BERMUDA ISLAND (REVIEW)

Dir. Adam Werth

Reviewer. Martyn Wakefield

THE DESCENT meets THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU as a plane hits turbulence and crash lands in the infamous island where the disaster is only the first of their problems.

Opening up like a lost episode of an episode of FBI, the introduction of a drug dealer and the agents sets the alpha dominance tone that soon falls on the island but sometimes bravado isn't enough to survive as they come across inhabitants who are part zombie, part CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. With plenty of food for them to feast on, it's not long before the survivor numbers start reducing.

This b-movie horror features an array of acting talent from the poor to the passable and Tom Sizemore is somewhere in the middle as the drama that plays out between the plane crew evolves into predictable territory for survival horror. As they fight amongst themselves, it becomes apparent that none of the characters are particularly likable and as such when there are deaths, it never really amounts to more than a few minutes of delicious bloodshed with no emotional attachment. Fortunately, BERMUDA ISLAND is less about the struggling hierarchical politics of survivor movies and more about the care free monster movies of yesteryear and the inhabitants of the island resemble more 60s science fiction than anything truly terrifying.

Balanced somewhere between loveable homage and its own sense of storytelling, the budget constraints are fortunately not entirely restrictive allowing for some practical effects which could see this become something of a cult classic over time. Something closer to TROLL 2 than TREMORS though.