, it's the half-man, half-fish monsters that are ripping at each of them.Sergio Martino's ISLAND OF THE FISHERMEN was a tad bit too boring for American artists so producer Roger Corman bought the film, cut it down and then added about twelve minutes worth of new footage at the start of the picture. This new footage features a lot of gory deaths and it certainly gets the picture off to a good start. The American version, known as SCREAMERS, became a huge hit at the drive-in thanks to its promotional trailer but it should be noted that an earlier version played theaters under a different title and didn't do much business.You've gotta love Corman.As far as SCREAMERS goes it's a pretty good little film. It certainly seems HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP borrowed a little from the Martino film but that film is basically just CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON meets THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU. I think the added scenes actually help a lot and especially if you're a gore fan because there are a couple bloody and graphic decapitations. The original stuff in Martino's version is certainly mildly entertaining but the lack of gore, violence and nudity makes it easy to see why Corman wanted to spice it up.The film features a terrific cast with Cassinelli making for a very good lead and we've also got Barbara Bach, Richard Johnson and Joseph Cotten. The American version also features Cameron Mitchell and Mel Ferrer in small scenes.SCREAMERS certainly isn't a masterpiece but the cast, the added gore effects and the rather fun monsters make it worth seeing.

Lt. Claude (Claudio Cassinelli) and several prisoners from his sunken ship wash ashore on an island owned by Edmond Rackham (Richard Johnson). Following a few random prisoner deaths, Rackham takes in Claude and his two remaining prisoners. Luckily for everyone, Barbara Bach just happens to be on the island too! Unluckily, there are some crazy fishmen who like to kill people.This Italian produced exploiter seems to have it all - a touch of CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON mixed with DR. MOREAU with a dash of WHITE ZOMBIE voodoo and Atlantis stuff. Despite some wonky looking fishmen costumes, the film does benefit from some beautiful location photography and a nice twist about halfway through. All of the actors are good and Joseph Cotton even pops up as a old biologist. Director Sergio Martino handles himself well enough as there is action ever 10 minutes or so. That can't be said for his belated follow-up THE FISHMEN AND THEIR QUEEN (1995), easily one of the wackiest and most off-base sequels since HIGHLANDER II.

Sure, most people will designate "Island of the Fishmen" as silly and trashy hokum, but can you honestly name one other movie that brings forward THIS many exhilarating themes? This Italian gem stands for pure entertainment and features stuff like voodoo, volcanic eruptions, mutant fish-creatures, the mysterious continent of Atlantis, treasure-hunting, a remote island filled with death traps and utterly mad scientists! All this and much more in one simple movie? Yes, please! Close-minded opponents of Italian horror cinema can easily tag this film as a cheap exploitation version of "The Island of Dr. Moreau", but the truth is that this is so much more! "Island of the Fishmen" delivers thrills and adventure from start to finish with surprisingly convincing special effects and astonishingly stylish camera-work. The story promisingly opens with a small group of prisoners, survivors of a shipwreck, washing ashore a tropical island. They encounter the sadistic Edmond Rackham who rules over a native tribe…and a legion of genetically created amphibian monsters that live in the island's swamps. There are so many twists and additional sub-plots in the story that it's almost impossible to write a summary but, trust me, this gem is worth checking out. Sergio Martino once again proves that he's an ingenious filmmaker who has the talent to be commercial-minded and creative at the same time. He makes great use of the beautiful island location and also the interior sets look very impressive. The staggering underwater footage and imaginative scenery really lift this film high above the normal standards of late 70's exploitation. I don't quite understand why Roger Corman reworked the original so much and released it on the American market under a different title ("Screamers"), because there are very few elements open for improvement. The cast members are all Sergio Martino regulars (with the exception of the great Joseph Cotton is a neat supportive rule) and give away great performances. In case you can get your hands on the recently restored German version, you're treated to fifteen uncut minutes of extra action. See it!