Private Property (2005) User Reviews

A low budget film with moments of brilliance

[njd123 · 6/10 · 8 August 2005]

The reviewer who has written the glowing report on this film is wildly exaggerating, and I can only assume that he/she is associated with the film in some sense.

The reason that the film was re-released in the UK in 2005 "Island of the Damned" is because the film was initially a flop, so the distributors tried to re-market the film as a horror movie. This is no horror movie, it's barely even a thriller.

It's slow to get going, and to be honest - it's slow all the way through. The director could have cut at least 20 minutes of the version that I saw (120mins). There are a couple of very good twists, and there is some good acting, particularly from the female lead. The camera work is sloppy in some parts, but elsewhere it's rather average. There are also a few plot inconsistencies and quite a lot of continuity errors.

However, the film does have an other-worldly feel to it in parts, which is more characteristic of European art-house cinema, which I applaud. I will not say anymore on the film, except to recommend it as something to watch when there really isn't much else on TV or in the video shop. Not a bad effort - but there are so many better films out there...

Marketing for 'Island Of The Damned' is nothing short of criminal

[nrbarton · 3/10 · 18 July 2007]

I feel conned/misled/ripped off.

I bought 'Island Of The Damned' which is clearly a horror title. It was deliberately renamed to make it sound like a horror because nobody was interested in 'Private Property'. What I'm most annoyed about is the unattributed quote on the front which states, "At last... a film as spooky as 'Cabin Fever' and as chilling as 'Saw'." As it doesn't state who the quote is from I can only assume it was made up by whoever was marketing the movie which surely is illegal?? If not it should be! Because the film was in no way spooky or chilling. It wasn't a horror and wasn't even passable as a thriller. It's more likely to slow your pulse right down. It's more of a mish-mash of drama, weird art-house, crime and comedy. It also laughably had 5 stars above the quote and after seeing the film nobody in their right mind would ever give it 5 stars so that is further confirmation that it is a complete fabrication.

It wasn't even a good film but I'm not annoyed at seeing a bad movie; I see lots. To be fair this had its moments actually and some potential, but ultimately it was pretty dull and dragged on. I'm just annoyed that I was conned into buying a horror that turned out to not be a horror.

I don't like being lied to and the unattributed quote was obviously a lie as it in no way describes the film on the DVD. Furthermore, the inappropriate renaming of the title was done deliberately to mislead.

Whoever marketed this needs their ass suing!

Worst film in history?

[l-lipscombe · 1/10 · 8 July 2005]

I had the misfortune to see this film recently (released as Island of the Damned recently in the UK). It was most certainly the worst film I have ever seen and 4 of 6 colleagues who also watched it agreed. A combination of an entirely unfeasible plot, appalling acting, ridiculous twists, and a dreadful dialogue make this one of the all time howlers for me. What was the creature in the cage and what ultimate relevance did it have? How do 2 men make it to the shore with suits on, with a cage (which presumably would not float)from what must have been a significant distance out to sea? How does a man, who is clearly not a mechanic, fix a boat engine which has a bullet hole in it? Why was this film an 18 - perhaps because they use the C word once or twice? And was the blossoming love affair the worst played out and least likely in film history? I note the Director Elizabeth Dimon isn't credited with any other films on this site which should be a relief to us all. She and everybody associated with this should be utterly ashamed of themselves and should cease acting, directing, producing or whatever, immediately. Worth watching only only as a worst case scenario benchmark.