Not the most inspired slasher; but after a slow start, the practical fx /kills start chugging along at a decent pace, along with a satisfying conclusion. The characters range from likeable to complete one dimensional cardboard cutouts.
I'd be very interested to see an uncut HD transfer since most of the film is extremely dark.
If you're a slasher / horror aficionado, definitely watch this at least once. It has that comfort food early slasher vibe I dig.
26 Reviews
Also known as Whodunnit?
BandSAboutMovies19 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Vinegar Syndrome has been assaulting my budget this year, what with box sets of the Amityville direct-to-video films, forgotten Spanish giallo, Mexican horror reissues and, of course, Spookies.
They've rescued hundreds of movies from their namesake, the chemical reaction that deteriorates motion picture film over time. Chances are, if it was a movie that played a drive-in, grindhouse or was in the horror section of your mom and pop video store in the 1980's - or the back room, where you had to sneak in - then they have it.
Imagine, if you will, that someone made Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, but made it about actors on a deserted island and started with one of them being boiled alive. Yes, that's the movie we're speaking of right now, 1982's many titles Island of Blood AKA Whodunit? AKA Scared Alive).
Oh yeah - every murder in this is based on a punk song! That said, the lyrics to the song are mostly "stab me, boil me, burn me, face to face." Therefore, it really isn't a large stretch for the murderer to use the ways to kill in the song to, you know, kill.
The very same song features the lyrics, "Lonely as a child- you were wet, you were wild. You were... selfish. Crying out late at night with your covers pulled up tight- you were... helpless. Fear me! Fear me!"
All manner of murders follow, as simple as an exploding boat and as complex as a shower that sprays out battery acid. That takes some planning.
I wouldn't say this is the finest slasher you've never seen. Nor would I claim that it's even really all the good. But hey - if you've made it through everything and you're hunting down slashers that no one else has watched - I'm speaking to myself - then this will do.
Writer/director William T. Naud also made Hot Rod Hullabaloo, Thunder In Dixie, Black Jack and Ricky 1, a movie where a male gigolo becomes a boxer.
They've rescued hundreds of movies from their namesake, the chemical reaction that deteriorates motion picture film over time. Chances are, if it was a movie that played a drive-in, grindhouse or was in the horror section of your mom and pop video store in the 1980's - or the back room, where you had to sneak in - then they have it.
Imagine, if you will, that someone made Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, but made it about actors on a deserted island and started with one of them being boiled alive. Yes, that's the movie we're speaking of right now, 1982's many titles Island of Blood AKA Whodunit? AKA Scared Alive).
Oh yeah - every murder in this is based on a punk song! That said, the lyrics to the song are mostly "stab me, boil me, burn me, face to face." Therefore, it really isn't a large stretch for the murderer to use the ways to kill in the song to, you know, kill.
The very same song features the lyrics, "Lonely as a child- you were wet, you were wild. You were... selfish. Crying out late at night with your covers pulled up tight- you were... helpless. Fear me! Fear me!"
All manner of murders follow, as simple as an exploding boat and as complex as a shower that sprays out battery acid. That takes some planning.
I wouldn't say this is the finest slasher you've never seen. Nor would I claim that it's even really all the good. But hey - if you've made it through everything and you're hunting down slashers that no one else has watched - I'm speaking to myself - then this will do.
Writer/director William T. Naud also made Hot Rod Hullabaloo, Thunder In Dixie, Black Jack and Ricky 1, a movie where a male gigolo becomes a boxer.
Forgotten For A Reason
joymontgomery-0474417 December 2021
A group of either annoying or bland actors are taken to an island to film a low budget movie and are killed, one by one, by someone obsessed with the lyrics of a punk rock song a la And Then There Were None.
It's not the concept of Island of Blood that's bad, but the execution is as uninspired as murder mysteries can get. It's impossible to feel anything for the victims as they're barely given names let alone character development and even though some of the murder scenes try to be a little creative, that's about the only thing I could recommend this film for. If you're interested in seeing a guy boiled alive in a pool, a guy getting a spear through his eye, and a woman being brunt with battery acid while showering, go ahead and give it a shot, but keep your finger on the fast forward button for everything in between.
It's not the concept of Island of Blood that's bad, but the execution is as uninspired as murder mysteries can get. It's impossible to feel anything for the victims as they're barely given names let alone character development and even though some of the murder scenes try to be a little creative, that's about the only thing I could recommend this film for. If you're interested in seeing a guy boiled alive in a pool, a guy getting a spear through his eye, and a woman being brunt with battery acid while showering, go ahead and give it a shot, but keep your finger on the fast forward button for everything in between.
Island of Battery Acid and Blood
horrorbargainbin29 June 2004
In the movie's best scene, a girl is showering and we are treated to an amusing killer's point of view shot. He is looking at her through a hole in the wall, but then turns to the pipes where a make-shift plastic jug labeled "battery acid" is attached. Soon the girl is covered in black goo and blood and dies an agonizing death. "Island of Blood" is not one of the most gory slasher, some of the deaths are pretty sick, while others are more standard. Sure enough there is a twist ending and horror fans will be pleased since it involves exploitation films. I won't say how. The movie did finish on an exciting note, but it saves all its clever moments for the end. Not totally crazy from start to finish like I had hoped.
