I am an enthusiastic fan of European Exploitation cinema, especially from the 70s, and I therefore cannot really explain while I let "Ta Paidia Tou Diavolou" aka. "Island of Death" (1975) rest on my DVD shelf for ages before finally watching it recently. Having seen it, I must say that I do not agree with the majority of my fellow Eurocult fans, who seem to be regarding this film as an essential little gem of cinematic Euro-nastiness. The film has disturbing sequences and imagery, all right, but I never was disturbed or shocked, nor darkly amused.
The young couple Christopher (Robert Behling), a psychotic religious fanatic who thinks he is on god's mission to cleanse the earth of the perverted (even though he is the biggest perv himself), and Celia (Jane Lyle), a demented and almost equally murderous nymphomaniac, are on a murderous rampage on the Greek island Mykonos. Devoted to killing as many perverts as possible, Christopher murders a womanizing French guy, a gay couple, an aging nymphomaniac, a lesbian, and others...
There isn't a lot more, really. As said, the murders may be sadistic and disturbing and the murder methods cruel and demented. However, the film is never shocking, as all characters in the film are annoying as hell, and none of them is introduced long enough to give a crap about their fate. The murderous couple is annoying too. Some super-nasty sequences like one in which Christopher has sex with a little goat, are obviously thought of as shocking by many. But they aren't really, in my opinion. The shock-sequences here aren't really shocking, nor do they have any other effect. They just happen, and, personally I couldn't have cared less.
The nastiness of the murders, the beautiful Greek setting, the good score and some amusing stuff towards the end are some redeeming qualities. Islands are usually great Horror settings, as they have such an inescapable character. While the setting here is maybe the films greatest aspect, "Ta Paidia Tou Diavolou" is never creepy, scary or even remotely suspenseful. It isn't really boring, but it is never exciting, nor shocking or disturbing, nor darkly humorous. By the way,"Island of Death" shares its English a.k.a. title, but must not to be confused with Narciso Ibáñez Serrador's 1976 masterpiece "¿Quién Puede Matar a Un Niño?", which actually IS one of the greatest Eurohorror films ever made.
Overall, "Ta Paidia Tou Diavolou" is worth watching for my fellow Eurohorror fans as it IS one of the nastier films from the mid-70s. The murders are brutal and there is a certain range of redeeming perversions. However, I find it to be immensely overrated among my fellow fans of Euro-Exploitation. To those who want to see a truly disturbing film set on a Greek Island, I recommend Joe D'Amato's "Antropophagus" (1980). A brilliant storyline isn't the most obvious characteristic of that film either, but it is scary as hell, gory and thoroughly shocking and disturbing. "Ta Paida Tou Diavlou" just isn't, at least not in my humble opinion.
The young couple Christopher (Robert Behling), a psychotic religious fanatic who thinks he is on god's mission to cleanse the earth of the perverted (even though he is the biggest perv himself), and Celia (Jane Lyle), a demented and almost equally murderous nymphomaniac, are on a murderous rampage on the Greek island Mykonos. Devoted to killing as many perverts as possible, Christopher murders a womanizing French guy, a gay couple, an aging nymphomaniac, a lesbian, and others...
There isn't a lot more, really. As said, the murders may be sadistic and disturbing and the murder methods cruel and demented. However, the film is never shocking, as all characters in the film are annoying as hell, and none of them is introduced long enough to give a crap about their fate. The murderous couple is annoying too. Some super-nasty sequences like one in which Christopher has sex with a little goat, are obviously thought of as shocking by many. But they aren't really, in my opinion. The shock-sequences here aren't really shocking, nor do they have any other effect. They just happen, and, personally I couldn't have cared less.
The nastiness of the murders, the beautiful Greek setting, the good score and some amusing stuff towards the end are some redeeming qualities. Islands are usually great Horror settings, as they have such an inescapable character. While the setting here is maybe the films greatest aspect, "Ta Paidia Tou Diavolou" is never creepy, scary or even remotely suspenseful. It isn't really boring, but it is never exciting, nor shocking or disturbing, nor darkly humorous. By the way,"Island of Death" shares its English a.k.a. title, but must not to be confused with Narciso Ibáñez Serrador's 1976 masterpiece "¿Quién Puede Matar a Un Niño?", which actually IS one of the greatest Eurohorror films ever made.
Overall, "Ta Paidia Tou Diavolou" is worth watching for my fellow Eurohorror fans as it IS one of the nastier films from the mid-70s. The murders are brutal and there is a certain range of redeeming perversions. However, I find it to be immensely overrated among my fellow fans of Euro-Exploitation. To those who want to see a truly disturbing film set on a Greek Island, I recommend Joe D'Amato's "Antropophagus" (1980). A brilliant storyline isn't the most obvious characteristic of that film either, but it is scary as hell, gory and thoroughly shocking and disturbing. "Ta Paida Tou Diavlou" just isn't, at least not in my humble opinion.