The basis of this review is the 2021 Director's Cut Blu-ray.
Films such as this are not to be judged by the rules of mainstream cinema. It may be schlock, but it's very good schlock. Briefly: three young women from the planet Vasquez, out on joy ride to planet Earth, run out of fuel and crash. They soon encounter three young Earth men, get laid, and become immersed in Malibu beach culture. Then they help save a guy's house from repossession by entering a bikini contest.
"Citizen Kane" it ain't. But it works. I've never seen any of the old "beach party" movies, but I would describe this film as an NC-17 version of them.
First, the sex and nudity. Rest assured that this version is completely uncut; in fact, it's even more graphic than the original cable release. This goes double for Nikki Fritz's scene with Albert Mitchell. You'll never look at tanning oil the same way again.
Second, the A/V quality. The short answer is that this new edition is a massive improvement over the old DVD. Colors pop, resolution is excellent, and the "shimmer" effect during panning shots, which plagued the old version, has been corrected. That having been said, there are some issues that should be mentioned. These are not meant as criticisms. Full Moon is to be commended for giving fans this new release. But I do think that potential buyers should be aware of them:
I only have one minor quibble with this new Director's Cut; Full Moon did not include the old Torchlight VideoZone feature. A small thing, but it would have been nice. But they did include a massive 90 minute behind the scenes feature. No real interviews here; it's just a guy wandering around the set with a video camera. It was interesting having "fly on the wall" view of the production, and I'm glad they included it.
I liked this movie far more than I thought I would; so much so that I bought the now OOP original DVD (mostly for the VideoZone feature, and because that version has some alternate scenes), and the sequel, "Beach Babes 2: Cave Girl Island." I hope that one day, Vinegar Syndrome can get hold of both, and do a thorough restoration, with all available materials, production stills, etc. Maybe even a commentary with Dave DeCoteau. I will be writing a review for the sequel some time in the near future. For now, I'll just say that while "Cave Girl Island" is not as good as the first movie, I still enjoyed it.
Why did I like it so much? Partly the sexy factor, of course. The women are gorgeous (especially Sarah Bellomo). Another reason is nostalgia; this movie is like a one way time portal back to 1993. But the single biggest reason is fun. Sheer, unadulterated fun and lightheartedness. This is the kind of movie I can watch and forget my troubles for a while. I would recommend watching this along with "Dinosaur Island" and "Bikini Drive-In" (the latter now available on a beautifully restored BD). They share similar themes, and make a great trio, particularly for Nikki Fritz fans. Rest in peace, Nikki. You are missed.
I've scoured the internet looking for the lyrics of the two standout songs in this movie: "Moshin' On the Beach" and "I Got a Woody." No luck yet.
Thanks to Charles Band and Full Moon for giving fans this new edition. On the very small chance that any of you are reading this, please do the same for "Cave Girl Island," and the old TorchLight / Surrender Cinema line.
Films such as this are not to be judged by the rules of mainstream cinema. It may be schlock, but it's very good schlock. Briefly: three young women from the planet Vasquez, out on joy ride to planet Earth, run out of fuel and crash. They soon encounter three young Earth men, get laid, and become immersed in Malibu beach culture. Then they help save a guy's house from repossession by entering a bikini contest.
"Citizen Kane" it ain't. But it works. I've never seen any of the old "beach party" movies, but I would describe this film as an NC-17 version of them.
First, the sex and nudity. Rest assured that this version is completely uncut; in fact, it's even more graphic than the original cable release. This goes double for Nikki Fritz's scene with Albert Mitchell. You'll never look at tanning oil the same way again.
Second, the A/V quality. The short answer is that this new edition is a massive improvement over the old DVD. Colors pop, resolution is excellent, and the "shimmer" effect during panning shots, which plagued the old version, has been corrected. That having been said, there are some issues that should be mentioned. These are not meant as criticisms. Full Moon is to be commended for giving fans this new release. But I do think that potential buyers should be aware of them:
- Minor print damage can be seen throughout (but it never becomes distracting).
- The new (optional) 5.1 sound mix does give a little more oomph, but there are still a few lines of dialogue that are too soft...you can hear the speech, but you can't make out what the characters are saying. By my count, this happened three times, was very brief, and did not impact any character development or plot points. Not to mention the fact that "character development" and "plot points" are very loose terms when dealing with movies like this.
- Because the OAR (Original Aspect Ratio) has been altered, a small portion of the image from at least a few frames is missing. I only noticed this when Dave and Jerry go to Dr. Veg's Health Shack. On this new edition, the top of the sign has been cut off, and now you can only see the words "Health Shack."
I only have one minor quibble with this new Director's Cut; Full Moon did not include the old Torchlight VideoZone feature. A small thing, but it would have been nice. But they did include a massive 90 minute behind the scenes feature. No real interviews here; it's just a guy wandering around the set with a video camera. It was interesting having "fly on the wall" view of the production, and I'm glad they included it.
I liked this movie far more than I thought I would; so much so that I bought the now OOP original DVD (mostly for the VideoZone feature, and because that version has some alternate scenes), and the sequel, "Beach Babes 2: Cave Girl Island." I hope that one day, Vinegar Syndrome can get hold of both, and do a thorough restoration, with all available materials, production stills, etc. Maybe even a commentary with Dave DeCoteau. I will be writing a review for the sequel some time in the near future. For now, I'll just say that while "Cave Girl Island" is not as good as the first movie, I still enjoyed it.
Why did I like it so much? Partly the sexy factor, of course. The women are gorgeous (especially Sarah Bellomo). Another reason is nostalgia; this movie is like a one way time portal back to 1993. But the single biggest reason is fun. Sheer, unadulterated fun and lightheartedness. This is the kind of movie I can watch and forget my troubles for a while. I would recommend watching this along with "Dinosaur Island" and "Bikini Drive-In" (the latter now available on a beautifully restored BD). They share similar themes, and make a great trio, particularly for Nikki Fritz fans. Rest in peace, Nikki. You are missed.
I've scoured the internet looking for the lyrics of the two standout songs in this movie: "Moshin' On the Beach" and "I Got a Woody." No luck yet.
Thanks to Charles Band and Full Moon for giving fans this new edition. On the very small chance that any of you are reading this, please do the same for "Cave Girl Island," and the old TorchLight / Surrender Cinema line.