Customer Reviews

Island of the Fishmen

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Island of the Fishmen is presented in an anamorphic widescreen that preserves the film's original aspect ratio. This transfer has been flagged for progressive playback. The DVD case lists how this transfer was sourced from original negative elements and the end result is one of the better looking transfers from Mya Communication. The source used is in excellent shape with vibrant colors, natural looking flesh tones, black levels fare well and details look generally sharp throughout. To date this is the third DVD release of Island of the Fishmen that I have come across with the previous two being a German DVD release from Marketing Film and an Italian DVD release from No Shame. The German DVD release which has English language opening credits is the weakest release of the three (it is also interlaced) and the Italian DVD release which has Italian language opening credits appears to have used the same source that is used for this DVD from Mya Communication.

This release comes with two audio options a Dolby Digital mono mix in English and a Dolby Digital mono mix in Italian (there are no English subtitles included with this release). The English audio mix is the stronger of the two as there are no problems with background noise or any other audio defects. Also dialog is crystal clear and everything sounds balanced throughout. There is some mild background noise present on the Italian audio mix.

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer for the film (3 minutes 47 seconds - in Italian, no English subtitles) and a photo gallery with 27 images (stills / posters). Overall Island of the Fishmen gets a strong audio / video presentation from Mya Communication.

ISLAND OF THE FISHMEN is one of three films belonging to director Sergio Martino's Adventure trilogy, which also includes BIG ALLIGATOR RIVER and gore shocker MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD. In it, a prison boat capsizes on an uncharted island, where the surviving shipmates fall prey to a species of mutated fishmen with a taste for blood! They soon discover that they are not alone, and that there is more to fear in the secretive doctor working on the island. Much of the action and horror has ultimately been reduced in place of the wordy dialogue in this specific cut of the film, but between the island's many booby traps, pitfalls, and amphibious terrors, the pacing maintains a steady flow. ISLAND'S full-bodied creature designs and miniatures are considerably well-made for the budget, recalling Roger Corman's HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP that would follow two years later. Where the film finds the most fault is in its familiar Z-movie plotting, bland writing, and stock characters. Falling somewhere between Martino's other two Adventure films, ISLAND OF THE FISHMEN is a mildly entertaining creature-feature that is sure to appeal to Italian film buffs.

-Carl Manes
I Like Horror Movies

The steam was gone from Italian cinema by the mid-70`s, and by this time (1979), it was just capitalizing on knocking-off whatever the 'flavor-of-the-month' movie was popular. Even directors who once did great flix like Sergio Martino ('Torso', 'All The Colors Of The Dark', 'Case Of The Scorpion`s Tail','Strange Vice Of Mrs. Wardh','Gambling City', 'Your Vice Is A Locked Room', etc.) had jumped on this bandwagon with varying degrees of success. Ruggerio Deodato struck gold with the original exploitation masterpiece 'Jungle Holocaust' in `77, based in part on a newly discovered cannibal tribe in South America (no joke), and Sergio struck w/ 'Slave Of The Cannibal God'/'Mountain Of The Cannibal God', the following year going back to the jungle to film both 'Big Alligator River' and 'Island Of The Fishmen', which both had the same actors and locations, for the most part. This one is less exploitive than the others mentioned, but it`s equal parts 'Creature Of The Black Lagoon','Island Of Dr. Moreau','Jungle Holocaust', and the creatures look like those from 'Horror At Party Beach' (1964). This is low-class-cheese-on-the-seas, for certain - bad acting,weak script,cheap sets,ridiculous monsters, you name it, it`s all right here. It`s good if you like campy monster flix and want a few laughs, but little else. The only real horror here is hearing Italian actors speak with British accents. These films proved Barbara Bach was no more than eye-candy, and the curse of being a 'Bond' girl struck again - no actress ever went on to become anything bigger after being in one. Sad but true.

