DOOMWATCH (1972, UK, 92m, 12) **½
Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
dist. Tigon Film Distributors (UK), AVCO Embassy Pictures (USA); pr co. Tigon British Film Productions; d. Peter Sasdy; w. Clive Exton (based on the TV series created by Kit Pedler & Gerry Davis); pr. Tony Tenser; ph. Kenneth Talbot (Technicolor | 1.85:1); m. John Scott; ed. Keith Palmer; ad. Colin Grimes.
cast: Ian Bannen (Dr. Del Shaw), Judy Geeson (Victoria Brown), John Paul (Dr. Quist), Simon Oates (Dr. John Ridge), Jean Trend (Dr. Fay Chantry), Joby Blanshard (Bradley), George Sanders (The Admiral – Sir Geoffrey), Percy Herbert (Constable Hartwell), Shelagh Fraser (Mrs. Betty Straker), Geoffrey Keen (Sir Henry Leyton), Joseph O’Conor (Vicar), Norman Bird (Brewer), Constance Chapman (Miss Johnson), Michael Brennan (Tom Straker), James Cosmo (Bob Gillette), Cyril Cross (George), Geoff L’Cise (Don), George Woodbridge (Ferry Skipper), Jerome Willis (Lt. Com. Tavener), Jeremy Child (David Broome).
This big-screen adaptation of the BBC television series is an unevenly edited mix of ecological conspiracy drama and horror. Bannen is a member of a government scientific team and arrives on a remote island to investigate the impact of spillage from a sunken tanker. On the island, he is greeted by guarded and unfriendly locals but befriends schoolteacher Geeson as he unravels a dark secret held by the islanders. Buoyed by a good cast, the film has some effective moments and Sasdy creates an uneasy atmosphere, but the sloppy editing and jumps in the narrative make for a disappointing whole. Subsequently revived in a TV Movie DOOMWATCH: WINTER ANGEL (1999). Aka: ISLAND OF THE GHOULS.
