Session: Aquatic Horrors, Week 2
Movie: Screamers (1979)
Directed by Sergio Martino
As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL
Plot:
In the Caribbean, a greedy sadist is using a race of fishmen to plunder the riches of Atlantis. Hilarity ensues.
Reaction:
I should mention at the outset that I don't like the title, Screamers. The original title, Island of the Fishmen is much better. When Roger Corman got his hands on the original Italian film, he cut out a half hour of footage that he felt slowed it down, added a new beginning (which really doesn't fit), and rebranded it. But, to my ears, Screamers sounds like a generic title that could be applied to a wide variety of movies. Island of the Fishmen is much more descriptive and evocative -- though it also may make the thing sound trashy. Which may be reasonably accurate.
As for why Corman's beginning doesn't fit, there are a few reasons, but what it comes down to is that his intro is more lurid and over-the-top than the rest of the film. There are shades of Return of the Living Dead, which set up the viewer to demand things of the plot which never get delivered. To a degree, Screamers is largely a retelling of Island of Dr. Moreau, but with fishmen. With that in mind, it's reasonably clear to follow.
I had a hard time seeing this as a 1979 movie, as it felt like something from two decades or so earlier. In some ways, my mind kept coming back to the classic monster movies from the 1950's except this was in color. Vivid color. And for some reason, when I wasn't thinking of those 1950's monster movies I was thinking of Jules Verne.
Ratings:
Me: 6.5
Christina: 9.1
Ethan: 7
Sean: 2 out of 4
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