Doomwatch (1972)

... aka: Island of the Ghouls

Directed by:
Peter Sasdy

Environmental issues have been prevalent in the horror genre ever since the 1950s, where nuclear waste and pollutants of all kinds have been responsible for creating giant monsters and mutants. This one is based on the Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis created television series, which was popular enough on BBC to last for three seasons (1970 to 1972) and spawn this feature-length film (Clive Exton is credited with the final screenplay). A new government agency called "Doomwatch" has been formed to combat a worldwide pollution problem. To find out what effects lead additives from a recent oil spill and the detergents used to clean up said oil spill are having on sea life, Dr. Del Shaw (Ian Bannen) travels to Balfe; a small, sparsely-populated island worst hit by tanker spill. Sent to retrieve samples of seaweed, gastropods, bivalves, crustacean and possibly gulls for study, Shaw plans on just staying long enough to gather samples and then be on his way. Upon arrival, he notices the villagers living on the close knit island are an odd bunch and less than hospitable. He's constantly questioned about how long he'll be staying and what he's doing there, he has a difficult time finding accommodations and notices nearly everyone acts secretive or even downright hostile, including the local policeman and priest. He's finally able to get a room from Miss Johnson (Constance Chapman) and there meets fellow foreigner Victoria Brown (Judy Geeson), a school teacher who seems to be turning a blind eye to whatever is going on there.

The next day, Del ventures out to gather specimens on the beach but thanks to more peculiar behavior from the villagers - and the fact someone seem to be following him everywhere he goes with a shotgun - he decides to stay a few extra days to see if he can figure out just what is going on. While taking a stroll through the woods, he catches two dogs digging at the dirt. After getting attacked by one of them, he discovers the body of a young child in a shallow grave. When he reports it to the police and returns there, the body has been moved. One of the villagers destroys his camera and he's attacked by something hideously disfigured in the barn. Eventually, Victoria agrees to help him under the condition that nothing bad happens to the islanders. She confides in him that people are starting to refuse to leave their homes, the men suffer from violent outbursts and people have been disappearing. Many townspeople also seem to be changing physically, with overhanging brows, widening of the nose and lips and worse. While catching some fish, Dr. Shaw notices a prohibited area of the island called Castle Rock, which used to be a military dumping ground for "mild" radioactive waste.

Shaw returns to London to piece together the clues with a few colleagues. He gets underwater photographs of what the military actually had dumped there... along with hundreds of mysterious canisters the military didn't dump there. Turns out the unaccounted for drums (dumped there illegally) are full of a growth hormone which stimulates the pituitary gland and, in large enough doses, can causes mutation. The fish in the nearby waters have been contaminated and thus some of the folks living on Balfe have also been contaminated, resulting in widespread epidemic of the disfiguring disease acromegaly (which 40s horror star Rondo Hatton suffered from). The islanders, who are ashamed of their past history of inbreeding and immorality and want little to nothing to do with progress, aren't all that willing to cooperate either.

Going into this expecting a mutant horror flick is absolutely the wrong way to go, though the film has been advertised as such over the years. It's non-exploitative for the most part, quite dialogue-heavy and has only a handful of shock sequences. In short, it's not very exciting to watch in an action-oriented sense. However, it is intelligently written and a well thought out film, with a more credible science component than usual. It accurately disassembles the pecking order of illegal chemical dumping, with the chemical company who produced the toxic chemical subcontracting the actual dumping work to a disreputable firm and then playing stupid so that they're not actually responsible for any of it. How all of this goes down is approached from a multitude of perspectives and we see how different groups; the science community, the business community, the religious community (represented by Joseph O'Conor's vicar who believes the epidemic is punishment from God) and the military (George Sanders has a few brief scenes as an admiral) react. And much of the reaction is sadly quite accurate to how something like this would pan out in real life.

The film made its biggest splash in America re-titled Island of ther Ghouls and playing on "The Ghoul Show" triple feature along with GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE (1972) and GARDEN OF THE DEAD (1972). Paul and Simon Oates (who apparently did not like this film adaptation) reprise their roles from the BBC series and - along with Jean Trend - comprise the primary Doomwatch team. The solid supporting cast also includes Percy Herbert, Shelagh Fraser (doing a very nice job as an islander with an infected husband), Geoffrey Keen, Norman Bird, James Cosmo and George Woodbridge.