Stab me! Nail me! Boil me! Burn me! Chop Me! Spear me!
Coventry1 October 2012
Another worthy entry in the seemingly endless list of horrible 80's slashers, "Scared Alive" (a.k.a. "Island of Blood" and a.k.a. "Whodunit") is a wondrously inept and totally redundant low-budget flick with all the right ingredients: a senseless basic premise, unmemorable characters, a complete absence of logic, laughable dialogs, various but totally non-shocking killing methods and one remotely ingenious little gimmick (a constantly repeated rock song of which the lyrics reveal how the next victim will die a gruesome death). The movie starts with a bunch of idiots (= aspiring actors/actresses) gathering on an island, allegedly to start shooting a movie after the weekend when the rest of the technical crew arrives. None of them has a clue what the movie will be about, why they were selected or what they will do on this geographically isolated island location for the rest of the weekend, but hey, that's totally normal right? Then, and luckily quite fast and at a regular pace, they're being picked off one by one by an unseen killer. His/her curious modus operandi involves hanging a walkman somewhere near to the next victim that is repeatedly playing the same song entitled "Face to Face". The singer states with what weapon the character is going to get killed, resulting in a boy drowning in a pool filled with boiling water ("Boil me! Boil me!), a poor girl showering in battery acid ("Burn me! Burn me!), another poor chick getting her face nail-gunned to the wall ("Nail me! Nail me!) etc
Some of the murder sequences are wickedly entertaining, but overall seen is "Scared Alive" just another very dumb and forgettable slasher. The attempts to mislead the viewer and throw in red herrings fail miserably and literally none of the characters deserves a bit of sympathy. The idea behind the unforeseeable "twist-at-the-end" is rather admirable, but still very implausible and badly processed. I also think the make-up artists were all schizophrenic, as some murders are illustrated quite sick and explicitly, whereas certain others are lame and occurring off-screen. Let's just conclude it's a really bizarre and amateurish slasher movie only intended for avid genre fanatics. Oh, and the complete lack of nudity – especially with one shower sequence and one alleged sex sequence - is unforgivable!
Scared Alive - even the title makes no sense...
oraklon17 April 2009
Mindnumbing bad slasher flick about a killer who's killing off a young film crew while playing a godawful new wave track that goes something like "Boil me! Boil me! Boil me! Cut me! Cut me!" on his tape deck. It's painfully apparent that nobody, in front or behind the camera, have no clue what so ever what the hell they're doing. Incomprehensable story, dialogue that makes no sense, acting from hell, weird cuts etc. About halfway through I got the creeping suspicion that this slasher abomination was the brainchild of a bunch of really confused hippie freaks! There was just one misplaced quasi-philosophical mumbo-jumbo line, longhaired acoustic guitar player or "i'm not going to mess with a bunch of food picky drug freaks!"-line too many to pass unnoticed, especially in a god-damned teen slasher flick! Label under uniquely bad. Since it's from 1981 it was pretty enjoyable as a cheezy turkey, if it was from 2001 I would probably hate it. You won't believe the twist ending... Guaranteed to make any intelligent, sensible human being lose their lunch.
Ranks among the worst slashers of its era.
gridoon27 May 2003
One of those slasher films that give a bad name to the entire genre. Anonymous characters that you can barely tell apart, lifeless acting, a director who shows no skill in establishing his premise or creating a scary atmosphere, and a pathetic ending. The movie has one useful function: it will help you appreciate mediocre horror films more, because you'll know the difference between simple mediocrity and outright badness. 0.5 out of 4.
The horror of bad new-wave music.
BA_Harrison4 November 2018
This little-seen early-'80s slasher is fully deserving of its obscurity: the unimaginative by-the-numbers plot sees a group of young film-makers gather on an island where they are bumped off one-by-one by an unseen maniac who likes to play a really bad new wave/punk song on his tape player while he is at work. The acting is basic (one of the actresses can't even blow out a candle convincingly), the direction and editing are clumsy, the characters are all unlikeable, and the dialogue is absolutely terrible (my favourite line: a guy hands a girl a nail gun "Take this - it fires nails like a gun." Talk about stating the obvious!).
To be fair, the deaths are quite nasty in concept, however the majority of the movie takes place in the dark, and many potentially disturbing scenes are hard to make out. A bloke is boiled to death in a swimming pool (the only death that takes place during the day), someone is speared, another guy is attacked with a chainsaw, a man is stabbed by a machete, and a girl taking a (nudity-free) shower is burned by battery acid, but the effects aren't great and gore-hounds will be left disappointed, at least until the final act in which we get to see a couple of the victims a little clearer (a guy's severed head with nails in his face and a girl with nails in her forehead).
