Terminal Island (1973)

Terminal Island Film Details

Overview: It’s every man and woman for himself on an island where convicted murderers are dumped, rather than kept in prison.

Tagline: Men and Women Condemned to Devil’s Island, U.S.A….Where Living is Worse Than Dying!

Review: January 2014: Since watching the fascinating 1975 film Gemini Affair,I decided to take a look at lead star Marta Kristen’s IMDb page,which listed a trio of movies that she made.After being unable to track down Kristen’s surrealist title Once,I took a look at the page for the other flick in the trio,and I was happy to discover that it was a Women In Prison (WIP) film,co-starring Kristen.Taking a look around online,I was disappointed to find that the only version out in the UK was a heavily cut edition. September 2014: Shortly after tracking down an uncut version of the Adult Jaws spoof Gums,I decided to take a look at what other movies the DVD selling had for sale,and I was delighted to spot an uncut edition of Terminal Island,which led to me finally setting foot on the island. The plot: After the US Supreme Court declares that the death penalty is unlawful,California decides that it will counter this law by making the island of San Bruno a dumping ground for first degree murderers,who will be kept on the island for the rest of their lives,and will have to fight to the death for their survival.Found guilty of murder,Joy is sent to join the other residences of the island. Ignoring advice to stay on the shore of the island,Joy heads to the heart of the island,where she is captured,and soon becomes a prison.Originally expecting to find the island to be a battle royal,Joy is instead surprised to find,that with the exception of a few outcasts,that the island is run by 2 men called Bobby & Monk,who push all of the more conscious-heavy guys around,and keep the women as workers and sex slaves. As she gets pushed around and “eased” in by Bobby & Monk,Joy begins talking to her fellow prisoners about staging a rebellion on the island. View on the film: Showing the boys how things are done,co-writer/ (along with James Barnett and Charles S. Swartz) director Stephanie Rothman (“Gasp”-a women making a “genre” movie!) gives the movie an extremely gritty appearance,with Rothman and cinematographer Daniel Lacambre using the island location to give the title a lush, rugged atmosphere. Displaying a sense of equal opportunity,Rothman hits the action scenes with a brutal force,thanks to Rotherman putting the guys & the girls knee- deep in bare knuckle fights,and deadly shootings which scatter across the screen.Keeping away from making the action scenes unconnected to the rest of the movie,Rothman shows a subtle progression in the fighting style of the islanders,as Joy and her gang of rebels develop a bond in taking on Monk & Bobby. Taking place almost entirely in the jungle,the writers include a sly allegorical element to the Vietnam war in the screenplay,with the rebels weapons all involving elements of the jungle,whilst Monk and Bobby go up against them with brand new machine guns.Making sure that the allegorical never engulfs the title,the writers smartly decide to keep the message sly,which allows for the flick to end on a positive,cheerful note about creating bonds in a new society.Despite the film having a positive message,the writers make sure that the road to the message is not an easy,with everyone from the leaders to the slaves being beaten to a pulp,with the writers showing a tremendous glee in wiping out major characters with a burst of gunfire. Stepping on the island with a goal to hit anyone that gets in her way, Phyllis Davis gives a terrific,brash performance as Joy,with Davis showing Joy’s edges to soften,as she gets into the swing of team work,whilst a pretty Marta Kristen gives a fun,care-free performance as Lee Phillips,and the gorgeous Barbara Leigh (who also appears naked) displays a fragile vulnerability as Bunny.Joining the girls, Roger E. Mosley gives a stern performance as Monk,whilst Sean Kenney cast a snarl across the screen as boo- hiss baddie Bobby,as all of them try to survive on the terminal island.

Country: United States

Language: English

Duration: 88 min

Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller

Also known as: To teleftaio nisi tis Kolaseos,Terminal Island,L’île du non-retour,Pirunsaari USA,Kvindefængslet på Djævleøen,To teleftaio nisi ton zontanon nekron,Djeveløya,La isla sin retorno,Männer wie Tiger,La isla de los condenados,Terminal Island – L’Isola dei Dannati,Остров-тюрьма,Pirunsaari U.S.A.,Le dernier pénitencier,Männer wie die Tiger,To nisi ton katharmaton,Knuckle-Men,Terror på Djävulsön