I loved this film back when it was called SCREAMERS. And I knew they were going to release the non gory fantasy version, which was okay with me as long as we were finally getting a good qualaty picture version. Wrong!! The one I got looked worse than my old VHS copy. The darks were too dark. the colors all faded looking, and some time during the night scenes, you cuold see these wierd bluish blobs appearing in the blackness. They must have found the oldest, crustiest copy of this for their transfer, because it really did not look very good. Maybe screamers will one day get a DVD release and they'll at least have a decent old tape to transfer it with. They can borrow mine!

Don't bother with this disc, it's poor quality and when I tried playing it via my dvd boosted to 1080 on my LCD-TV, the picture quality was more atrocious than the movie. To make matters worse I thought or was at least hoping this was or would have Screamers in there somewhere. Please would some good quality company release Screamers as Island Of The Fishmen plays out like a Disney film gone wrong.

Island of the Fishmen is about a shipwrecked doctor and respective prisoners who drift to a strange, secluded island and start croaking either by outlandish traps or by ferocious humanoid Fishmen that ascend from the water to destroy them.

Even for Italian horror this is sluggish; plodding acting, straggling editing, unconvincing but fun models, and illiterate script. I'm dumbfounded that Barbara Bach and Joseph Cotton kept their real names on the credits. Though Barbara Bach looks especially hot, and the ferocious humanoid Fishmen are moderately peculiar looking.

In many ways this is a typical Italian cheap, exploitation version style movie. It is an inferior rip off of The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977) with an empty-headed Atlantis plot superimposed in. The story, such as it is, is fairly good for this genre, but it is quite slow and inconsequential on action so it still falls flat. Also, the island doctor isn't named Doctor Moreau. His name is Edmond Hackham and Prof. Ernest Marvin. This is a lethargic paced story that may not quite live up to "The Island of Dr. Moreau" in terms of self-assuredness, but I found it simple cheese entertainment.

This is NOT the 'horror' version. This is the PG 'children's fantasy adventure' version.

MYA really should make this clear on the cover and NOT list it's alternate titles (with added gore; Screamers, Island of the Mutations, Something Waits in the Dark).

This has none of the gore inserts and is ninety-nine minutes of pure tedium, unless you want to see a film that's like 'Warlords of Atlantis' but with lower production values and all the action sucked out of it. And no Doug McLure.

THIS IS A PRETTY CHEESY MOVIE. DURING THE LATE 70'S AND EARLY 80'S ITALY BASICALLY TRIED TO CASH IN ON THE SUCCESS OF U.S. MOVIES WITH THEIR "REVISIONS". ZOMBI2 WAS TO CASH IN ON DAWN OF THE DEAD. BOTH OUTSTANDING FILMS. IN THIS CASE IT WAS TO CASH IN ON THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU. UNFORTUNATELY THIS FILM IS NOT NEARLY AS GOOD. I GAVE IT 4 STARS BECAUSE ITS STILL A FUN MOVIE TO WATCH IF YOU ARE A FAN OF ITALIAN CINEMA. THE GUY WHO DIRECTED THIS IS ACTUALLY A VERY INTELLIGENT AND GOOD DIRECTOR. HE DID MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD THE SAME YEAR I BELIEVE. THIS MOVIE WAS ALSO KNOWN AS "SCREAMERS" HERE IN THE STATES. THIS WILL BE THE FIRST DVD RELEASE IN THE STATES I BELIEVE, AND THIS ONE IS 9 MINUTES LONGER THAN THE PAL VERSION. (WONDER WHATS THE 9 MIN ABOUT) WELL SEE HERE SHORTLY. BY THE WAY SPEAKING OF ZOMBI2, RICHARD JOHNSON IS IN THIS FILM TOO. I THINK THATS WHY I GAVE IT THE 4TH STAR... I AM RATING THE "L'isola degli uomini pesce" VERSION, SO THIS ONE MIGHT BE BETTER, AS FAR AS QUALITY AND THE EXTRA 9 MINUTES ARE CONCERNED.