In an attempt to differentiate his film from countless other slashers of the time, writer/director Bill Naud chucks in a twist ending that is totally implausible. And if you haven't already had a gutful of that terrible new-wave song (Face to Face by Factor Four), it plays in full over the end credits. Aaarrrgh!
To be fair, the deaths are quite nasty in concept, however the majority of the movie takes place in the dark, and many potentially disturbing scenes are hard to make out. A bloke is boiled to death in a swimming pool (the only death that takes place during the day), someone is speared, another guy is attacked with a chainsaw, a man is stabbed by a machete, and a girl taking a (nudity-free) shower is burned by battery acid, but the effects aren't great and gore-hounds will be left disappointed, at least until the final act in which we get to see a couple of the victims a little clearer (a guy's severed head with nails in his face and a girl with nails in her forehead).
In an attempt to differentiate his film from countless other slashers of the time, writer/director Bill Naud chucks in a twist ending that is totally implausible. And if you haven't already had a gutful of that terrible new-wave song (Face to Face by Factor Four), it plays in full over the end credits. Aaarrrgh!
Lacks Slasher energy
loomis78-815-98903423 February 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Actors and a small film crew arrive on 'Creep Island' to begin rehearsal for a film that is going to be shot there. It is made clear that there is no way off the island and soon there is a psycho stalking the crew and actors. The killer plays a song on a cassette tape player which he puts near the victim as he kills them. No motivation for the killings are ever given. This is very standard slasher stuff and it isn't very inspired, under the direction of Bill Naud who also wrote this mess. The acting is slightly above amateur on some and below on others which results in some unintentional chuckles. Also known as 'Island of Blood" which is a better title, the movie has a few cool effects as one victim has acid poured on her in a shower which results in a gooey mess on screen. Spears and even a chainsaw is used, but there isn't a drop of suspense and the set ups and delivery of the deaths lack all energy.
Stab me and boil me!!!
HumanoidOfFlesh14 July 2010
A film crew set out for an island that will be the perfect location for their positive comedy/crap movie.Unfortunately the unknown killer starts slaughtering them with the aid of a chainsaw,machete,acid and nail gun whilst catchy punk song "Face to Face" is playing in the background.Very entertaining and watchable slasher based on Agatha Christie's famous novel "And Then There Were None".The song "Face to Face" is fantastic and it's played about a hundred times,so you will remember it long after the film is over.Someone's killing our crew members according to the lyrics.The acting is flat,the night scenes are badly lit and the script is routine,but after watching "A Serbian Film" I enjoyed loopy final twist of "Island of Blood" even more.A generous 7 out of 10.
Doesn't deserve a dvd/blu ray release
TeenVamp3 January 2021
Not Great By Any Means, But A Lot of Cheesy Fun!
ObscureCinema10121 March 2012
Warning: Spoilers
ISLAND OF BLOOD aka WHODUNIT aka SCARED ALIVE is a bit of a mess. The editing is really bad, with scenes that kind of end abruptly and music that starts playing and gets cut off when the scene changes, with no smooth transitions between the shots. The movie itself ends rather abruptly, and while I won't spoil it, I think there should have been some sort of extra image or clip just to close with. The acting was decent all around, but there was one hilarious moment of underacting when the director of the movie within this movie, Franklin Phlegm, is having sex with an actress named BJ (snicker all you want, but she's the final girl) and he makes sounds like ooooohhh and aaaaaahhh to show how much fun he's having.
Of course, my worst complaint with this movie is that it's really dark in most scenes, which makes it hard to tell what's going on. This is unfortunate, as a majority of the film takes place at night, so it's troubling to see the fantastic gore on display. A classic example of this is when Rick bites the dust via chainsaw, and while you can see his arms flying off and the chainsaw sawing his butt, the rest is hard to make out. I hope that someday someone will release a DVD of this movie with cleaned up picture, so I can experience the film in all it's glory. HUMONGOUS had a similar problem, and now I can see what's going on thanks to Scorpion Releasing's great DVD! Hopefully, ISLAND OF BLOOD will share a similar fate.
That was all the negative stuff. Let's get into the positives. Most of the kills in this movie are fantastic and gory, including death by nail gun, chainsaw, spear gun, battery acid, and more. Like I said, a lot of the grue is hard to see due to the darkness of the VHS, which is really terrible since what little I did see was great. The song itself is really catchy, and those who dislike it will have a tough time watching the movie, since it plays repeatedly throughout. However, most of the deaths later on are off-screen, so I think the director forgot to pay the effects guy (in an interview with one of the cast members, he said the director neglected to pay nearly everyone involved in the making).
There's also a great death scene where the killer rigs the shower with battery acid, so when Donna decides to clean off, she gets burned really badly, and it looks really gruesome. There's also another moment of unbelievability when the killer breaks the thermometer on the swimming pool and makes the water boiling hot. He then pushes a fellow named Phil into the pool, and once again, it's a great effect. The acting was alright, especially considering this is a low-budget slasher which was most likely made to cash in on the success of Friday the 13th. The end twist was really original and tied up most of the loose ends. The characters are all entertaining, and there's some great dialogue that kept me entertained in between the kills. Most of that great dialogue comes from the cantankerous caretaker Bert, who spurts such kind words as, "I'm not going to mess with a bunch of food-picky drug freaks!" and when these young adults ask what they did wrong, he replies, "So far, just showing up." No, he does not survive.
