26 reviews
This is basically another story of a group of young people who head off to have a good time but find themselves stalked by a maniacal killer. The story is told by flashback, as the sole survivor relates what happened on the secluded island the group had sailed to. So the overall story isn't especially original. It is, however, a pretty good mystery, and there's no obvious solution to the mystery until rather late in the movie - and, even then, what seems to be the solution has an unexpected twist thrown in. The performances in the movie are decent - perhaps a bit better than what you normally find in these movies. Because it is so unoriginal, the whole thing seems to drag a bit at times as you wait for the mystery to be revealed. So, there's nothing especially noteworthy about this. It's OK, but the story has been basically told before - and many times before.
I try to find something to say about most films, but with Fear Island, I have to warn you that this 'review' will be pretty short.
It's hard to imagine a more 'average' film than this. I do like a daft 'slasher' flick as much as the next gore-hound, but this brought absolute zero to the genre.
I know all slasher movies have had the bar raised in 1997 by Scream, but at least some try to be original.
Fear Island is about a group of friends who go to stay on an island and mysteriously start getting picked off one by one. Hopefully, this won't spoil too much when I say that the film opens with one traumatised girl being found on said island by the authorities. The film then consists of her account of what happened to her friends to a police detective and criminal psychologist. I found that this kind of tells you most of what you need to know about the film. You never have to guess who will survive as you already know that from the start.
Normally, you may at least get a few amusing/interesting/disgusting kills. Not here. There's hardly any gore and what little there is comes few and far between. I know that no one expects an Oscar-worthy performance in a teen slasher film, but, seriously, the killer might as well be hunting trees since the actors are so wooden (even 'Jinx' from Warehouse 13 can't elevate it at all). Then there's the most clichéd detective ever to be put on film who's in charge of the (meagre) investigation. He spends most of his time barking stilted dialogue at an unfeasibly attractive, intelligent and calm psychologist.
Some film you can watch if you're bored. However, this is not even one of them. If you like slasher films and are in the mood to sit through one. My advice would be to put one of your own DVDs on. This one isn't worth the time.
http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/
It's hard to imagine a more 'average' film than this. I do like a daft 'slasher' flick as much as the next gore-hound, but this brought absolute zero to the genre.
I know all slasher movies have had the bar raised in 1997 by Scream, but at least some try to be original.
Fear Island is about a group of friends who go to stay on an island and mysteriously start getting picked off one by one. Hopefully, this won't spoil too much when I say that the film opens with one traumatised girl being found on said island by the authorities. The film then consists of her account of what happened to her friends to a police detective and criminal psychologist. I found that this kind of tells you most of what you need to know about the film. You never have to guess who will survive as you already know that from the start.
Normally, you may at least get a few amusing/interesting/disgusting kills. Not here. There's hardly any gore and what little there is comes few and far between. I know that no one expects an Oscar-worthy performance in a teen slasher film, but, seriously, the killer might as well be hunting trees since the actors are so wooden (even 'Jinx' from Warehouse 13 can't elevate it at all). Then there's the most clichéd detective ever to be put on film who's in charge of the (meagre) investigation. He spends most of his time barking stilted dialogue at an unfeasibly attractive, intelligent and calm psychologist.
Some film you can watch if you're bored. However, this is not even one of them. If you like slasher films and are in the mood to sit through one. My advice would be to put one of your own DVDs on. This one isn't worth the time.
http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/
- bowmanblue
- May 23, 2014
- Permalink
- Scarecrow-88
- Jan 6, 2012
- Permalink
The police find an amnesic young woman alone in an island with a large knife covered in blood and her six friends murdered. Detective Armory (Martin Cummins) suspects that she kills her friends but the psychiatrist Dr. Jamie Chalice (Anne Marie DeLuise) tells him that she is in shock and need to be treated. Sooner she recalls her name, Jenna (Haylie Duff), and Detective Armory calls her parents that are in Cambodia.
While they are traveling back home, Jenna tells what had happened to the group of friends. The former skeptic Detective Armory fells sorry for Jenna, but Dr. Chalice feels that her story has many inconsistencies and something might be wrong.
