Island of the Dead (TV 2000)

Stranded on a deserted island, a group of people struggle to survive against a swarm of supernatural flies.

Director:

Tim Southam

Writers:

Peter Koper (story), Tim Southam (screenplay)

Stars:

Malcolm McDowell, Talisa Soto, Bruce Ramsay

Cast

Cast overview:
Malcolm McDowell	...	Rupert King
Talisa Soto	...	Melissa O'Keefe
Bruce Ramsay	...	Tony Matos
Kent McQuaid	...	James Neely
Mos Def	...	Robbie J
Paul Hopkins	...	Rodger Mackloe
Tyrone Benskin	...	Dwight Truman
Michel Perron	...	Captain Chanon
Daniel Pilon	...	Mayor
Steffen Wink	...	Reporter
Mike Tsar	...	Guard
Richard Jutras	...	City Mortician
Philip Le Maistre	...	Squeegee Man
Andy Bradshaw	...	Inmate #1 (as Andrew Bradshaw)
Robert Daviau	...	Crewman #1

Storyline

The people of New York have been burying their unknown dead on Hart Island since 1869. Now real estate tycoon Rupert King wants to build what he calls "Hope City", supposedly to help the poor and homeless of the city "get a leg up", on this same island, with no thought of the current million or so "residents". Accompanied by a New York cop looking for a missing girl's body and some reluctant employees of the Department of Corrections, King makes his way to the island for the ground-breaking ceremony. But when his personal assistant goes missing, and night falls on the island, dark secrets are revealed, not only about the island itself, but King's "noble" plans for it as well. And the island's residents, with their souls in the form of countless and lethal flies, have no intention of being ignored.

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Plot Keywords:

island | fly | siege | mortuary | land developer | 

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Taglines:

Never disturb the dead.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 November 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Halottak szigete

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The full-frontal nude pin-up taped to the locker door is Tiffany Taylor's centerfold from the November 1998 issue of Playboy magazine.

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Goofs

Mealworms are not fly larvae - they're future beetles.

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Connections

Featured in Phelous & the Movies: Halloween Remake (2012)

User Reviews

I was pleasantly surprised

This is a low budget production which, at first blush, seems to have only a few things going for it. Sure, McDowell hasn't made a lot of good films lately, but nobody who has seen Clockwork Orange can really doubt that he has substantial talent. And whether or not Talisa Soto and Mos Def are in the plus column is a matter of personal opinion. OK, OK... the film really has very little going for it at first blush.

So, going into this with absolutely no expectations, I was very pleasantly surprised. In fact, I am almost embarrassed to admit - given the hideous ratings here on IMDb for this film... I couldn't turn it off.

What got me? Well, it certainly wasn't the plot. The story starts with a developer (McDowell) with questionably altruistic motives and a scheme to reinvent "the projects" by building an experimental community for the homeless on New York's Hart's Island. Also venturing to the island are a slap crew of short-term convicts and their overseers (assigned to grave-digging) and Soto - a missing persons investigator with a slightly mysterious past. Things start to go very very wrong after about half an hour, and people start to die and decay at a supernatural pace. I won't spoil the film by continuing my discussion, but I will say that although there are no zombies in the film, and virtually no special effects and minimal makeup, there are aspects of this film's atmosphere and basic dynamics which are very reminiscent of George A Romero. But this is very much a New York film.

What got me was not the acting, though there's nothing really wrong with it. Burce Ramsay is very likable and so is Soto. McDowell has a few inspired moments, but this is not one of his best roles. The script didn't quite do it either, since there are at least a couple of spots where the behavior of the characters seems quite ludicrous.

What got me was the way the film was made - the directing and photography, to be More specific. This is a very visually interesting film, involving simple visual ideas, metaphors and symbols which are eerie, creepy, but not at all heavy-handed. And Some truly wonderful decaying urban landscapes.

Island of the Dead is absurd, noticeably low budget, and not very original in most ways, but it also reaches beyond its apparent potential and will entertain you if you let it - and if you like this sort of thing.