The ISLAND OF BLOOD VHS has become a rarity of sorts on the internet, and the price range goes from $40-$70. Interestingly enough, the Whodunit version of the tape can be found online from $4 to $25. I don't know if the price difference is because most people don't know that they're both the same film, or if the ISLAND OF BLOOD VHS is just harder to find. Either way, this film is certainly worth checking out no matter what version is available. While it's technically a bad film, I still find it to be one helluva good time. The endless supply of quotable dialogue from the characters, the gruesome deaths, the killer's gimmick (the song, which is "Face to Face" by Factor Four), the reveal of the murderer, and the fast-pace all make this one of the best unknown slashers around and one of the biggest surprises I've gotten all year. The film seems to divide slasher fans into two groups: those that despise it for all the technical problems, and those that love it for the gore-ious cheese fest that it is. I happily belong to the latter group, and I'm proud about it.
The Verdict: Despite several flaws, Island of Blood is still a wonderful foray into the slasher sub-genre, filled with spectacular deaths and endlessly quotable dialogue.
Of course, my worst complaint with this movie is that it's really dark in most scenes, which makes it hard to tell what's going on. This is unfortunate, as a majority of the film takes place at night, so it's troubling to see the fantastic gore on display. A classic example of this is when Rick bites the dust via chainsaw, and while you can see his arms flying off and the chainsaw sawing his butt, the rest is hard to make out. I hope that someday someone will release a DVD of this movie with cleaned up picture, so I can experience the film in all it's glory. HUMONGOUS had a similar problem, and now I can see what's going on thanks to Scorpion Releasing's great DVD! Hopefully, ISLAND OF BLOOD will share a similar fate.
That was all the negative stuff. Let's get into the positives. Most of the kills in this movie are fantastic and gory, including death by nail gun, chainsaw, spear gun, battery acid, and more. Like I said, a lot of the grue is hard to see due to the darkness of the VHS, which is really terrible since what little I did see was great. The song itself is really catchy, and those who dislike it will have a tough time watching the movie, since it plays repeatedly throughout. However, most of the deaths later on are off-screen, so I think the director forgot to pay the effects guy (in an interview with one of the cast members, he said the director neglected to pay nearly everyone involved in the making).
There's also a great death scene where the killer rigs the shower with battery acid, so when Donna decides to clean off, she gets burned really badly, and it looks really gruesome. There's also another moment of unbelievability when the killer breaks the thermometer on the swimming pool and makes the water boiling hot. He then pushes a fellow named Phil into the pool, and once again, it's a great effect. The acting was alright, especially considering this is a low-budget slasher which was most likely made to cash in on the success of Friday the 13th. The end twist was really original and tied up most of the loose ends. The characters are all entertaining, and there's some great dialogue that kept me entertained in between the kills. Most of that great dialogue comes from the cantankerous caretaker Bert, who spurts such kind words as, "I'm not going to mess with a bunch of food-picky drug freaks!" and when these young adults ask what they did wrong, he replies, "So far, just showing up." No, he does not survive.
The ISLAND OF BLOOD VHS has become a rarity of sorts on the internet, and the price range goes from $40-$70. Interestingly enough, the Whodunit version of the tape can be found online from $4 to $25. I don't know if the price difference is because most people don't know that they're both the same film, or if the ISLAND OF BLOOD VHS is just harder to find. Either way, this film is certainly worth checking out no matter what version is available. While it's technically a bad film, I still find it to be one helluva good time. The endless supply of quotable dialogue from the characters, the gruesome deaths, the killer's gimmick (the song, which is "Face to Face" by Factor Four), the reveal of the murderer, and the fast-pace all make this one of the best unknown slashers around and one of the biggest surprises I've gotten all year. The film seems to divide slasher fans into two groups: those that despise it for all the technical problems, and those that love it for the gore-ious cheese fest that it is. I happily belong to the latter group, and I'm proud about it.
The Verdict: Despite several flaws, Island of Blood is still a wonderful foray into the slasher sub-genre, filled with spectacular deaths and endlessly quotable dialogue.
Ahead of it's time
acidburn-1024 October 2011
Warning: Spoilers
The plot = A group of actors and films crew arrives on an island to work on a movie, but unknown to them a killer is among them and one by one they start to get picked off according to lyrics of rock songs.
One of the strange things firstly that I came across when I saw this movie is that it has three titles "Scared Alive", "Whodunnit" and "Island Of Blood", clearly the latter is the best of the three. I've heard a quite a lot of bad things about this movie and I don't know why, as it's actually quite good and should be more remembered. Okay it's not perfect as the acting is quite poor and the lighting is bad, I mean really bad you can't even see what's going on half the time.
