Screamers

Released by: Scorpion Releasing
Released on: June 24th, 2014.
Director: Sergio Martino
Cast: Barbara Bach, Joseph Cotten, Richard Johnson, Mel Ferrer, Cameron Mitchell
Year: 1979
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The Movie:

Sergio Martino's Island Of The Fishmen was released in North America by Roger Corman under the alternate title of Something Waits In The Dark and then again with a more salacious marketing campaign behind it is Screamers (which promised viewers they would see a man turned inside out - something that never actually happens in the movie!). This alternate version that had a considerable amount of extra gore added to it along with a new intro featuring Cameron Mitchell. Additionally it features some different editing throughout the film. Mysterious Eurocult distributors Mya put out the original version on DVD a few years ago but fans were left hungry for the crazier Screamers cut. Well, thankfully a few months back Scorpion Releasing stepped up to the plate and rolled it out on special edition Blu-ray.

The movie is set in 1891 and when it begins a sea captain (Cameron Mitchell) brings a man (Mel Ferrar) and a woman (Eunice Bolt) to a remote island somewhere in the South Pacific. They're looking for treasure and he aims to help them - but none of that happens before the three of them are slaughtered by a group of fishmen!

From there we head to a lifeboat where an army doctor named Lieutenant Claude de Ross (Claudio Cassinelli) is stuck on board with a group of convicts whose transport ship just sank to the bottom of the ocean. Their lifeboat wrecks up on the shore of a small island somewhere in the tropical seas and the group figure they've got the place to themselves. After a bit of exploring, they come across some primitive huts and then meet an odd couple - Edmund Rackham (Richard Johnson) and his gorgeous female companion, Amanda Marvin (Barbara Bach).

After a bit of wandering around the island and getting to know these people, Claude learns that Amanda's father, a professor named Ernest Marvin (Joseph Cotten), is really into genetic engineering and has experimented enough that he's been able to create himself a small army of mutant fishmen. Professor Marvin insists his work is legitimate and is for the good of mankind, convinced that he's doing his research for humanitarian reasons, the sneaky Edmund Rackham has got his own plan going on, one which involves not only the population of the island, but the strange secret that lay beneath it.

An Italian take on The Island Of Dr. Moreau with a healthy dose of The Creature From The Black Lagoon thrown in as far as the monster designs are concerned, The Island Of The Fishmen isn't the most action packed monster movie you'll ever see but it's entertaining enough and Corman's revised version, with the added violence and bloodshed and the amusing if obviously tacked on prologue, definitely helps to improve on the film's entertainment value. There are additional makeup effects and fishmen shots scattered throughout this version which does a fine job of earning the R-rating that Corman wanted to satiate the drive-in audience he was catering to.

Martino's original version suffered from a fair bit of pacing problems but Corman was savvy enough to let Joe Dante clean things up a bit by editing in the newly shot footage and removing some of the slower bits from the original. As such, things move considerably faster in this version and we're better off for it. The film shines the most whenever the actual fishmen are doing their thing. Thankfully they're on screen enough that they, along with some excellent old fashioned miniature design work, save the picture and give it enough merit to make it worth checking out. Also noteworthy is the film's strong cast, with Richard Johnson standing out as the best of the bunch and the lovely Barbara Bach adding plenty of eye candy to the film. Bach spends a fair bit of time in a wet, form fitting outfit that definitely flatters her! Seeing Ferrar and Mitchell added in the opening scene helps a bit too, both are quite amusing here.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Screamers debuts on Blu-ray from Scorpion Releasing framed at 2.35.1 widescreen in AVC encoded 1080p high definition and for the most part the transfer is excellent. There is some mild crush in a couple of spots but otherwise there's really nothing to complain about at all. Detail is very strong throughout, texture is as well, and the color reproduction is top notch. Shadow detail is quite strong and those dark scenes aren't nearly as murky as they used to be, meaning you can now see what is going on - always a good thing! Aside from a few day for night shots inherent in the original elements the black levels are nice and strong while skin tones are lifelike and natural. There are no noticeable issues with any compression artifacts or edge enhancement nor is there any obvious noise reduction. Print damage is never an issue outside of a couple of minor white specks and a pleasing amount of natural looking grain keeps things looking appropriately film-like without ever getting distracting.

The DTS-HD 2.0 mix, which is in English, sounds fine. Those with sharp hearing might pick up on some minor instances of background hiss but these instances are infrequent and never particularly distracting. The score sounds good and has decent range while the dialogue is always easy to understand and properly balanced against the music and effects. There are no alternate language options or subtitles provided.

The bulk of the extra on the disc arrive in the form of some interviews, the first of which is a four minute talk with filmmaker Joe Dante, who had a hand in helping out with some of the additional shots that were required to get the movie up to Corman's level, and who, interestingly enough, allowed his own back yard to be used as a location! We also get an eleven minute interview with Jim Wynorski who tells some great stories about the marketing campaign employed for the movie's theatrical release in the United States. He too has some fun stories to share about what it was like working in the Corman camp of the day. Corman himself talks on camera for three and a half minutes about how he bought the rights to the Italian movie and then went about putting his own stamp on it. Clark Henderson speaks for eight and a half minutes about the post production work on the film that he was involved in while Miller Drake fills in some of the blanks in his thirteen minute interview detailing the prologue shoot he was responsible for and telling some amusing stories about the involvement of some of the cast members.

Outside of that we get a teaser spot under the Screamers title, a lengthier trailer under the Something Waits In The Dark title, menus and chapter selection. The disc comes with reversible cover art, one side for each of the titles!

The Final Word:

In some ways, the Screamers cut of Sergio Martino's Island Of The Fishmen is the superior film. While the prologue feels appropriately tacked on the added bits and pieces of gore help to give the film some welcome teeth and Scorpion Releasing has done a great job bringing this alternate version of the movie to Blu-ray. The audio and video quality are very strong and the supplemental interviews do a fine job of documenting the history of this one.

Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!