★★1/2

Endless Night (1972)

... aka: Agatha Christie's Endless Night

Directed by:
Sidney Gilliat

Michael Rogers (Hywel Bennett) isn't too happy with his lot in life. From humble beginnings and currently working as a hired driver to chauffeur around rich people all over Europe, Michael gets such a big taste of the high life on a daily basis that he wants it for himself. Not content with visiting art auctions (and pretending to have the means to actually purchase the pieces) and passing off his borrowed Rolls Royce as his own, Michael's biggest dream in life is to build a beautiful modern home on a picturesque plot of land called Gypsy's Acre, which has the luxury of beautiful pastoral fields and an ocean view not far off in the distance. It's an obsession of his and he's determined to get it at all costs. One of his clients, a wealthy, world-famous architect named Santonix (Per Oscarsson), who has only a few years left to live, tells him not to give up on his dreams because, "If the wish can be willed, then perhaps the means will follow." And to a sociopathic social climber like Michael, the "means" are soon found in a sweet, pretty, nubile young woman... who happens to come from a very wealthy family.

While out at Gypsy's Acre taking photographs and dreaming of his future home, Michael bumps into a young American girl named Fenella Thomsen (an emaciated and bony-looking Hayley Mills), who prefers to be called Ellie and is studying singing at a conservatory. There's an instant connection between the two and they part ways with a kiss, with an agreement to meet up again soon. One thing leads to another and the two quickly get become hitched. As it turns out, Ellie is a filthy-rich heiress who has just come into a considerable fortune. The union quickly gets Michael and Ellie into all of the newspapers, with the "World's 6th richest girl" marrying a lowly chauffeur and all. Though her parents are dead, Ellie's extended family, including icy stepmother Cora (Lois Maxwell) and family lawyer Andrew Lippincott (George Sanders), try to pay him a considerable sum for him to quietly divorce Ellie. Being in love, he refuses the offer. The new couple purchase Gypsy's Acre and construction is immediately underway on their dream home. Or at least Michael's dream home...

Once everything is complete, the happy couple are finally able to move into their new digs; an elaborate monstrosity with huge pictures windows, a floor that moves to unveil a pool underneath, walls that flip around to unveil a music chamber, a bar and other things, conveyor belts and remote-controlled everything. With a flip of a button, even the seasonal ambience can be altered. Ellie and Michael open an antique shop in town and settle into what should be nice, wonderful life together. However, everyone seems to be getting ample warnings from just about every place possible. For starters, Miss Townsend (Patience Collier), a local psychic lady who family used to own the property, tells Ellie she's doomed if she stays there. Then there's the attractive Greta (Britt Ekland), Ellie's former tutor, who was let go by the family for lying to help facilitate Michael and Ellie's relationship during the early stages. Both Ellie's family lawyer and Santonix warn Michael not to get too close to her. Regardless, Greta comes to their home for a protracted stay.

Problems arise in the marriage, many caused by Greta's overbearing presence, nosiness and the fact she seems to be trying to take over the home. Several of Ellie's family members move to their town to keep tabs on things and are constantly spying on them. And the creepy old psychic lady and her Siamese cat lurk around outside. One strange thing after another happens until numerous people end up dead. One character may or may not be a ghost, there's a relatively easy-to-spot twist at the end and we get brief glimpses into Michael's childhood, which unveil bickering parents, possible sexual molestation from his stepfather and witnessing a childhood friend drown.

I really liked the chemistry between Bennett and Mills in the underrated psycho-thriller TWISTED NERVE (1968), so I was looking forward to seeing them paired here again. Unfortunately, this "thriller" (often listed as a horror film though it barely even qualifies) is lacking in both originality and dramatic punch. Bennett tries his best to give an intense, tortured performance and most of the supporting cast is solid, but the two primary female leads could have been better. British actress Mills' attempt at a countrified American accent is laughable and after awhile she stops even trying and sounds British again, though otherwise she gives an OK performance. Ekland never was much of an actress and does nothing to change anyone's perception of her here with her usual wooden, pouty-lipped line delivery and empty, deer-caught-in-headlights facial expressions.

It's based on a novel by Agatha Christie. Christie herself apparently didn't like this adaptation, and apparently neither did British critics or audiences of its day. The film flopped and was never released theatrically in the U.S. The cast includes Aubrey Richards as a friendly doctor, Madge Ryan as Michael's disapproving mother, Walter Gotell and an uncredited Leo Genn as a shrink in the final scene. Bernard Herrmann (with assist from Howard Blake on the Moog Synthesizer) did the eerie score and Shirley Jones dubbed Mills' singing. The title comes from the William Blake poem "Auguries of Innocence."

★★