"Fear Island" is a boring film with lame story, screenplay, narrative and characters. The plot is absolutely predictable and dull; the screenplay is also terrible, with a tedious narrative; but the characters are the worst, most of them non likable with the exception of Dr. Chalice. Detective Armory, for example, is a cliché of a police detective. This plot could be a reasonable short but not a feature. My vote is three.
Title (Brazil): "Pânico na Ilha" ("Panic in the Island")
While they are traveling back home, Jenna tells what had happened to the group of friends. The former skeptic Detective Armory fells sorry for Jenna, but Dr. Chalice feels that her story has many inconsistencies and something might be wrong.
"Fear Island" is a boring film with lame story, screenplay, narrative and characters. The plot is absolutely predictable and dull; the screenplay is also terrible, with a tedious narrative; but the characters are the worst, most of them non likable with the exception of Dr. Chalice. Detective Armory, for example, is a cliché of a police detective. This plot could be a reasonable short but not a feature. My vote is three.
Title (Brazil): "Pânico na Ilha" ("Panic in the Island")
- claudio_carvalho
- Dec 15, 2011
- Permalink
- jonathanruano
- May 27, 2010
- Permalink
- jrichard-74213
- Jul 15, 2018
- Permalink
- c-e-ofor91
- Jul 30, 2011
- Permalink
- rgcustomer
- Mar 31, 2010
- Permalink
Netflix is like celebrating Christmas every day. I can surf Netflix and find a satisfying film or television show to watch every night. The most recent film I took the time to see is "Fear Island." "Fear Island" (2009) is a horror/thriller film directed by Michael Storey.
Five students set out to party on a desolate island. Things go array when Jenna, the only surviving person, is interrogated by Detective Armory and Psychiatrist Jamie Chalice. It is while Jenna is being interrogated, the audience is drawn into Jenna's storytelling capabilities and is left with an uneasy feeling as to whom the mysterious killer really is.
This horror film draws my attention immediately. I'm captivated by the storyline, plot, theme, and character profiles. I am hooked. Who is the killer? If it's not Jenna then who? Because I am actively living this creepy scenario, continuously drawing conclusions, replaying the six character profiles in my head while looking for clues, makes my heart skip a beat. The music escalates to the fast-pace of a pulse, da-da, da- da, da-da. All of a sudden a snake leaps out of a cupboard, and I jump three feet off my bed. Holding my heart, I catch my breath, "Geezeee," I shout at the computer.
After gathering my sanity for a moment, my suspicions are aroused as my mind and body wants something else to be lurking behind an inanimate object. With every foot step, my heart pounds as I anticipate another melodramatic creature feverishly suspending midair wanting to gouge, claw, or bite into another character, making him or her fall suspect as a victim. I can't blink. I can't swallow. My breathing is shallow... and then the mind twist. I am lead down a path one way, then out of left field, my mind is shoved down a different path leaving me with a psychological thriller for an ending. Not a surprising ending, but the journey captivating the end result is rewarding.
The only problem I see with psychological thrillers is that by the end of the film, I am left wondering who the heck does that? And, then, one day down the line, a sociopath is suspended into reality leaving me with a comparison of the sociopath to a scenario with twisted motives in a movie much like "Fear Island."
Five students set out to party on a desolate island. Things go array when Jenna, the only surviving person, is interrogated by Detective Armory and Psychiatrist Jamie Chalice. It is while Jenna is being interrogated, the audience is drawn into Jenna's storytelling capabilities and is left with an uneasy feeling as to whom the mysterious killer really is.
This horror film draws my attention immediately. I'm captivated by the storyline, plot, theme, and character profiles. I am hooked. Who is the killer? If it's not Jenna then who? Because I am actively living this creepy scenario, continuously drawing conclusions, replaying the six character profiles in my head while looking for clues, makes my heart skip a beat. The music escalates to the fast-pace of a pulse, da-da, da- da, da-da. All of a sudden a snake leaps out of a cupboard, and I jump three feet off my bed. Holding my heart, I catch my breath, "Geezeee," I shout at the computer.
