'Paranormal Island' didn't have a bad idea. Not a novel one, but it sounded creepy and cool and deserved execution that would match that. Lance Henriksen has been in a lot of bad films but, regardless of how well he's used or not, he can be one of the least bad assets of them. Sadly, 'Paranormal Island's' interesting idea was executed pretty poorly and the problems are apparent straightaway, this is not one of those promising opening sequence films unfortunately. The asset that comes off least badly is the acting, which on the most part considering the material is not bad. That is with the exceptions of agreed Ben Elliott and Tony Valle, both downright awful in disastrously written (in every sense of the word, elaborating would be pointless as one wouldn't know where to begin) roles, especially Valle.Briana Evigan in particular is an agreeable lead and Henriksen does his best with far too little to do, there is a demeanour about him that makes him interesting to watch. While the characters were not particularly interesting ones, they aren't annoying either or do things that makes one frustrated by them. The scenery has some nice atmosphere.However, the production values, scenery apart, don't impress. The special effects are especially pathetic, have not in a while seen cheaper-looking paranormal effects, and any promise that the opening scene could have had is completely ruined by being shot in so amateurish a way it makes one physically ill. The photography and editing in general are not good, but not to the same extent as with the opening. The music at best is forgettable, not exactly intrusive or obvious as such but it adds very little to what's going on and is pretty dull. Dull is the best way to describe the story (especially in the middle which grinds to a halt), with nothing tense, suspenseful, surprising or scary. It's also very silly, sometimes to a ridiculous degree, doesn't always make sense with too many things left vague and nothing unsettles or surprises. The dialogue is awkward and tends to ramble and the pace and characters are even more lifeless often than the villain. For all the actors' best efforts, the characters are underdeveloped and bland.Overall, pretty poor. 3/10 Bethany Cox

I just wanted to watch a scary movie and I've seen most I can possibly find so I figured I'd give this a try. I mean it can't be that bad right? Man was I wrong. I would have been better off watching one I've already seen. This was just terrible in every sense of the word. Please just don't watch this. It was a mockery to horror films!

This wasn't going to be anything more than your everyday garden-variety horror film, especially after you read the blurb. Three college students take jobs at the club on the man-made island to earn a little cash, however, Mike has heard the rumours of strange ghostly happenings on the Island and sees a chance to get some extra credit for his forensics course. This is the first of many holes in the story - Mike is doing a forensics course with an inclination for disproving the paranormal... Since when, and in what world, has the plea of the "The Ghost Killed Them!!!" or "The Devil Possessed Me!!!" ever been a truthful, credible, and winning defence. Then later in the film, he claims this job is a "Normal Job" - Yeah Right!These bad lines actually go to show how good the acting abilities of the cast are as the leads are quite believable in their portrayals... and they never appear to be on the verge of laughing their heads off with some of their lines. I was actually hoping the film would be better than it was since Briana Evigan, who play's Ivy, was staring. Unfortunately, not so much if you're a bloke, I think she may have been chosen for the part because she looks great in a skimpy bikini. However, her acting skills, along with Randy Wayne as Mike, Lance Henriksen as Carl, and Sarah Karges as Lori, help to keep this from being too bad.There is just as much good as there is bad in the film. I liked the fact that even though you've seen similar movies they chose not to give you your stereotypical teenagers. These guys don't stay behind on purpose they are accidentally left behind after closing - too many films would have had them hiding away waiting for everyone to leave. Then writer and director Marty Murrey does the obvious and gives you the ghost of Ivy's baby sister, who was drowned on the lake with their parents, and she helps them try to escape - you know this is coming as soon as the accident is mentioned.Then there's the abysmal acting of Ben Elliott, playing Jerry, who is so wooden his second job is as a sideboard. Worst still is Tony Valle as the DJ, Andy; this guy needed some serious direction for his character as he seems to be all over the place.Though, by far, the worst thing about the film is the caretaker's ghostly apparition. The special effects are pitiful. I can't believe that in this day and age they couldn't have found someone to do a better job on the tight budget. Most six-year-olds are quite decent with CGI, maybe one of the crew's kids could've come up with something. Also, why did they bother at all since the spectral image of Ivy's sister was just a normal little girl in grey? Also, the opening scene that takes place in the past is badly shot using sepia and a heavy vignette focus; all that was missing was the cinema lines and noise effects.If you're new to horror films and are wanting to break yourself in easy then you could give this a shot. If you're a fan of horror then you're going to watch this even if I warn you against it because Lance Henriksen stars. Just be aware that it does slow down to a near stop around the midpoint, but it does pick up again, though it never quite reaches nerve tingling excitement.

I gave this a 3-star rating. I was not impressed by this. The acting was fair, certainly nothing great. The storyline was silly. It was slightly reminiscent of I Still Know What You Did Last Summer if that movie was really, really boring with lamer characters than it actually had. There was nothing inspiring about the death scenes at all - no gore at all. The "scares" if you can call them that were not scary. 64 minutes in, there's a special effect of a ghost in the window, which is truly pathetic. Seriously, a boring movie. I do not recommend. I apologize for the review being so boring, but it's an honest reflection of the boring movie I reviewed.