Doomwatch

In this big screen adaptation of the popular BBC TV series of the same name created by Gerry Davis and Kit Pedlar (the brains behind Dr Who's iconic Cybermen), Ian Bannen stars as an investigator working for the British ecological watchdog group nicknamed Doomwatch. He discovers that locals living on a remote Cornish island are becoming violent and hostile towards outsiders, as well as showing signs of physical deformity, after eating fish contaminated by drums of growth stimulants that have been dumped offshore by a shadowy government agency. Despite being released by Tigon Films (the people who brought us Witchfinder General and The Blood Beast Terror), and directed by Peter Sasdy fresh from completing work on Hammers 'Hands of the Ripper,' Doomwatch isn't really a horror movie at all, and genre fans may be put off by the talkative script and lack of action set pieces in this eco thriller which still seems strangely relevant in these modern times. It was released in the States as Island of the Ghouls.

Firstly, this is NOT a horror movie (And who thought up the cannibalistic islanders?). The film is about the devastation that comes from the pollution of one the islands beaches with synthetic hormones.

The islanders, having been made to suspect that the physical and mental deformities they're suffering from are caused by generations of inbreeding, regard the coming of an environmentalist as a threat to their community. They hide the sick and try to make sure that nothing 'wrong' is found. The movie is about the struggle of an environmentalist to find out what's the matter with the island, and then the struggle to educate the population about the cause and possible solutions for the problems.

All in all not a bad environmental drama, reminds me a bit of the Minimata disaster in Japan. I give it a 7 out of 10, mainly for the atmosphere on the island and the balls it must have taken to make this film in '72.

Whenever I want to watch a late-night BBC movie, I always check the IMDb site first to find out if it is worth to stay up for. At first I had my doubts about this one, but I'm certainly glad to have seen it.

Without being patronizing, idealistic or action filled, this movie is the most realistic movies about the environment. Some might say it lacks gore and monsters, but that is not the point of this film. It has interesting twists and turns and the characters all are reacting very unexpected. Again, this may confuse the average Sylvester Stallone fan, but for me it was very pleasant to see a movie with intelligent plot.

The movie could be seen as some thriller/horror crossover, but the strange thing about this one is that the story isn't about zombies and that it has a unsatisfying ending, which is good. No pointing fingers, no big stormy weather scenes and no action hero stuff.

If you hated "The day after tomorrow", you'll like this one. Cause this one might prove that environmentalists aren't always right...

I give this one a 8/10

In a far-flung island called Balfe just off the Cornish coast arrives a doctor (Ian Bannen) tasked by a government agency to investigate strange events , as he has to study the after effects of a recent oil tanker spill , as the waters surrounding become contaminated by chemical dumping . Once there the locals are very cold towards him and rather disturbingly they reject him .Along the way he finds a corpse in some local forests and he is also hitten by a deformed man in a barn . There he meets a beautiful children teacher (Judy Geeson) who helps him figure out the causes that create rare results on local people . An ecological nightmare gone berserk! Now on the big screen - Doomwatch means terror . A new terror!

This is a nice chiller , though a little bit boring and slow-moving, being based on a British famous notorious TV series which made star Robert Powell before his role was killed off . In fact in this story results to be one of 13 titles included in Avco Embassy's Nightmare Theater package syndicated for television in 1975 , series regulars Simon Oates , John Trend , John Paul take a back seat appearing as secondaries , while the real protagonists Ian Bannen and Judy Geeson provide decent interpretations . Doomwatch refers to the name of a Government environmental that assigns underling scientist Dr. Del Shaw , Ian Bannen , on an allegedly routine mission . As Ian Bannen gives an acceptable acting as a scientist who discovers a chemical company is dumping poison into local waters causing horrible consequences when the villagers eat the catch of the day , while Judy Geeson is pretty good as the local schoolteacher, who aids him on Balfe . Other prestigious secondaries showing up are as follows : Percy Herbert , Norman Bird , the veteran classic actor George Sanders as a Minister , Geoffrey Keen habitual support in James Bond films and a young James Cosmo.

It contains a splendid and atmospheric musical score by the prolific John Scott . As well as Kenneth Talbot's rich cinematography full of colour and with varying shades of red. The motion picture titled Doomwatch or Island of the Ghouls (United States) Holocausto radiactivo (Spain) was professionally directed by Peter Sasdy with some flaws and gaps , as it has some scenes that result to be of variable quality . Sasdy was a fine craftsman who directed a lot of fims with penchant for terror, Adventure and thriller such as : Taste the blood of Dracula, Countess Dracula , Hands of the Ripper, Nothing but the night, Doomwatch, Young warlord, King Arthur the young warlord, I don't want to be born, The devil' undead, 13 Reunion, Rude awakening, The two faces of evil, The lonely lady, among others . Rating 6/10. Acceptable and passable. The picture will appeal to British chiller aficionados.

Scientist, Dr. Del Shaw is sent to a remote Cornish island to investigate the effects of a tanker spill on the local wildlife. On arrival on the island, he is immediately struck by the strangeness of its inhabitants, they are dismissive and suspicious of him, they seem wary of outsiders and he struggles to find a room for the one night of his stay. As he goes about his business collecting marine samples, he is aware that he is being followed, he begins to feel he may be in danger, some odd nocturnal goings on make him even ,ore suspicious that there is something amiss on the island and when he finds the shallow grave of a child he knows for sure there is. The set up is excellent, both in mood and atmosphere, one is left with the distinct impression that a Wicker Man type plot is imminent, but sadly the film never lives up to those lofty heights and instead turns out to be more of an ecological drama, interesting but never as compelling as it could have been.