After gathering my sanity for a moment, my suspicions are aroused as my mind and body wants something else to be lurking behind an inanimate object. With every foot step, my heart pounds as I anticipate another melodramatic creature feverishly suspending midair wanting to gouge, claw, or bite into another character, making him or her fall suspect as a victim. I can't blink. I can't swallow. My breathing is shallow... and then the mind twist. I am lead down a path one way, then out of left field, my mind is shoved down a different path leaving me with a psychological thriller for an ending. Not a surprising ending, but the journey captivating the end result is rewarding.
The only problem I see with psychological thrillers is that by the end of the film, I am left wondering who the heck does that? And, then, one day down the line, a sociopath is suspended into reality leaving me with a comparison of the sociopath to a scenario with twisted motives in a movie much like "Fear Island."
- brooklyn-gilmore
- Sep 11, 2012
- Permalink
The film starts out with a girl being found on an island. Later she's interrogated by police and starts to explain what happened...
Seen any horror films where the introductory elements feature either someone telling the story secondhand, a psychologist/phychiatrist or mental asylum? Any recent ones?
Congratulations, you could probably guess how this movie turns out, because you've seen this overused twist before.
But there's more - emulating "House of the Dead", we're already told the other characters died, meaning even this in-story story has an obvious outcome.
Well everythings predictable, at least gorehounds have something worth watching... actually wait, the kills usually happen offscreen.
Seen any horror films where the introductory elements feature either someone telling the story secondhand, a psychologist/phychiatrist or mental asylum? Any recent ones?
Congratulations, you could probably guess how this movie turns out, because you've seen this overused twist before.
But there's more - emulating "House of the Dead", we're already told the other characters died, meaning even this in-story story has an obvious outcome.
Well everythings predictable, at least gorehounds have something worth watching... actually wait, the kills usually happen offscreen.
- BakuryuuTyranno
- Oct 30, 2011
- Permalink
I really liked this movie. THOUGH, it is not a horror movie. I would categorize it more like a thriller or something like that. But like some of the others on here says, you keep changing your suspect and it ends up really surprisingly. I really liked this movie, and i think you should watch it! Do not listen to everybody saying - Oh this is bad, blah blah blah, because it is not. It is not a good horror movie because it is not that scary, but it makes you think, and i promise you, you will get surprised at moments! I do hope you will watch it, because it is worth it! You are not wasting you time, it is a good movie, i tell ya! Its a great movie!
- deagrampetersson
- May 30, 2014
- Permalink
Six friends ( plus a stowaway) go on a weekend getaway to a deserted island and find themselves at the mercy of a killer. The question is who is the killer? The premise is hardly original but then how many films are these days.
The film is shown in flashback which to be honest I found a little irritating at the start but in the end I felt it worked. The characters/victims are the normal cannon fodder you would expect to find in a movie like this and at times it all feels a little predictable and I felt I'd seen some scenes before even though I hadn't. There is a lack of gore in the film although there are a number of good tense scenes and some wince inducing moments.
For all it's obvious flaws there are enough nice touches to keep up your interest level and it has a nice twist ending. Although it's certainly no ground breaker it's an easy film to watch which makes it ideal for a Saturday night with a few beers.
Overall I enjoyed this film and it's worth watching on the basis that you don't expect too much.
The film is shown in flashback which to be honest I found a little irritating at the start but in the end I felt it worked. The characters/victims are the normal cannon fodder you would expect to find in a movie like this and at times it all feels a little predictable and I felt I'd seen some scenes before even though I hadn't. There is a lack of gore in the film although there are a number of good tense scenes and some wince inducing moments.
For all it's obvious flaws there are enough nice touches to keep up your interest level and it has a nice twist ending. Although it's certainly no ground breaker it's an easy film to watch which makes it ideal for a Saturday night with a few beers.
Overall I enjoyed this film and it's worth watching on the basis that you don't expect too much.
- MattyGibbs
- Nov 28, 2014
- Permalink
- jamesbourke59
- Oct 30, 2011
- Permalink
- poolandrews
- Nov 19, 2011
- Permalink
In my eyes this movie was produced ten or more years too late. It seems like a typical 90s slasher. Teenagers get hunted down one by one. The acting is poor, story is lame. Only the story telling in flashbacks is kinda interesting. Another small plus point is that the ending is not really predictable.
