Fear Island: l'île meurtrière

'Fear Island' is a decent and passable made for TV Canadian teen slasher flick that features a rather basic yet interesting premise, a fun cast and an intriguing mystery element which adds plenty of fun twists and turns to the runtime. While the movie is very light on scares and gore, there's still plenty of plenty of entertainment to be had here and despite its mere TV movie budget, it's a very well-made and fast paced little film that likely won't stand the test of time, but it's a solid time waster.

The Plot = Five college friends Kyle (Jacob Blair), Tyler (Kyle Schmid), Ashley (Jessica Harmon), Jenna (Haylie Duff) and Mark (Aaron Ashmore) decide to spend a weekend in a cabin on a secluded island. However, their fun is cut short when they find a dead body and encounter a killer whose out for revenge.

This is a rather likeable entry level slasher flick that may come across as rather tame in the kills department, but the story was interesting enough to keep you invested throughout. The whodunit mystery element was also a nice touch even if it did become rather predictable as the movie progressed and there were quite a few holes here and there that defies logic at the best of times. While the horror elements were another thing that was severely lacking here, there were quite a few suspenseful moments and the movie features plenty of atmosphere which really adds tension to the dire situation that these characters were in. The narrative jumping back and forth from past to present was quite annoying though, as you already knew who was gonna die and who survived, but when the revenge sub-plot starts taking shape, everything starts to make sense and it becomes even more gripping, even if does become obvious at where the story is going, it's still an interesting ride getting there.

The cast here were pretty decent for the most part. Haylie Duff gives a very uneven performance as the female lead, but she managed to be likeable enough to root for. Kyle Schmid and Lucy Gale each gives solid performances as does Aaron Ashmore. Martin Cummins does okay as the Detective but went a bit hammy at times.

Overall 'Fear Island' is a decent little above average little slasher flick with a tense and fun plot and a compelling mystery that makes this a good time.

The film starts out with a girl being found on an island. Later she's interrogated by police and starts to explain what happened...

Seen any horror films where the introductory elements feature either someone telling the story secondhand, a psychologist/phychiatrist or mental asylum? Any recent ones?

Congratulations, you could probably guess how this movie turns out, because you've seen this overused twist before.

But there's more - emulating "House of the Dead", we're already told the other characters died, meaning even this in-story story has an obvious outcome.

Well everythings predictable, at least gorehounds have something worth watching... actually wait, the kills usually happen offscreen.

A group of 4 young men and 3 women decide to take a boat to their favorite island vacation hangout. Once they reach the cabin and settle in members of their group begin to die off one by one. So much for the plot which has been played and replayed numerous times in the past. Even so, this particular film was told in a unique manner which managed to keep the film at least somewhat entertaining. For example, the lone survivor was a woman named "Jenna" (Haylie Duff) who was rescued by the police and suffers from amnesia. So she tells the story in a series of flashbacks. Now, normally when the "flashback technique" is used it tends to take away from the mystery of the film. Fortunately, this wasn't the case as there were many unexpected twists and turns as the story evolved. There isn't much horror or suspense. Neither was there any gratuitous sex or nudity. The acting was mediocre, the dialogue was weak and the special effects were nowhere to be seen. But the mystery keeps it together long enough for an unexpected ending which manages to tie everything up rather nicely. In short, if you're looking for an exciting horror film then you might be disappointed. All things considered I rate is as average.

This is basically another story of a group of young people who head off to have a good time but find themselves stalked by a maniacal killer. The story is told by flashback, as the sole survivor relates what happened on the secluded island the group had sailed to. So the overall story isn't especially original. It is, however, a pretty good mystery, and there's no obvious solution to the mystery until rather late in the movie - and, even then, what seems to be the solution has an unexpected twist thrown in. The performances in the movie are decent - perhaps a bit better than what you normally find in these movies. Because it is so unoriginal, the whole thing seems to drag a bit at times as you wait for the mystery to be revealed. So, there's nothing especially noteworthy about this. It's OK, but the story has been basically told before - and many times before.

I really liked this movie. THOUGH, it is not a horror movie. I would categorize it more like a thriller or something like that. But like some of the others on here says, you keep changing your suspect and it ends up really surprisingly. I really liked this movie, and i think you should watch it! Do not listen to everybody saying - Oh this is bad, blah blah blah, because it is not. It is not a good horror movie because it is not that scary, but it makes you think, and i promise you, you will get surprised at moments! I do hope you will watch it, because it is worth it! You are not wasting you time, it is a good movie, i tell ya! Its a great movie!