But the idea of having a killer murder people according to lyrics of a song is quite interesting and pretty original, I mean I've seen any other slasher movies back then or now even attempt something like that, which I really like. Other aspects of this movie I liked is the whodunnit part of the movie, when the last remaining characters gets together and attempt to solve the crime, even though it could have been done a lot better.
But the murders are quite fun we get a man boiled alive in a swimming pool, the effects of his melting skin is quite graphic, a woman frazzled alive in a shower with battery acid and another dismembered with a chainsaw. They were fun, I my only complaint is that the last couple of murders are done off screen, which is a cop out and It seems to me that the special effects budget maybe run out.
But the more original aspect is the ending *MAYOR SPOILER ALERT* is when the main heroine finds out who the real killer is and his motive in which was to make a snuff movie, as each death was filmed, I personally really loved that motive, it really gave me a sense of excitement and I was definitely on the edge of my seat at that part.
All in all "Island Of Blood" is a lot of fun, okay it has flaws but I'd say it's definitely worth checking out.
One of the strange things firstly that I came across when I saw this movie is that it has three titles "Scared Alive", "Whodunnit" and "Island Of Blood", clearly the latter is the best of the three. I've heard a quite a lot of bad things about this movie and I don't know why, as it's actually quite good and should be more remembered. Okay it's not perfect as the acting is quite poor and the lighting is bad, I mean really bad you can't even see what's going on half the time.
But the idea of having a killer murder people according to lyrics of a song is quite interesting and pretty original, I mean I've seen any other slasher movies back then or now even attempt something like that, which I really like. Other aspects of this movie I liked is the whodunnit part of the movie, when the last remaining characters gets together and attempt to solve the crime, even though it could have been done a lot better.
But the murders are quite fun we get a man boiled alive in a swimming pool, the effects of his melting skin is quite graphic, a woman frazzled alive in a shower with battery acid and another dismembered with a chainsaw. They were fun, I my only complaint is that the last couple of murders are done off screen, which is a cop out and It seems to me that the special effects budget maybe run out.
But the more original aspect is the ending *MAYOR SPOILER ALERT* is when the main heroine finds out who the real killer is and his motive in which was to make a snuff movie, as each death was filmed, I personally really loved that motive, it really gave me a sense of excitement and I was definitely on the edge of my seat at that part.
All in all "Island Of Blood" is a lot of fun, okay it has flaws but I'd say it's definitely worth checking out.
Not A Whodunnit, But A Weak Slasher Flick With Little Bite.
P3n-E-W1s325 April 2022
Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Island Of Blood; before launching into my critique, here's a breakdown of my ratings:
Story - 0.50 Direction - 1.25 Pace - 0.75 Acting - 1.00 Enjoyment - 1.00
TOTAL - 4.75 out of 10
The story is a mess. The writer and director, William T Naud, tried too hard to add the mystery and overcooked it. I believe he thought he was casting red herrings throughout the story to throw the audience off the killer's true identity. What he was doing was supplementing illogical dialogue and narrative, which made it confusing and silly. For example, the casting director keeps oversimplifying the cast's lines and then blatantly comes out with a quip to draw the audience's attention to him, "They'll know whose dying when they see it." The subtlety of this pretence is as subtle as getting hit in the head with two gold bricks. Then, there's the section where we learn how the performers obtained their roles. They didn't audition: They simply received the invite in the mail. We're intended to assume these people have something in common. It would have been a good ploy had Naud built upon it. But he doesn't. The ending is the worst thing about the picture. When the murderer is exposed, we realise that unless we had psychic abilities there was no way for us to deduce the killer's identity. I didn't feel too bad because I'd pretty much given up on the Whodunnit side of the story by then. And that is a botch-up in itself as the alternate title is Whodunnit. That title alone says, get your thinking caps on and notepads out; who'll be first to get the murder?
Naud is a smidgen better behind the camera. Generally, his technique is above average. There are a few enticing and eerily low lit scenes where he uses shadow and light admirably. His major pitfall is the pacing of the film. Island cried out for a varied tempo to add extra power to the scene's mood. The single pace is too slow for most of the film, which makes it less exciting and scary than it should be.
The cast isn't brilliant. Most miss with their portrayals of the characters. Franklin Phlem needs to be more of a presence on the screen. He needed more charisma and oomph. You see Ron Gardner trying to flesh him out, but he mainly comes across as dull. A couple of the characters need to be more menacing. One needed to be more of a diva. Though the story was overcooked, the performances were underdone.
I couldn't in all integrity recommend the Island Of Blood. It could have been such a good movie had the story and cast been more robust. Should you stumble across it someplace, then it will pass an hour or so, but don't expect too much of it.
Please feel free to visit my Killer Thriller Chillers list to see where I ranked the Island Of Blood.
Take Care & Stay Well.
