The Bermuda Triangle (1978)

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE is a low key, low budget science fiction thriller by Mexican director Rene Cardona, Jr. It's set on a boat stranded at sea in the Bermuda Triangle, where the assembled passengers and crew are assailed by constant strange events and mysteries: a doll is washed up and a little girl feeds it raw meat; they receive constant transmissions from vessels and planes that aren't around; an underwater earthquake threatens a diving expedition; people begin to die in strange accidents. Truth be told, it's a slimly-plotted film that feels more than a little dragged out at times; there's little actual 'meat' to the story, just one thing following another. The lack of a decent budget precludes any big effects but you do get turns from Mexican film star Hugo Stiglitz alongside a slumming-it John Huston and former Bond girl Claudine Auger. It's a film you watch to experience the mildly spooky atmosphere more than anything else.

The Bermuda Triangle, as it's title boldly implies, is a film that's based around the mystique surrounding the Bermuda Triangle, which in itself sounds fairly compelling... however this movie is mostly about the people on board a yacht known as the Black Whale III. Oh and what a charismatic lot they are! The films primary cast is comprised of about 12 people of various ages (including John Huston and Claudine Auger), but mostly the cast is made from a short list of small-time/no-name actors (if you watch this movie you'll no why their not a known name), whose acting is typically so casual and mundane, that you'd swear that they weren't aware that they were part of a movie. And to make things even worse, all of the child actors dialog is dubbed (and often by people who sound much older then them), which has a way of making them sound unnatural and even ridiculous at times. This is especially true for the little blonde girl, her voice sounds about as natural as that of a talking dolls. And just to mention it, it's always a bad sign when the quarrelings of a dysfunctional middle-aged couple produce the movies most entertaining moments and that's where Claudine Auger comes in. Filmed in 1977, a full 12 years after her famous appearance (as Domino) in Thunderball, she's not looking quite as beautiful here and she's constantly bickering with her boozehound husband (whose hitting the J & B scotch ultra-heavy). Sadly, these scenes between the two of them are, for me at least, the movies liveliest scenes. I find that there's something colorfully compelling about their biting mutual disdain for each other, not to mention all the great free-flowing sarcasm, that these two bitter souls stir up between each other.The purpose of their cruise is to scuba-dive on the site of some ancient underwater ruins that are many miles out to sea (this type of setting can make for some absolutely incredible visuals, but don't worry, nothing remotely interesting, let alone incredible comes of it), so don your wet-suit and get ready to partake in this grand dive of theirs. This lengthy dive sequence was clearly meant to be the movies grand center-piece, but yet it lasts for far too long and is, like the rest of this movie, a total bore - just underwater this time. You'd think that this sequence would supply some temporary reprieve from all the mundane nothingness, that's taking place aboard the decks of the Black Whale III, but that's not the case. This 10 minute underwater foray generates all the thrills and excitement of watching a bowl of jello gelatinate or waiting for cup of pudding to thicken. In more capable hands this sequence could've been a surreal underwater odyssey. But, in the end of it all, it does help quicken the movies pace, when bad luck befalls the loveliest of the ships passengers, when an ancient pillar topples over and crushes her legs, now things get desperate fast, as she needs help ASAP, but the mysterious ways of The Bermuda Triangle (also known as The Devils Triangle) make that impossible and the only doctor on board is a hopeless and bitter drunk. When it's all said and done there is virtually nothing compelling or entertaining about this lame and forgotten movie from the late-70's, it's biggest failure is it's cast and that's clearly reflected through their lack of any real chemistry between each other - not that they had anything interesting to say in the first place and the voice-dubbing only makes this bad movie worse.The Bermuda Triangle seems to do little else, but kick dirt on John Huston's long and storied career - The Maltese Falcon this is not.The verdict is: Very slow, very dull and just plain bad, like the majority of movies from the 70's tend to be.

Edward (John Huston...yes, that John Huston) charters the Black Whale III to take his family out to some Caribbean waters to search for what he believes is a sunken city. Naturally, they pass into the Bermuda Triangle and strange stuff starts happening (can you guess which actor disappears first, paycheck clenched tightly in hand?). It is up to Capt. Briggs (Hugo Stiglitz) to get everyone to safety. René Cardona Jr. was certainly getting his water freak on during this time period (this, TINTORERA, CYCLONE). The film is slim on thrills but somehow watchable. Cardona throws about every horror cliché at the screen and the crux of the plot rests on a young girl fishing a possessed doll (that may or may not be an old Triangle victim...don't ask) out of the ocean in order for the mayhem to start an hour in. He then throws in some other Triangle incidents randomly like some planes that go missing. There is also some nice underwater footage but Cardona ruins it all with some unnecessary real footage of two sharks being killed. Ugh. On a side note, did something drastically go wrong in John Huston's personal life in 1977? Divorce? Health bills? Loan sharks? Something? Because I can't explain his starring roles that year in this, TENTACLES, and Umberto Lenzi's BATTLE FORCE. We're talking three years removed from CHINATOWN here folks.

Yes, tales of The Bermuda Triangle terrifies many people, and this movie isn't going to calm their fears.A stunning work by great director Rene Cardona Jr. who managed to keep a disturbing mood all the film long, from the first minute of disappearing USAF jets, to the last one, with the closing credits showing a list of hundreds of planes / ships who vanished in the Triangle. Unforgettable. Eerie music score adds a lot to the chilling atmosphere, and the use of an apparently inofensive doll can drive your kids afraid of their own toys if they dare to watch this flick (I certainly do not recommend it to kids, all the people I know of that saw Il Triangolo Delle Bermuda told me they hade many nightmares, and so do I...) Rene Cardona don't need any hysterical screams, bloodbath, or giant monsters from the deep, he has this rare talent of being able to bring up such pure psychological horror.Very hard to find on tape, I sincerly hope it will be available one day on VHS or DVD.