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The Island of the Fishmen – Full Moon Features (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1979
Director: Sergio Martino
Writers: Cesare Frugoni, Luciano Martino, Sergio Donati, Cesare Frugoni, Sergio Martino
Cast: Barbara Bach, Claudio Cassinelli, Richard Johnson, Beryl Cunningham, Joseph Cotten, Franco Javarone, Roberto Posse, Giuseppe Castellano, Franco Mazzieri

Release Date: March 8th, 2022
Approximate Running Time: 98 Minutes 58 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 English, Dolby Digital Mono English
Subtitles: N/A
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $21.95

"After surviving two harrowing nautical disasters, Lieutenant Claude de Ross washes up on a remote, uncharted tropical island along with a gaggle of similarly stranded escaped convicts. Soon, the cursed castaways are attacked by gruesome, slimy, scaly monsters and, after many of them meet their grisly ends, the rest - including the fortunate de Ross - are rescued by the cruel Rackham who immediately whisks them away to the jungle lair of Professor Ernest Marvin. Marvin, a disgraced American biologist, has tampered with genetics to create an army of "fishmen", the very same creatures that attacked de Ross. Professor Marvin controls the creatures and has been using them to plunder a submerged city of gold that he believes to be the lost city of Atlantis. But the natives are restless and the fishmen are slowly, surely beginning to hatch their own plans. Will de Ross - along with the professor's comely daughter - find away to escape the island before its too late?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "remastered in HD from the original 35mm negative."

The Island of the Fishmen comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 20.7 GB

Feature: 19.3 GB

Though the source used for this transfer is clean and free of any source-related issues, Colors and flesh tones look off at times, black levels and image clarity are inconsistent, and there are some compression related issues, most noticeable in darker scenes.

Audio: 2.5/5

This release comes with two audio options: a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in English and a Dolby Digital mono mix in English. Though the dialog comes through clearly, both the audio mixes lack depth and at times sound muffled.

Extras:

Extras for this release include trailers The Island of the Fishmen, Barb Wire Dolls, Naked Girl Murdered in the Park, Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun, Sexy Sisters, Voodoo Passion and Women in Cellblock 9.

Summary:

The Island of the Fishmen is a cross between H.G. Wells' Island of Dr. Moreau and the amphibious creatures from H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu universe. And though the narrative does a good job of building tension, its most glaring shortcoming is its half-man, half-fish creatures, which at times really show off how poorly constructed they were.

Sergio Martino once again delivers solid visuals that take full advantage of the island location. Also, there’s an ample amount of carnage, albeit most of the half-man, half-fish creatures' attacks are not that bloody.

The Island of the Fishmen has a strong cast of characters who are all very good in their roles. The most memorable performance was by Joseph Cotton (Baron Blood) in the role of Professor Ernest Marvin, the man who brought the half-man, half-fish creatures to life. Barbara Bach (The Black Belly of the Tarantula) plays Professor Ernest Marvin's daughter, Amanda, and Richard Johnson (Zombie) plays Edmond Rackham, a man who exploits half-man, half-fish creatures who help him retrieve treasure from a sunken city.

When Island of the Fishmen was released theatrically in the U.S. under the title Something Waits in the Dark, it performed poorly at the box office. The film was subsequently re-titled Screamers, new scenes were shot, and the film was re-edited. Also, additional cast members like Mel Ferrer and Cameron Mitchell were cast for these additional scenes. Another area where The Island of the Fishmen differs from Screamers is that they feature different scores. The score for the version known as Screamers is credited to Sandy Berman, while all other versions list Luciano Michelini (The Suspicious Death of a Minor).

Ultimately, though not one of Sergio Martino’s best films, The Island of the Fishmen is still an entertaining film that holds up well with repeated viewings.

The Island of the Fishmen makes its way to Blu-ray via a serviceable release that leaves room for improvement.