Story - 0.50 Direction - 1.25 Pace - 0.75 Acting - 1.00 Enjoyment - 1.00
TOTAL - 4.75 out of 10
The story is a mess. The writer and director, William T Naud, tried too hard to add the mystery and overcooked it. I believe he thought he was casting red herrings throughout the story to throw the audience off the killer's true identity. What he was doing was supplementing illogical dialogue and narrative, which made it confusing and silly. For example, the casting director keeps oversimplifying the cast's lines and then blatantly comes out with a quip to draw the audience's attention to him, "They'll know whose dying when they see it." The subtlety of this pretence is as subtle as getting hit in the head with two gold bricks. Then, there's the section where we learn how the performers obtained their roles. They didn't audition: They simply received the invite in the mail. We're intended to assume these people have something in common. It would have been a good ploy had Naud built upon it. But he doesn't. The ending is the worst thing about the picture. When the murderer is exposed, we realise that unless we had psychic abilities there was no way for us to deduce the killer's identity. I didn't feel too bad because I'd pretty much given up on the Whodunnit side of the story by then. And that is a botch-up in itself as the alternate title is Whodunnit. That title alone says, get your thinking caps on and notepads out; who'll be first to get the murder?
Naud is a smidgen better behind the camera. Generally, his technique is above average. There are a few enticing and eerily low lit scenes where he uses shadow and light admirably. His major pitfall is the pacing of the film. Island cried out for a varied tempo to add extra power to the scene's mood. The single pace is too slow for most of the film, which makes it less exciting and scary than it should be.
The cast isn't brilliant. Most miss with their portrayals of the characters. Franklin Phlem needs to be more of a presence on the screen. He needed more charisma and oomph. You see Ron Gardner trying to flesh him out, but he mainly comes across as dull. A couple of the characters need to be more menacing. One needed to be more of a diva. Though the story was overcooked, the performances were underdone.
I couldn't in all integrity recommend the Island Of Blood. It could have been such a good movie had the story and cast been more robust. Should you stumble across it someplace, then it will pass an hour or so, but don't expect too much of it.
Please feel free to visit my Killer Thriller Chillers list to see where I ranked the Island Of Blood.
Take Care & Stay Well.
BOIL ME,BURN ME, STAB ME!!!
MADMANMARZ2 April 2000
A group of actors arrive at a private island of begin shooting for a movie. They start getting killed off to the words of a punk rock song whose chorus is "Burn me, stab me, chop me, nail me, boil me, saw me" ! If you can look beyond the average acting and mostly poor script the movie is half way decent. It does hold your interest, some of the killings are decent and the song the victims get killed to is catchy! The ending has a good twist too, which I won't give away. Island Of Blood is not a tereffic horror film but it isn't too bad either. Hard core horror fans will not be totally let down. Still most casual fans, won't appreciate the low budget feel to the movie. That is just too bad!! If you are into 70's-80's slasher fare, this one is worth a look.
Grizzly deaths helps this movie. Grizzlier acting both within the movie and movie they are filming does not.
mark.waltz5 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Cheaply made slasher movie has a slow pace that works somewhat in setting up extra tension where a film crew and actors on a remote island are stalked by a maniacal killer intent on fulfilling the Agatha Christie murders of "And Then There Were None". These killings are pretty disgusting, but the photography, editing and sound recording is so bad that at times the film becomes very tedious to try to watch. But even worse is the amateurish style of acting that makes watching everything going OK super painful to watch. You never really get a good view of what anyone looks like because most of the scenes take place late at night with no electricity on. The use of music to determine how the killer is going to strike is a unique idea, but the film certainly fails to resonate. I could sew Val Lewton having producing this in the 40's based on the eerie whistling winds and the sounds of the sea, but as done didn't resonate witt me.
Little known slasher about, you guessed it, victims stuck on an island with a slayer
Wuchakk29 June 2023
A producer, director and seven cast members meet on a small isle off the coast of SoCal to make a movie, hosted by a curmudgeonly recluse. People immediately start dying in dubious ways. Who's the killer and why is he or she murdering them?
"Island of Blood" (1982), also known as "Whodunit" and "Scared Alive," is an obscure early 80's slasher that starts well enough with a little droll humor and Bari Suber being notable on the feminine front as BJ (her only role as an actress). Marie-Alise Recasner is also effective as Donna.
Unfortunately, there's not enough human interest to hold one's attention as the characters are cardboard. Worse, the second half devolves into dull chase/assault sequences in the dark and, mostly, inside a schoolhouse. The ending is quite good, however; a nice surprise.
The contemporaneous "Humongous" (1982) and "The Slayer" are better films of this ilk, as are the later "April Fool's Day" (1986) and "American Gothic" (1987). By "ilk," I mean slashers with the milieu of a remote island. "A Bay of Blood" (1971) is another example, although that's set at a bay, yet similar enough.
The flick runs 1 hour, 19 minutes, and was shot at Paradise Cove, Malibu (beach and island scenes), Dana Point Harbor (marina) and San Fernando Valley.
GRADE: C.