- dertobirockt
- Sep 24, 2021
- Permalink
Jenna (Haylie Duff) is found alive and with amnesia. Detective Armory (Martin Cummins) and Dr. Chalice (Anne Marie DeLuise) investigate the six dead and Jenna slowly recalls the events. Jenna and four friends (Aaron Ashmore, Kyle Schmid, Jessica Harmon, Jacob Blair) sail to an isolated island house. The island caretaker Keith finds 15 year old Megan (Lucy Hale) stowaway on their boat.
This is not scary, and that's the first thing I look for in a horror. The basic story of young hot people in an isolated location is nothing special. It could be a reasonable TV B-movie, but the no thrills kills won't get many horror fans excited. The problem is the wrapped-in-a-flashback-retelling construction. It takes away all the tension. And whether she's telling the truth or not, Haylie Duff just takes away all the excitement. I didn't care about Jenna or her story.
This is not scary, and that's the first thing I look for in a horror. The basic story of young hot people in an isolated location is nothing special. It could be a reasonable TV B-movie, but the no thrills kills won't get many horror fans excited. The problem is the wrapped-in-a-flashback-retelling construction. It takes away all the tension. And whether she's telling the truth or not, Haylie Duff just takes away all the excitement. I didn't care about Jenna or her story.
- SnoopyStyle
- May 8, 2014
- Permalink
A group of 4 young men and 3 women decide to take a boat to their favorite island vacation hangout. Once they reach the cabin and settle in members of their group begin to die off one by one. So much for the plot which has been played and replayed numerous times in the past. Even so, this particular film was told in a unique manner which managed to keep the film at least somewhat entertaining. For example, the lone survivor was a woman named "Jenna" (Haylie Duff) who was rescued by the police and suffers from amnesia. So she tells the story in a series of flashbacks. Now, normally when the "flashback technique" is used it tends to take away from the mystery of the film. Fortunately, this wasn't the case as there were many unexpected twists and turns as the story evolved. There isn't much horror or suspense. Neither was there any gratuitous sex or nudity. The acting was mediocre, the dialogue was weak and the special effects were nowhere to be seen. But the mystery keeps it together long enough for an unexpected ending which manages to tie everything up rather nicely. In short, if you're looking for an exciting horror film then you might be disappointed. All things considered I rate is as average.
- michaelRokeefe
- Apr 7, 2014
- Permalink
FEAR ISLAND is yet another dull slasher movie about a group of friends assembling on a remote spot and being bumped off one by one by a mysterious killer. Who's the one responsible? Does anybody actually care?
The answer is a resounding no. FEAR ISLAND is content to plod along without trying very hard to deliver thrills that are either genuinely exciting or indeed original. This Canadian TV movie was obviously made on a low budget; it has some violence, but otherwise the entire execution seems tame and subdued.
The poor quality of the cast doesn't help, with lots of screaming and overacting from the majority of the cast members. Not until I checked the film on the IMDb did I realise that Shawn Ashmore wasn't in this, but instead his twin brother, who isn't as charismatic an actor. Yeah, that's about as interesting as it gets.
The answer is a resounding no. FEAR ISLAND is content to plod along without trying very hard to deliver thrills that are either genuinely exciting or indeed original. This Canadian TV movie was obviously made on a low budget; it has some violence, but otherwise the entire execution seems tame and subdued.
The poor quality of the cast doesn't help, with lots of screaming and overacting from the majority of the cast members. Not until I checked the film on the IMDb did I realise that Shawn Ashmore wasn't in this, but instead his twin brother, who isn't as charismatic an actor. Yeah, that's about as interesting as it gets.
- Leofwine_draca
- Apr 24, 2016
- Permalink
Pierre died because of our sins, but he remains alive in our hearts. I couldn't watch the movie, because I accidentally burned my house down with a molotov cocktail, do I just had to guess the whole story by looking at the funny pictures on the backside of my Dvd box.
Tim Allen is awful.
- jswindter01
- Jul 7, 2013
- Permalink
- truemarsblood
- Jun 29, 2013
- Permalink