Destino Fatal

A group of actors arrive at a private island of begin shooting for a movie. They start getting killed off to the words of a punk rock song whose chorus is "Burn me, stab me, chop me, nail me, boil me, saw me" ! If you can look beyond the average acting and mostly poor script the movie is half way decent. It does hold your interest, some of the killings are decent and the song the victims get killed to is catchy! The ending has a good twist too, which I won't give away. Island Of Blood is not a tereffic horror film but it isn't too bad either. Hard core horror fans will not be totally let down. Still most casual fans, won't appreciate the low budget feel to the movie. That is just too bad!! If you are into 70's-80's slasher fare, this one is worth a look.

A producer, director and seven cast members meet on a small isle off the coast of SoCal to make a movie, hosted by a curmudgeonly recluse. People immediately start dying in dubious ways. Who's the killer and why is he or she murdering them?

"Island of Blood" (1982), also known as "Whodunit" and "Scared Alive," is an obscure early 80's slasher that starts well enough with a little droll humor and Bari Suber being notable on the feminine front as BJ (her only role as an actress). Marie-Alise Recasner is also effective as Donna.

Unfortunately, there's not enough human interest to hold one's attention as the characters are cardboard. Worse, the second half devolves into dull chase/assault sequences in the dark and, mostly, inside a schoolhouse. The ending is quite good, however; a nice surprise.

The contemporaneous "Humongous" (1982) and "The Slayer" are better films of this ilk, as are the later "April Fool's Day" (1986) and "American Gothic" (1987). By "ilk," I mean slashers with the milieu of a remote island. "A Bay of Blood" (1971) is another example, although that's set at a bay, yet similar enough.

The flick runs 1 hour, 19 minutes, and was shot at Paradise Cove, Malibu (beach and island scenes), Dana Point Harbor (marina) and San Fernando Valley.

GRADE: C.

Not the most inspired slasher; but after a slow start, the practical fx /kills start chugging along at a decent pace, along with a satisfying conclusion. The characters range from likeable to complete one dimensional cardboard cutouts. I'd be very interested to see an uncut HD transfer since most of the film is extremely dark. If you're a slasher / horror aficionado, definitely watch this at least once. It has that comfort food early slasher vibe I dig.

In the movie's best scene, a girl is showering and we are treated to an amusing killer's point of view shot. He is looking at her through a hole in the wall, but then turns to the pipes where a make-shift plastic jug labeled "battery acid" is attached. Soon the girl is covered in black goo and blood and dies an agonizing death. "Island of Blood" is not one of the most gory slasher, some of the deaths are pretty sick, while others are more standard. Sure enough there is a twist ending and horror fans will be pleased since it involves exploitation films. I won't say how. The movie did finish on an exciting note, but it saves all its clever moments for the end. Not totally crazy from start to finish like I had hoped.

A group of either annoying or bland actors are taken to an island to film a low budget movie and are killed, one by one, by someone obsessed with the lyrics of a punk rock song a la And Then There Were None.

It's not the concept of Island of Blood that's bad, but the execution is as uninspired as murder mysteries can get. It's impossible to feel anything for the victims as they're barely given names let alone character development and even though some of the murder scenes try to be a little creative, that's about the only thing I could recommend this film for. If you're interested in seeing a guy boiled alive in a pool, a guy getting a spear through his eye, and a woman being brunt with battery acid while showering, go ahead and give it a shot, but keep your finger on the fast forward button for everything in between.