morrison-dylan-fan
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.
EyeAskance
Minor drive-in classic concerns the replacement of capitol punishment with exile to a guarded island. Men and women alike must fend for themselves in this rugged terrain(which looks like paradise to me).TERMINAL ISLAND takes full advantage of it's many opportunities to present titties and sexual situations. If, for some strange reason, that doesn't manage to hold your attention, there's equal portions of violent action for good measure...it's a more professionally appointed example of it's type, and should manage to please many folks outside the trash-cinemaphile radius. A sleazy, cheesy champion of drive-in splendor. 6/10.
rlcsljo
Selleck (playing a doctor before his stint on "Friends") and Mosley appear in this one seven years before the Magnum, P.I. TV series. (It is amazing how a person can play one character and be so right for so many different roles).California has abolished the death penalty (before it was reinstated) and the golden state empties death row onto "Terminal Island". Here, the inmates run the show and the only "guard" is a Navy frigate that prevents escape. Basically, this is a standard prison movie without the bars, but since there are no rules, the inmates can do whatever they want from what they can improvise on the Island.A social order has arisen where a dorky murderer along with his black enforcer(Mosley) force everyone to work while he has his way with the women (other males get their turn, as well).A "revolutionary" band of renegades (lead by Don Marshall(II) from "Star Trek" and "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century") roam the island and basically steal what they can from the "establishment". They treat their people only slightly better.A war erupts when some guards delivering a new prisoner are overwhelmed and their machine guns are stolen. All manner of improvised weapons are also used as well.This movie is a very good allegory for the VietNam war and how determined ingenious under dogs can defeat a militarily superior power.Also, as expected in seventies exploitation flicks, a lot of chicks go topless and nude--unfortunately not Selleck or Mosley.
