Doomwatch

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

Sent to take some routine measurements and samples from a small island Dr. Del Shaw (a clunker of a name) finds himself surrounded by the stock British movie type locals who mutter lines like: "We Don't take too kindly to strangers pokin' their noses in other people's affairs in these parts" before going off to mutter ominously in small groups.

The Villagers obviously Have Something To Hide. And, after a lot of shouting down the island's only telephone, and trips to London to offend stiff military types, Doctor Del and the Doomwatch team discover the seas around the island are teaming with huge fish stuffed to the gills with illegally dumped human Pituitary growth hormone which is causing the island's population to develop an unpronounceable disease.

Medical help is sent to the island and (potentialy) destroys the very community it went there to help.

The plot of this film is full of holes. No more so, maybe, than any other film. But because of the total lack of tension and interest developed in what should be a terrible and horrifying situation they stand out like sore thumbs.

Are we expected to believe for instance that Geeson's character (the school mistress) hasn't noticed one of her pupils has vanished? What the hell kind of spooky radiation "makes gas" in sealed containers of growth hormone. Would Human hormones make zooplankton grow to unusually large size - I doubt it; I can buy it having an affect on mammals but not microscopic plankton. Why does the fisherman from the mainland only sell his fish to the islanders? etc. etc. I know these sound like little nit-picky questions but when you are trying to make a intelligent piece, like the makers of this film obviously tried to do, you need to fill these logical gaps. When the screen is full of Naked Flesh eating Vanpire Lesbian Zombies riding Harleys you can let the odd solecism go by but when you are watching one driven man trying to solve a scientific mystery you've got to expect the audience to be more critical.

The ending of this film should have been heartbreaking as the islanders pack up and leave for the mainland, their way of life destroyed by uncaring corporations, and then by the people who try to clean up the mess. But it isn't. The fault lies I suspect with the direction. The script is not good - structurally it's a mess, with the 'mystery' solved half way through, the story has nowhere else to go and just flops about as Bannon tries to organise a town meeting.

Ian Bannen is a useful actor but here he just gives a very one note performance alternating, for the most part, between 'Angry' and 'Very Angry'. Again I suspect shoddy direction.

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.

This feature film version of the British TV series of the same name uses some of the actors from the show, while adding Ian Bannen and the lovely young Judy Geeson for name value. Bannen stars as Del Shaw, a doctor with the title department of the government. They investigate effects of pollution on the environment. Del is sent to Balfe, an island community where the locals go out of their way to NOT make him welcome. What's more, chemical dumping in an off limits area has affected the fish in the waters and subsequently the islanders that have eaten them. In addition to being surly and violent, they fall victim to acromegaly as well.

Overall, this is a reasonably absorbing story, but pay no attention to false advertising. This is NOT a horror film, but more of a drama that tries to play things in a somewhat realistic manner. Thrills and suspense are minimal. The makeup effects are decent, but you don't see much of them until the end. The story is pretty simple, and straightforward, with clear cut villains and heroes. Actually, it tends to work better when Bannen's not around. The supporting characters are fine, but Del is a rather ridiculous guy, and Bannens' performance is not one of his better ones. He tends to shout his lines, and overreact.

Geeson has some appeal as a schoolteacher who is something of an outsider herself, and wants to maintain her relations with these superstitious and religious islanders. John Paul (Dr. Quist), Simon Oates (Dr. Ridge), and Joby Blanshard (Bradley) all come from the series, and they do alright. George Sanders is the special guest star, with Percy Herbert ("One Million Years B.C."), Shelagh Fraser ("Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope"), Geoffrey Keen (who appeared in four of the James Bond adventures), Norman Bird ("Cash on Demand"), and James Cosmo ("Trainspotting") all providing solid support.

"Doomwatch" scores some marks for good intentions, and for ending in a believable enough manner.

Six out of 10.

I remember catching the original BBC TV series of Doomwatch as a kid and found it to be quite unsettling and grim although I didn't really know what was going on. The big screen version made in 1972 is just as grim and downbeat as I remember the series to be only this time with an over excitable Ian Bannen guest starring and it being more on location than confined to a studio.

The producers obviously didn't think the series regulars had enough star power to pull in cinema goers as they get side-lined into supporting roles. It's left to Bannen and Judy Geeson to try to make sense of an uninspired script which takes itself far too seriously in an earnest attempt to raise questions about corporations damaging the environment.

Whilst the film is often mistaken as a horror it is much more science fiction along the lines of Quatermass than horror as nothing horrific really happens, but it does unsettle being set on a remote island with strange locals who have something to hide.

The finale is neither shocking nor unexpected and for a big screen outing it doesn't try hard enough to give the audience something to get their teeth intobut having said that it has just enough intrigue to make you stick with it thanks to a familiar crop of guest supporting actors like George Sanders and Geoffrey Keen. Hammer Films director Peter Sasdy keeps things plodding along whilst attempting to create a taut atmosphere out of a clunky script within the constraints of the low budget provided by Tony Tenser's Tigon films.

No doubt fans of the original cult series will be curious enough to want to check this out.