"Island of Blood" (1982), also known as "Whodunit" and "Scared Alive," is an obscure early 80's slasher that starts well enough with a little droll humor and Bari Suber being notable on the feminine front as BJ (her only role as an actress). Marie-Alise Recasner is also effective as Donna.
Unfortunately, there's not enough human interest to hold one's attention as the characters are cardboard. Worse, the second half devolves into dull chase/assault sequences in the dark and, mostly, inside a schoolhouse. The ending is quite good, however; a nice surprise.
The contemporaneous "Humongous" (1982) and "The Slayer" are better films of this ilk, as are the later "April Fool's Day" (1986) and "American Gothic" (1987). By "ilk," I mean slashers with the milieu of a remote island. "A Bay of Blood" (1971) is another example, although that's set at a bay, yet similar enough.
The flick runs 1 hour, 19 minutes, and was shot at Paradise Cove, Malibu (beach and island scenes), Dana Point Harbor (marina) and San Fernando Valley.
GRADE: C.
Boil me, nail me, Who don it? European title,fits better than Island of blood
terje-walloe11 September 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This is one of my favorit horror movies from the 80. I had this on VHS, oops I still have it. The story. A group of youngsters is on Island to make a horror movie, Suddenly the Killing starts. The killer is playing music with old tape player aka Walkman.The music/lyrics in this movie tells how the victims will die. One man is killed by Boiling water and the music is playing boil me boil me, and so it continues with the next victim. we are never told a back story, so there is no revenge story. The Gore is quite nice, The ending is surprising. ( they are making a snuff movie) If you haven't seen I recommend it. I saw this only a couple years ago and I still find this movie quite good.
violent murder mystery
NateF8817 February 2002
Warning: Spoilers
A bunch of film makers are headed to a remote island to shoot some sort of love story movie. SPOILERS AHEAD! There are the actors and actresses, the director, the screenwriter, and the producer. The film crew was going to get there. One of the actors is found boiled to death in a swimming pool (apparently, this wasn't an accident). This scares the filmmakers. Then, on the day when the filmmakers come, the ship that the filmmakers are on explodes, killing everyone on board, and leaving the filmmakers trapped on the island along with the killer. The killer seems to have a fetish for this rock song. Its like Boil Me! Burn Me! Saw Me! Chop Me! Nail Me!Stab Me! Each murder is related to the song. The beginning has a women shot on the same island as the filmmakers are. You don't know who she is, why she's there, or why she was killed. This is a good movie but the killer is so obvious. It's revealed at the end but it's obvious half way through. One very disgusting chainsaw murder made me feel sick.
Island of Blood (1982)
jonahstewartvaughan5 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Return to the Video Store #3
Whodunit? AKA Island of Blood (1982)
(6/10): So this is where we get into the mystery and potential misfires that the old video stores provided.
This is one of those Golden Age Slasher films that never really gets talked about and there's a decent reason as to why, while it can provide some well enough done gore effects the film has some a few strikes put against it.
For one, it's got a gimmick that relies on a song being played that essentially gives the audience an idea of how the character will die, it's fairly repetitive and it gets annoying after a while.
The characters are not too likable they're just inconsiderate and also very much jerks so it doesn't really give them much personality or rootability.
Finally, the kills while gory, they lack originality or creativity, they just don't do anything much to stand out from any other slasher so it's just kinda a weird subpar slasher that has an interesting idea with everything being done as a amateur film crew filming a movie as they get picked off one by one and the twist at the end which kinda makes up for the awkward and sometimes annoying way the film carries itself.
It's not the worst but it's far from a legit little gem of the video store in my eyes, but that's what made it so special is that you get the mystery of not knowing what it's like so you get the stinkers, but it feels that much more rewarding when you find a gem.
Whodunit? AKA Island of Blood (1982)
(6/10): So this is where we get into the mystery and potential misfires that the old video stores provided.
This is one of those Golden Age Slasher films that never really gets talked about and there's a decent reason as to why, while it can provide some well enough done gore effects the film has some a few strikes put against it.
For one, it's got a gimmick that relies on a song being played that essentially gives the audience an idea of how the character will die, it's fairly repetitive and it gets annoying after a while.
The characters are not too likable they're just inconsiderate and also very much jerks so it doesn't really give them much personality or rootability.
Finally, the kills while gory, they lack originality or creativity, they just don't do anything much to stand out from any other slasher so it's just kinda a weird subpar slasher that has an interesting idea with everything being done as a amateur film crew filming a movie as they get picked off one by one and the twist at the end which kinda makes up for the awkward and sometimes annoying way the film carries itself.
It's not the worst but it's far from a legit little gem of the video store in my eyes, but that's what made it so special is that you get the mystery of not knowing what it's like so you get the stinkers, but it feels that much more rewarding when you find a gem.
Surprisingly good,,,bad good.
highwayct18 April 2022
You have to be a certain kind of watcher to really enjoy this movie . If you are a mainstream movie watcher then you will not understand this movie.
This movie is for the more sophisticated viewer who tends to find the oddball movies more enjoyable and can look past the low budget drag me Downs.
