Der Dämon der Insel

I remember seeing a trailer at the Friday evening movie preview program back in the early eighties on Belgian television when I was a kid.They showed the scene where a woman gets stuck in an oven with her arm. Although it took me more than ten years to finally watch it because it was never released on video in the Flemish speaking part of Belgium, only in the french speaking part. I really hope Le Demon Dans L'ile will be released on DVD one day because it's a very well made French horror movie with a lot of gore, suspense and well done special effects. A must have for all horror fans around the world, if you can find it on tape.

This movie is hilarious. A young attractive lady doctor trying to recover from a personal tragedy arrives at a somewhat secluded French island community to work her sorrows away. But a funny thing starts happening just after she arrives -- Local citizens have increasingly dangerous accidents involving otherwise mundane household appliances or objects: Coffee makers shoot scalding water, wine glasses shatter and splinter into mouths, electric carving knives strike back at their operators, razors start chopping away masses of flesh, a microwave oven teaches a chef to keep her cotton pickin' fingers to herself, and finally a small drum of cooking gas explodes, claiming two lives.

Our heroic & somewhat neurotic young doctor senses that the accidents are connected, somehow, and tracks all of the deadly appliances to a local general merchandise store, where they were all purchased brand new just before turning on their would have been owners. Further intrigue involving a sinister local physician, a deformed kid who looks like the Star Child from 2001 crossed with Dennis the Menace, a well-informed Atari computer which doesn't appear to have Defender installed on it, and the indifference of the local population all add to the mix, with our young heroine becoming increasingly hysterical & convinced that some sort of other-worldly influence is at work.

Or at least, that's what *APPEARS* to be going on: I speak exactly four words of French and did not hear them spoken at all during the film's 97 minutes or so & have no idea what the intricacies of the paper thin plot involved. On the other hand it was very easy & somewhat fun to follow along as the story developed, especially the way that the director began to have the use of every day accouterments of life take on a sinister air as people would do otherwise unremarkable tasks like turn on lights, open doors, peel a carrot or just take a bath.

Once you think about it, most of us face potential peril dozens of times a day without even blinking ... like, what if your car got possessed by a demonic force and decided to just not allow the use of your breaks? What if your electric pencil sharpener kept on sucking your whole hand into it's maw? What if you opened up the door of your oven to check on din-dins and were greeted by an exploding ball of flame? That kind of thinking is what drives the interest in this movie, as well as some pretty clever cinematic tricks like the guy who gets sucked into the earth of a cemetery at the very end & the pretty young actress who obligingly removes every stitch of clothing she was wearing because the producers decided the movie needed some nudity.

I'll say one more thing about this movie: For a French horror movie it is decidedly subtle, lacking the all-out assault on the senses usually attributed to French directors like Jean Rollin. And it also has a sort of mundane, every-day ordinariness to it's look that I found to be quite appealing. Even it's strange, telekinesis fueled conclusion in a barn ominously filled with various tools with cutting, chopping, spiking or digging ends dangerously pointing out at the pretty young protagonist. Here is a horror movie that succeeds not by atmosphere or over the top sex & gore, but by being so ordinary that any one of us can relate to what it shows. We face more dangers every day than Rambo did in all three of his movies combined and here is a movie with a macabre sense of humor that makes good use of our justifiable fear of modern life.

7/10; An English translated version would be nice, but whatever: A good movie is a good movie.

Forget visual effects, they are... well... Let's say there is no visual effect. The story ? Forget the story, even scenarist has forgotten the story. Acting is not convincing anybody. As we say in France : "Circulez, y'a rien à voir" ("Go away, there's nothing to see").

The only positive point : it was one of the very rare try for a french fantastic movie.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Demon Is On The Island; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 1.50 Direction: 1.25 Pace: 1.25 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.25

TOTAL: 6.50 out of 10.00.

