The waters surrounding an island become contaminated by chemical dumping, and people who eat fish caught in those waters become deformed and violent.The waters surrounding an island become contaminated by chemical dumping, and people who eat fish caught in those waters become deformed and violent.The waters surrounding an island become contaminated by chemical dumping, and people who eat fish caught in those waters become deformed and violent.
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Did you know
- TriviaBased on a current BBC TV series in production, it uses four of the regulars from the show though largely sidelines them in featured rôles, favouring new character Del Shaw (played by Ian Bannen, whom director Peter Sasdy knew socially) as the lead alongside Judy Geeson's local schoolteacher, who aids him on Balfe Island.
- Quotes
Dr. John Ridge: Can we stop playing games? These cannisters were yours. They've been dumped in the sea. And something very like pituitary growth hormone is escaping from them.
Sir Henry Leyton: It shouldn't do much harm. Be neutralised by the seawater in a couple of hours. Old Mother Nature has a way of dealing with these things, Dr. Ridge. That's what you doom and disaster fellas ought to realise!
Dr. John Ridge: Unfortunately Old Mother Nature's been nobbled in this case, as you well know!
- ConnectionsFeatured in Judy Geeson: Inseminoid Girl (2004)
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.
- junk-monkey
- Aug 1, 2005
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Details
- Runtime1 hour 32 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1