Rating: **
Review Date: 11/3/24
Director: Sergio Martino
Cast: Barbara Bach, Claudio Cassinelli, Richard Johnson, cameo by Joseph Cotten
A group of survivors from a wrecked prison ship end up on a strange island where they encounter voodoo rituals and horrifying fishmen from the deep. They also run into a megalomaniacal man named Edmond Rackham (sneering Richard Johnson) and the alluring and mysterious Amanda Marvin (Barbara Bach). It starts out as a promising riff on "The Island Of Dr. Moreau" with madmen and creepy creatures, but it falls apart towards the end when mad scientist Joseph Cotten shows up in a thankless cameo role. The overly long climax involves a battle against Rackham and the mutant fishmen, the treasure of Atlantis, and a volcano that destroys the island.
It's a good-looking film and the tropical locations look splendid. Claudio Cassinelli makes a charming hero and Richard Johnson makes a superb villain, but it's the frizzy-haired Barbara Bach who ends up stealing the show. The fishmen of the title are equally scary and silly looking, and the miniature work is pretty good. The voodoo element is never explained and seems to only exist to add another creepy factor and foretell the fate of the island. Surprisingly, the film doesn't contain any gore or nudity, apart from some nastiness involving a gratuitous voodoo sacrifice that should have been cut from the film. I was initially planning to give it three stars, but my interest seriously dropped in the second half as it became increasingly sillier.