THE ISLAND
**
Directed by Po-Chih Leong.
Starring John Sham, Peter Chan Lung, Ronald Wong.
Horror, Hong Kong, 93 Minutes, Certificate 15.
Released on Limited Edition Blu-ray by Eureka Entertainment on 13th October.
Eureka Entertainment continue their already reputable work in bringing a large number of Hong Kong genre titles to the United Kingdom on Blu-ray. To complement the always popular likes of action titles from the likes of Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, who also produced this, and Chow Yun Fat we have also been treated to a number of titles exploring the more fantastical realms of the country's cinematic output. Now the spotlight has been thrown onto THE ISLAND, a quite obscure horror thriller little seen since its release in 1985, that interestingly draws comparison to the very American horrors of THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, THE HILLS HAVE EYES and DELIVERANCE.
The mention of those titles will already give you a fair approximation of the plot for this film from British-Chinese director Po-Chih Leong, a filmmaker who later departed to the US to helm a string of forgettable DTV titles featuring the likes of Steven Seagal and Wesley Snipes. Of course the titular location is a remote one, disturbed and desecrated by the presence of a bunch of exuberant young students, taken there on a field trip by their geography teacher Mr. Cheung, portrayed by John Sham playing very much against his usual nerdy comic relief roles. The only inhabitants of the beautiful island are three deranged brothers, mourning the recent loss of their strict and equally deranged mother. When the brothers spot the female students, plans are made for marriage, no matter what the girls say or feel about the terrifying arrangement. Cue a battle for survival where mild mannered Mr. Cheung must lead the teens to safety, away from the bloodthirsty maniacs.
THE ISLAND is a film that is not without interest, but Hong Kong genre fans, as well as horror connoisseurs may find the film lacking in a number of ways. Despite the potential for its plot to go in several dark and uncomfortable directions, it plays out in a rather safe and generic manner that will no doubt disappoint fans of the more outrageous and outlandish stylings of other Hong Kong genre titles, particularly of the CAT III variety. While entertaining enough, mainly due to its over the top performances, especially the formidable and gravel voiced Peter Chan Lung, aka Lung Chan, as oldest brother Tai-Fat, the film fails to match up to its US influences. While there is a smattering of commentary on cultural legacies and the fear of the future handover from the UK to China, the film eventually settles into a half-hearted siege thriller with little else to hold the attention.
For what was an obscure title, Eureka has gone the distance with the extras and presentation for the films Blu-ray premiere for the first time anywhere outside of Asia. The colourful location photography from cinematographers David Chung and Hang-Sang Poon is presented in a pristine 2K restoration while a pair of commentaries, one from Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng who packs his track with a dizzying amount of info and context while the other from genre experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema enthusiastically presents their opinions in an excitable fashion. Tony Rayns gives an interview which provides interesting context in director Po-Chih Leong’s varied career, while Leong himself gives an interview from 2023.
While not without interest, particularly for fans of those American backwoods horror films that often provided far more memorable results, the film is a rather slight entry in the Hong Kong horror genre. It is refreshing to see such a sub-genre tackled from a different perspective, but there is little to recommend here for anyone other than Hong Kong cinema completists.
Iain MacLeod