Looking back at my "informative horror movie years" as a little kid, I always would tune into the Creature Double-Feature on my local TV station on Saturday afternoons, and if it crawled, flew, slithered and generally terrorized the masses in force, then I was riveted. Now over the years many have come and gone with a plethora of mutated monster movies that have somewhat fit the bill and satiated the genre faithful, but nothing (to me anyway) really managed to scratch the itch. I know that everyone's taste is different and the subjective mind can be fickle at many costs, but the latest film from director Adam Werth struck the bullseye for this reviewer, without a doubt.
With credits under his belt such as "Scream 4" & the upcoming "Devil's Knight", Werth takes the approach of the "who's hunting us?" plot-pathway and strands a downed plane full of vacationers (and a few less-than-desirables) on a secluded island to fend for themselves and try to save their skin from a menacing presence that hides in the greenery of the isle itself. The notion that this film begins with an FBI shootout and subsequent arrest of a notorious arms dealer (Noel Guglielmi in a fun role), then turns into something completely wayward from the original direction is a credit to the writing - hey, there's nothing wrong with a little trickery & misdirection in filmmaking! In all actuality a good chunk of the first half of the film is used to set up many of the characters involved...many of which are intended to be despised and thrown down on a scorecard as to whom will get sliced & diced first. Tom Sizemore (in a far-too-short exhibit) plays a grizzled flight steward, accompanying a slightly sleazy FBI agent (Wesley Cannon), a goth named Midnight (Greg Tally) who excels in the art of dramaticism, and absolutely the shining-star of this entire production, the beautiful Sarah French as Carolyn, the heroine-deluxe. If I were to list everyone that chewed screen-time in this one I'd be here til the sun went down, but trust me when I tell you that it's chock-full of personalities & a line-up that keeps the movie rolling along.
Our rag-tag band of fuselage-leftovers is classed in the art of survival by Bruce (John Wells) a combat-infused remnant who claims to have sustained on the island for MANY years, and he offers to assist with the preservation of the group - while some catch on, others are left to fend for themselves, with disastrous results. The threat behind the weeds is reminiscent of those old creature flicks, with men in monster suits - complete with luminescent eyes, sharp fangs & tearing talons - it's not meant to re-invent the wheel but it's nice to see the practical use of FX over what has become a CGI-saturated market (there is a share of that here, but not enough to detract from the main product). As the movie trucks on, it's becoming apparent that there's more than meets the eye, and the only questions that remain are who is behind all of this ferocity and will anyone make it off the island alive? Performances can be a bit hokey at times with some performances, but come on...were you expecting "On Golden Pond" here?
All in all, "Bermuda Island" has the guts, the gore, the scenery and the carnivorous activity of some seriously pissed-off mutants - it's absolutely a popcorn film and is best served up with a group of pals, some cold ones and a serious suspension of disbelief - make sure to check this one out if you get the chance.