Welcome to the island. If you weren't born and bred on the isle, you are a foreigner and a person to be distrusted. The insulate's council has deemed their doctor to be such a person and has organised his replacement. Sadly, it won't be a simple matter for Dr Martin to usurp her predecessor, Dr Marshall. He's a controlling egotist with a God complex and a notion that he's indispensable. But Dr Marshall is the least of her problems. There appear to be some strange accidents happening all too frequently to the island's populace. The only common factor that Dr Martin uncovers is that the residents' misfortunes have one focal point; the domestic appliances department at the island's only supermarket. Is somebody tampering with the goods and causing them to become hazardous and, in a couple of incidents, deadly?

The writers Francis Leroi (who also directed) and Owen T Rozmann do a superb job of slowly disclosing the mysterious occurrences whilst building up the main characters' personas and individualities. They create credible and realistic characters and situations. I especially like the relationship between the two medical practitioners. Drs Marshall and Martin are chalk and cheese. They grate on each other's nerves, though Marshall handles his dislike better and employs it whilst attempting to manipulate his successor. As we progress through the story, Leroi and Rozmann inject the odd clue or three as to the cause of the strange accidents. Will you come to the same illogical conclusion that the new general practitioner has trouble accepting? One good element of the story is the islanders' insulated opinions and approaches towards newcomers. It was a shame the writers didn't expand on this a tad more, as in the original Wicker Man. It could've provided a few red herrings. Luckily, the story didn't require any, as there were enough secrets and glamour to keep the viewers enthralled. But it wouldn't have hurt any. The one feature that didn't work so well was the deadly occurrences solution. The reveal should have come a little earlier, or they should've developed the reveal and aftermath more. No sooner do we realise what's happening on the isle, it's over and done. For a narrative that burns slowly, the flare-up at the finale is too fast. I needed more.

Leroi's direction isn't as structurally sound as his writing. Though some scenes are well-thought-out, others come across sloppy - shakey cameras, poor composition, inadequate lighting, etc. Luckily for the viewer, the story and its characters carry you through these segments and shouldn't deplete your enjoyment or engagement. One of the best components of the filmmaking is the effects. The woman's hand trapped inside the oven by a faulty door mechanism is gruesome and looks painful. And had the blood been handled better, the drumming teddy bear's drumstick piercing the kid's eye would've been genuinely startling. However, the blood looks like a blob of Postbox Red paint and spoils the aftereffect of the scene. But you should, "OOH!" and "URGH!" before you giggle.

The cast is excellent in their roles. Anny Duperey and Jean-Claude Brialy are perfect as Dr Martin and Dr Marshall, respectively. Had these two performers not been on the top of their game, their peculiar and captivating bond wouldn't have worked, and the film would've flopped. But not only does it work, but the actors also make it believable.

I can understand why the film won a couple of awards, even though it's far from perfect. It has a Je Ne Sais Quoi. And because of Demon On The Island's strange appeal, I cheerfully recommend it to all the Horror and Sci-Fi fans out there. Even the mystery and thriller lovers may enjoy watching this macabre tale. A great way to waste an hour and three-quarters on a cold winter night wrapped up with your beloved in a comfy duvet.

When's the last ferry off this damned island? Okay, you have time to check out my IMDb lists - Absolute Horror, Killer Thriller Chillers, and The Game Is Afoot to see where I ranked Demon Is On The Island.

Take Care & Stay Well.

Only one comment and a very negative one.It's not that much bad.It will never be a horror classic but it's original,it has a screenplay (95% of horror movies rely on special effects today),and two very good leads:Anny Duperey -some users will remember she was Al Pacino's co-star in "Bobby Deerfield" - is a very attractive woman who never had on the silver screen the parts she deserved and had to content herself with mediocre telly series.She plays a doctor who arrives on an island to be confronted with mystery and a disturbing colleague,doctor Marshall (Jean-Claude Brialy ,whose mischievous performance verges on camp).Domestic appliances go crazy and people are disfigured,maimed,burned ,you name it.And they are unplugged at that! Leroi creates fear in the kitchens and I'm not sure that,after watching "le demon dans l'ile" ,you will use a razor,a stove ,a coffee-maker and even a glass without a reservation.

One can deplore the ending,which is borrowed from De Palma's "Carrie" .But all that remains is entertaining,and Duperey displays resilience and authority all along the way.