You have to take these kinds of movies with the grain of salt.
If you understand how it was made then you can wrap your head around the rest of it.
This movie is for the more sophisticated viewer who tends to find the oddball movies more enjoyable and can look past the low budget drag me Downs.
You have to take these kinds of movies with the grain of salt.
If you understand how it was made then you can wrap your head around the rest of it.
VERY COOL 80'S SLASHER
SlasherReviewer6 September 2004
Warning: Spoilers
SPOILERS AHEAD....I've had this movie for quite some time under the title WhoDunIt and found it under Scarred Alive recently and is also known as Island Of Blood? So be warned you may think your getting 3 really cool movies but your really getting 1. This movie is awesome and a must have for a slasher fan. Anyone that disagrees should go stuff there head in the toilet and flush it about 666 times! Great gore, great 80's music what more can you ask for? I love the tape recorder that the killer leaves at all his murders with the songs playing, "kill me" "burn me" etc...Just a great movie if you like the Friday The 13th series and other mainstream slash and hack films. This flick is in my favorite 20 slasher movies for all the right reasons..Unique kill scenes, naked chicks, and dead bodies everywhere!!!Slasher reviewer gives this one all his thumbs up!!!Killer!!!
Great soundtrack, Gore and Comedy
Rusty198819 January 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Great little horror film that i found when i was about 10 at the local book shop for sale under the title scared alive, the back of the cover looked interesting and i thought for 5 dollars, i can't really go wrong, Anyways i got away with buying an M15+ rated film which ten years later I'm so glad i did, The movie starts of with a girl who is getting ready to go for a swim, (notice the weird, but cool pop song she is listening to on a little tape player). So she jumps in, swims around for about 30 seconds then gets out and just sits there, She heres something in the bush, so she turns of the tape to look around, next thing you know a gun is being pointed straight at her head.. and BANG, her head falls into the pool, and the start credits come up, Not to bad for a beginning, But after the credit the storyline is about a bunch of filmmakers that set out to an island to make a light hearted comedy, But the actors that the producer's have set up aren't really what you would call Great,,, or even Good. So the directer decides to make a few change's So that the lead actress Betty Jean doesn't have much to say in the film, but when people start to get killed on the island, (by a killer who always leaves his mark with that tape player that was at the start, but this time it is playing lyrics like Boil me, Nail me, Burn me, Stab me etc and is always swinging around), The actors are scared, and want to know who is doing the slaying's is it one of them?. The one and only actor out of the entire cast left is Betty Jean (Bari Suber), she and the producer get away from the blood bath. But the twist that arrives at the end will leave you shock'd..... All and All i thought that this movie was great for a slasher, it has some fun, sex, scares, and gore.. oh and an awesome soundtrack by Joel Goldsmith. Bari Suber was great, shame she never did anything after this. 10/10
Who cares?
lor_15 March 2023
My review was written in October 1986 after watching the film on Vestron video cassette.
"Whodunit?" is a very trite slasher film shot in 1981 and finally surfacing for home video fans. Pic's alternate title "Island of Blood" is more appropriate.
Dated horror formula is rigidly adhered to: a group of youngsters arrives at a remote island on the California coast where they expect to act in or provide music for a feature film. Pic's director Franklin Phlem (Ron Gardner) and fast-talking producer Steve Faith (Terry Goodman) arrive for a weekend of rehearsals, during which the cast members are gorily killed off one by one, with a portable cassette player blaring a rock song each time that describes the method of each murder.
Despite the title, film offers little suspense and the final twist (involving the making of a snuff film) is disappointing. Acting and tech credits are weak. Irony is that the awful feature being rehearsed, namely a goody-goody up with people message pic, is subjected to satirical barbs, yet is no worse than the actual feature "Whodunit?".
"Whodunit?" is a very trite slasher film shot in 1981 and finally surfacing for home video fans. Pic's alternate title "Island of Blood" is more appropriate.
Dated horror formula is rigidly adhered to: a group of youngsters arrives at a remote island on the California coast where they expect to act in or provide music for a feature film. Pic's director Franklin Phlem (Ron Gardner) and fast-talking producer Steve Faith (Terry Goodman) arrive for a weekend of rehearsals, during which the cast members are gorily killed off one by one, with a portable cassette player blaring a rock song each time that describes the method of each murder.
Despite the title, film offers little suspense and the final twist (involving the making of a snuff film) is disappointing. Acting and tech credits are weak. Irony is that the awful feature being rehearsed, namely a goody-goody up with people message pic, is subjected to satirical barbs, yet is no worse than the actual feature "Whodunit?".
*1/2 out of 4.
brandonsites19817 June 2002
A group of people gathered on an isolated island filming a mystery movie fall prey to a killer who dispatches of them according to the movies murders. Brief, fast paced thriller with some scares, some good gore, and a clever premise (remind anyone of Scream 2?), doesn't try to pretend it is anything by a mindless slaughter of young people. Rated R; Graphic Violence, Nudity, Sexual Situations, and Profanity.
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