Starring Irish McCalla, Tod Griffin, Victor Sen Yung, Rudolph Anders, Gene Roth
Directed by Richard E. Cunha
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A spoiled rich girl and the men traveling with her are shipwrecked on an island where a Nazi scientist is transforming native women into savage monsters.
Another of Richard Cunha's quartet of independent sci-fi/horror films made for the drive-in circuit, it's fun and entertaining despite its flaws. Bookended by obvious stock footage for the hurricane that wrecks McCalla's boat and the volcano that dooms the island, what lies between is low budget but still interesting. McCalla's beauty, the monster makeups, and the cruelty of the Nazi officers are depended on to carry the film, and for me at least, do that successfully. That being said, the white actresses playing the native women stretch credibility, and a sequence where chief villain Anders explains his experiments goes on too long, but he gives a good performance, and Nicholas Carras' ominous score sets the right tone. I found McCalla, Griffin, and Sen Yung likable enough and the fight sequences well choreographed, although Griffin's stunt double quite noticeably looked far older than the actor. Still, the movie projects that 1950s sci-fi atmosphere well enough, and is a treasure for that alone.
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