Le démon dans l'île

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.

"Demon of the Island" is a moody and somewhat forgotten horror flick which features a young female doctor,who arrives on a remote island to escape her painful past.Once there strange and macabre accidents begin happening to the townsfolk.Investigating these phenomena leads the doctor to a strange conclusion as it seems that household appliances or objects are becoming deadly.The people are wounded or killed by an oven,a boiler pot and a fuel can.Heck,there is even wind-up teddy bear that pokes out a child's eye with a drumstick."Demon of the Island" offers some genuine suspense and macabre mood.The ordinary setting of the island makes it even more unsettling and memorable.If you like bizarre horror movies in the vein of Jeff Lieberman's "Blue Sunshine" you can't miss "Demon of the Island".

This brought back memories, I had obviously seen the film when I was younger. A rather rare film today, currently only available as a TV rip. The French flair is as obvious as the attempt to cover as many genres as possible. Mystery, crime thriller, drama, mad scientist and even a little splatter. It succeeds harmoniously and both the suspense and the entertainment level are maintained throughout. There are many bloody interludes, which stylistically anticipate the 'Final Destination' series, for example, but are more amusing than convincingly realised. The atmosphere is generally best described as grubby. Knowing how, the director was usually more into soft erotica. Emmanuelle here, Emmanuelle there. Here, however, it stays with covered skin. The main cast performs convincingly, but the smaller roles fall well short. A nice journey through time, but personally not a film for the collection.

Gabrielle (Anny Duperey), a young doctor, accepts a job on an isolated island. When she arrives, she finds out there is already a doctor there, Dr. Marsahll (Jean-Claude Brialy), but no one trusts him. Soon the islands inhabitants find themselves the recipients of freak accidents involving everyday household items. The only connecting factor is all of the offending items (razor, electric carving knife, pressure cooker, coffee maker) came from the same store in town. Naturally, it is up to the curious new doc to investigate. This is certainly a change of pace for director Francis Leroi as he spent most of his cinematic career doing the softcore stuff (and later the EMMANUELLE sequels of the 1990s). The setting is nice and atmospheric and the plot will make you think someone spent some time watching Cronenberg's THE BROOD and SCANNERS. Lead Duperey is good. Make sure to marvel at how much she smokes (giving Elliot Gould in THE LONG GOODBYE a run for his money.)

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.