Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely ridiculous....., August 8, 2005
I just finished watching this movie about 12 minutes ago and I am still disappointed. The description of this movie is misleading, there are no zombies, no ravenous anythings, just stupidity laced with boredom. I waited for almost an hour for something to happen in this movie, and still nothing.
It starts out as if it is going to be a good movie but it's a lie. Im sure you've read the previous reviews you know the plot, or lack there of. There was one interesting part of the entire movie, and that was when the comic relief died. Now this means two things. For one, it took place in the middle of the movie so that meant the other half is a waste. Second, now there is no entertainment what so ever as far as dialog goes. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME!!!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent idea with flawed/poor execution., November 7, 2003
Island of the Dead is one of those bad movies that I still find something to like about because I just find the concept so interesting/promising. Multi-millionaire developer Rupert King (Malcolm McDowell) has engineered a new low income housing community for the homeless of New York City to be built on Hart Island. Hart Island (a real place) is the Potter's Field of New York, where the homeless and lost are buried in mass graves. What no one realizes is that King has darker motives (linked to his ties with medical research) in store for the future residents of Hope City. Meanwhile a Missing Persons detective (Talisa Soto in a wasted role) is tracking down the last victim of 'The Double Dutch Killings' in hopes of laying to rest the haunting image of the dead girls skipping rope. This is a hope that most of the audience will share, as we see the trio skipping rope and chanting a morbid little ditty over and over and over and over again. Sadly screenwriters Tim Southam (who also directed) and Peter Koper (who came up with the promising idea) fail to develop these two storylines or the characters and their subplots in any great detail. This forces director Southam to pad the movie with far too many 'atmospheric' music montages and gives co-star Talisa Soto nothing to do but look sullen and haunted (this after giving her character an intriguing introduction, pity). Sadly the 'vengeful fury of the dead' is unleashed via a hord of illness inducing insects (as opposed to simple zombies) with little information given to the viewer as to why it is happening. One or two ghostly spectres or whispering voices would have helped, so you can add the trio of little girls to the list of missed opportunities. What this movie badly needed was a major reworking of its core story elements, especially in regards to the supernatural aspects in the second and third acts, then, perhaps, it might have been better. If you really want to depress yourself, just think what Terence Fisher, Jimmy Sangster (or John Elder), Peter Cushing, and Christopher Lee could have done with this material back in the glory days of Hammer Studios. So it goes.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Tedious, August 14, 2001
By A Customer
This was one lame movie, a tedious mishmash which looked good on the Blockbuster shelf, but which conspired to put me to sleep. The faux artsy flashbacks, the deadly pacing, and the general sense of pointlessness made me hope that perhaps Jesse Franco was involved, but even his movies have more inspiration. Malcolm McDowell looks tired. Sad, sad, sad.
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