Stranded

Though flawed in several ways, especially in the acting department, this made-for-TV flick does deliver mystery and chills. The film begins as if it were a night-time extension of the "The View," where Barbara Walters and a coterie of similar minds sit around exchanging so-called women ideas in meaningless chitchat. The viewer is anxious for the slashing to begin to eliminate these boring, inane persons, the motive for the killings being bad acting. Then director Kern Konwiser gets the show moving to become entertaining, worthwhile escapist fare.

The plot provides plenty of mystery and intrigue. It seems five attractive young women, really six but one stays behind for business reasons, are on vacation in the Caribbean. One is about to become a bride so her pals wish to treat her to an exciting getaway. As much as the women love men it is somewhat of a puzzle why they want to get away from it all and spend one day on a deserted island. But indeed they do. A rather scroungy, rude "captain" of a rather tattered boat who speaks only Spanish takes them to the isolated island with orders to return for them at the end of the day. Guess what? No show. The five damsels in distress must now fend for themselves until someone comes to their rescue. But who? No one knows where they have gone except the questionable "captain" who has now disappeared. Gradually, they discover they are not alone. Then one by one the women begin to disappear, reminding one of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None," beginning with five instead of ten. Fortunately, for those left wandering on the island, the sixth pal gets free from her business endeavor, flies to join them, then attempts to seek them out when she finds them missing.

Just when the viewer thinks he/she has figured out the mystery, a new element of suspense is introduced. There are clues given from the beginning so it is possible to unravel the mystery as the show progresses but it requires the viewer to pay close attention to details. Not of Agatha Christie stature; still not bad for a TV movie.

Where the film ultimately falters is in the acting department which is amateurish at best. The top performance is by Carlos Ponce who in reality has only a bit part as Chief Inspector Raddimus; yet he heads the cast, which says a lot about the others, most of whom are newcomers to the medium.

The movie opens with a scene depicting a man landing on an uninhabited island ,paying the boatman who dropped him off there and proceeding to a small ,delapited shack where he pins up the photographs of 5 beautiful young women.

Later we see those self same women arrive at a luxury hotel on a nearby island and are then taken to the island shown in the opening scene .They have been assured the boatman-its the same one -will return for them soon .He does not and the group are stranded on the island with the unseen stranger ,a man who clearly has fell designs on the group.They begin to unravel ,as the veneer of sophistication is stripped away and soon there are deaths .The one hope is a friend who arrives from New York and who may be able to track them down .

The plot is predictable and while decorative the leads are unlikely to win any acting awards .The good location photography is a decided asset in what is a moderate time passer but nothing more .The predictable script and obvious twist ending are liabilities but providing you do not expect too much this just about passes muster

I gave it a five because it was not all that bad. It had beauties galore for the men and eye candy for the women. . Beautiful beaches and lush tropics for all of us. I read where one reader said they watched for Erica Durance in a bikini. She was but not for long. Kept putting that damn shirt top back on. The plot was fair,acting well done. Not a bad way to waste a couple hours on a rainy Sunday afternoon. That's what it's doing here. thirty-nine degrees and raining. Still the movie moves along well, and finally we find out what has been a secret all along. Oh, well watch it to find out. I enjoyed it and will watch again.

The plot could have been interesting--even suspenseful--if the script had been better and it had been executed by a cast that could actually act.

As is, the movie is so cheesy and the acting so atrocious that you cannot help but watch just to laugh at the sheer absurdity of it. Of course, there is also "eye-candy" to distract people from how utterly and horribly insipid the movie is as a whole.

I actually find it shocking that any of the cast managed to make acting their career. Hopefully, they took some acting lessons along the way.

I will say that the location/setting was quite lovely. In the hands of a more capable screenwriter and far better actors, the premise of this movie would make a good film worthy of the term "suspense."

I am still shell shocked, after watching this shameful waste of a beautiful island. I watched it from beginning to end as I seriously thought it was a joke, and was waiting for the big 'reveal', but it never came.

Looking through the credits and at all of those involved, amazes me how they all got paid for this embarrassment.

The acting (and I use that word with hesitation), was non-existent.

I can't even try to be witty, as my head is still spinning in disbelief.

I wonder what has happened to the cast ? Can't say that I have seen any of them on the big screen. My advice to all of them is to leave this movie off their CV's. It will do nothing for their careers.