The Secret of Death Island
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The Secret of Death Island |
| Country of production | Germany , Spain |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1967 |
| length | 85 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Mel Welles |
| script |
Ira Meltcher Ernst Ritter von Theumer |
| production | Ernst von Theumer George Ferrer for Tefi-Film (Munich), Orbita-Films (Madrid) |
| music |
José Munoz Molleda Antón García Abril |
| camera |
Juan Mariné Bruguera Cecilio Paniagua |
| cut | Siegfried Krämer (German version) |
| occupation | |
| |
The Secret of Death Island is a German-Spanish horror film from 1967. The main actor Cameron Mitchell , who is hired from Hollywood, plays "an insane, unscrupulous, island hobby botanist (...) who picks up a monster tree that feeds on human blood."
action
The mysterious scientist Baron von Weser resides in a noble country house on a remote island. There he does his botanical studies, about which no one knows exactly. Only reluctantly does he accept “intruders” into his natural paradise, such as the group of well-heeled, well-paying tourists who visit him one day by ferry. The accompanying Professor Demerest realizes as soon as he arrives during the drive to the manor house that an abundance of plants grow on this island that are actually not native here. When the vehicle rolls over the baron's severely disfigured servant, Baldi, and the latter is killed in the process, the dismay is great. A little later, however, Baldi reappears, allegedly his mute twin brother. At the welcome dinner, Baron von Weser serves his visitors genetically modified vegetables that surprise the guests. One of them thinks that while it looks like a cucumber, it tastes like meat. After dinner, von Weser presents his guests with a selection of the carnivorous plants he has grown and feeds a mouse to a hungry, special species of rhododendron.
When you go to sleep, one of the visitors, the smart David Moss, smells a rat and locks the beautiful fellow traveler Beth, whom he has kept an eye on, in her room for her own safety. In fact, the great death quickly begins among those present. The first thing to do is the driver of the guests. The bodies of the dead are found completely drained of blood. The assumption expressed by some guests that it must be some kind of vampirism is not so wrong, only that it is blood-drinking plants. In fact, Baron von Weser's most outstanding breed, a tree of enormous dimensions, has to be regularly fed blood. If this does not happen, the tree itself goes in search of sacrifices to quench its thirst. Soon the nerves are on edge, and the guests accuse each other of having something to do with the terrible events.
The possibility of leaving this horror island does not arise: the ferry will not be back for two days and the telephone lines are dead - just like the all too new and inquisitive Professor Demerest, who is murdered by the baron with a thorn when he is the Truth comes too close. During a heavy thunderstorm raging over the island, Mrs. Callahan is finally due, who is downright sucked out by the monster tree. Then this one attacks Beth, but her amorous shadow, David Moss, jumps in between and hackers with an ax at the branches with a wild determination. Rivers of blood shoot from the wooden wounds. When von Weser sees this, he throws himself in horror and tries to prevent Moss from doing what he is doing in a duel in order to save his “best” breed from the wildly chopping Moss. In order to save the badly wounded blood tree, he offers himself to it - for a blood transfusion. But the plant proves insatiable, and Baron von Weser becomes the victim of his own breeding.
Production notes
The Death Island secret originated in 1965 in several locations in Spain (Arenys de Mar, Barcelona, Sant Feliu de Codines). The world premiere was on February 20, 1967 in Spain under the title La isla de la muerte . The film passed the FSK exam on June 30, 1967 and was premiered in Germany on July 21, 1967.
Reviews
"Naive horror film, which operates with surprisingly clear disgusting effects for the time it was made, without being able to make itself anywhere near interesting."
"A modest film but absolutely not despicable."
“After a really good start, the film slips into a primitive, ridiculous horror panopticon and ends badly disappointingly. From 16, but without advice. "
Web links
- The secret of the island of death in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The secret of the island of death at filmportal.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 5: L - N. Rudolf Lettinger - Lloyd Nolan. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 477.
- ↑ The Secret of Death Island. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Evangelischer Presseverband Munich, Review No. 475/1967