Island of Blood

Director - William T. Naud (Thunder in Dixie, Hot Rod Hullabaloo)

Starring - Marie-Alise Recasner (Between the Darkness and the Dawn, General Hospital), Rick Dean (Tales from the Hood, Carnosaur 2), and Ron Gardner (Backstreet Justice)

Release Date - 1982

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Seven people are dead - and you're next"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     The early 80s was the peak for slashers.  Movies like Halloween, My Bloody Valentine, and Friday the 13th showed investors and production companies that cheap, bloody, and sleazy made money.  Slashers were fairly cheap to make and offered up some serious profits for investors.  The downside to this, much like the S.O.V. movement a few years later, is so many slashers were made that was only released on VHS and pushed into obscurity.  Back in September Vinegar Syndrome announced their October releases and among them was the 1982 slasher Whodunit? which was also released under the names Island of Blood and Scared Alive.  Like so many early 80s slashers, this was a new one for me and I couldn't wait to get my greasy hands on it.

     The film follows a group of aspiring actors who are taken to an island to star in a no-budget movie.  A simple and quick shoot turns deadly when the producer is accidentally cooked alive in the pool when the themastat sticks.  This sets the tone for the rest of the shoot as others begin to go missing as they are picked off one by one.  

     I always have fun with a slasher regardless of how bad they are.  I may give them a negative review but I always enjoy myself.  Island of Blood, Whodunit?, Scared Alive, or any other title this one goes by is a solid slasher but is easily forgettable.  It has some entertaining slasher moments but at the end of the day we find ourselves watching a paint by numbers slasher that fails to give the viewer anything memorable.  In fact, I would almost wager my entire month's salary that this movie was only made to cash in on the slasher craze.  We follow a director that had not made a movie in almost 20 years and the two films prior to that, during the 60s, were not horror.  Regardless, it was fun for a first time watch but don't ask me questions about it in a few weeks because I won't remember shit about it.  The acting in this one is inconsistent but the type of cheesy slasher performances you would come to expect from an 80s slasher.  Most slashers typically cast up and comers because they work for cheap but have some experience.  I know slashers often get criticized for their acting but I enjoy the cheesy cliched performances that typically deliver with Island of Blood being no exception.  The story for this one is fairly simple while stepping away from the traditional slasher formula.  We follow a film crew who are working in a no budget flick when they begin to die one by one.  The kills and stalking are very in tune with the slasher theme.  However, it does take a way from the someone that was wronged who returned to kill those responsible.  This type of storyline made films like Friday the 13th and My Bloody Valentine so entertaining.  Island of Blood skips that and keeps the slasher story nice and neat.  In fact, the way the film is laid out you would think it was a murder mystery that would work as a made for television movie or an episode of Murder, She Wrote.  Finally, the film has some simple and quick kills that work for the film but if you are wanting death scenes with amazing practical effects and original kills then you will be very disappointed.  We get some make-up effects and a few simple practical effects that works for the film but nothing that will stick with you for years to come.  Overall, Island of Blood is pretty fun first time watch.  Fans of classic slashers will appreciate this one but I highly doubt this will climb onto someone's list of favorite slashers.  Regardless, it's worth a watch and the release from Vinegar Syndrome is fantastic.  As a collector I'm very impressed with this release.  The restoration looks great and the artwork for this one is fantastic.  I highly recommend picking this one up.