Terminal Island (1973)

Touches You

best movie i've ever seen.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

I can't believe all the reviews that are so positive about this terrible movie. The only interesting aspect is that it stars a young Tom Selleck. There's gratuitous nudity, unconvincing gore and 'action' sequences which are laughable. The story is stale with a plot that has been reworked many times. There's nothing new or worthwhile to recommend this movie. There's no tension to be found in the story. It has a very unrealistic premise and ending. There's also a real misogynistic theme in this movie as the women are nothing more than 'ass' for the men to share. And while the men are all scruffy and dirty, the women are perfectly coiffed with their breasts spilling out of their ill-fitting clothes. I guess if you're a 12-year-old boy, you might get your jollies from this insipid movie but anyone with an IQ over 100 will be bored by this POS.

The early 1970s B picture "Terminal Island" has an effective premise with which to work. In the "future", the Supreme Court has declared the death penalty unconstitutional. In its place, criminals are now dumped on an island 40 miles off the American coast. Here they're (mostly) left to fend for themselves. The latest arrival is a young woman, Carmen (Ena Hartman), who's just in time to witness an uprising. Some of the convicts are tired of the tyranny of their "leaders" Bobby (Sean Kenney, "The Corpse Grinders") and Monk (Roger E. Mosley, "The Mack"). So a small group splits off from the main group, and plots revolution.Co-written by James Barnett, producer Charles S. Swartz, and director Stephanie Rothman ("The Velvet Vampire"), "Terminal Island" is pretty good for this kind of exploitation fare. It fulfils its requirements - violence, sex, nudity - adequately, and is simply beautifully shot (by Daniel Lacambre, "Humanoids from the Deep") on some pretty locations. While it naturally has its trashy moments, it never really wallows in unpleasantness, and it does have a sense of humour, to boot. (Watch how the horny character, Dylan (Clyde Ventura, "'Gator Bait") is dealt with.) The story is a little thin, but is also provocative on occasion. (Dr. Milford, played by a young Tom Selleck, was convicted of the mercy killing of a patient.)The cast is full of then-stars, stars-to-be, and familiar character faces. Also appearing are Don Marshall ("The Thing with Two Heads"), Phyllis Davis ("Beyond the Valley of the Dolls"), Marta Kristen ('Lost in Space'), Barbara Leigh ("Junior Bonner"), Geoffrey Deuel ("Chisum"), James Whitworth (Papa Jupe in Wes Cravens' "The Hills Have Eyes"), Richard Stahl ("Nine to Five"), Sandy Ward ("Cujo"), and Albert Cole ("The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant"). The film gained newfound attention when Selleck and Mosley found later fame on 'Magnum P.I.'. Kenney and Mosley are particularly fun as the antagonists of the piece.Full of solid squib action and some satisfying explosions, "Terminal Island" is worthy of discovery by devotees of the B pictures of decades past.Seven out of 10.

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.

After the Supreme Court outlaws the death penalty, California circumvents the ruling by sending murderers to a secluded island, where they are declared 'legally dead' and expected to kill each other off. Four intrepid ladies spend some miserable time in the hierarchical sexist work camp on one side of the island, then run off to join the liberated comrades on the other side. There's some pretty big statements waiting to happen in there, and they come through loud 'n' brassy, but they are made in the firm confines of a rockin' 70s drive-in action movie. This is a co-ed prison flick on a cheaper set, with a great bunch of weirdo characters floating around and future Magnum P. I. cast members sweetening the pot. Smart and well made too.