Doomwatch

I was about 11 when the popular BBC TV series of the day "Doomwatch" aired and vaguely remember watching it at the time. Back then, if a TV show took off it would often be stretched into a film (it still happens today of course, witness "The X Files" or "Sex and the City"), although it was usually comedy shows which got the movie treatment then ("Porridge", "Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads", " Steptoe and Son" etc) rather than dramas.

So watching this was like reliving a little of my childhood, but it did live up to my expectations in engaging and entertaining, if not exactly thrilling me. Ian Bannen and Judy Geeson (plus the ever-smooth George Sanders as a Navy bigwig) are added to the normal cast to give a little star-power to proceedings and both acquit themselves well, although the former does look a little silly at times in his chic white skip-cap!

The plot is reminiscent of the "Damned" pictures of the 60's but also anticipates "The Wicker Man" in its depiction of an establishment figure exploring a mystery in a closed island community, although the latter of course, played up the horror content and came up with a much more dramatic climax. The direction is satisfactory although I found some of the night scenes to be poorly lit and almost impossible to make out clearly.

The ecological message at the heart of the show, sorry film comes through loud and clear, but I guess my unintentional slip there confirms the contention that it rarely breaks out of small-screen mode to really pass muster as a cinematic experience.

One for the living room and not the theatre.

Doomwatch is directed by Peter Sasdy and adapted to screenplay by Clive Exton from the TV series written by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis. Ian Bannen, Judy Geeson, John Paul, Simon Oates, Jean Trend, Joby Blanshard, George Sanders, Percy Herbert, Shelagh Fraser and Geoffrey Keen. Music is by John Scott and cinematography by Kenneth Talbot.

An environmental research agency known as "Doomwatch" sends Dr. Dell Shaw (Bannen) to the Cornish Island of Balfe to research the effects of an oil spill. Once there Dell finds the villagers on the island are hostile and secretive and it soon becomes apparent that something is very amiss on the island.

Inbreeding and Immorality?

Doomwatch has its problems, with some average acting and logic holes the size of the Moon, but its highlights far outweigh the flaws. Mixing environmental concerns with sci-fi horrors, even though Doomwatch is not a horror film as such, it's a film that boasts a credible script and high interest value with its mystery.

Essentially the narrative is split into two parts. The first part of the film is suitably eerie. Once Dr. Shaw arrives on the island there's a sense of doom enveloping the place. The inhabitants act oddly suspicious and the makers introduce distorted angles to emphasise the fact that something is badly wrong here. John Scott's music is perfectly off- kilter and foreboding and with the pace of the story purposely sedate, this allows Sasdy to fill the sense of place with paranoia and creeping unease.

The picture then shifts at the mid-point when the mystery of the island is brought to the surface. We then find ourselves in the middle of a science fiction story wrapped around a heart breaking revelation brought about by corporate idiocy and ecological negligence. Into the mix comes ignorance, be it from the islanders, the church or the mainland authorities. It builds up a head of steam in the last quarter, where passions run high and the final act leaves an impression that's hard to shake off.

Add some lovely location photography around real Cornish locations, and some skillful underwater shots as well, and this definitely has much to recommend. Yes it's dated in that 1970s British independently budgeted way, this is a Tigon production after all! But give it a chance by not expecting a Mutant Wicker Man type horror movie and you may just enjoy it more than you expected. 7.5/10

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 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.

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