The Island
(1980)

Country: USA

Genre: Action, Adventure, Horror

Synopsis

When British-born American journalist Blair Maynard (Michael Caine) decides to investigate why so many ships have disappeared in the area known as the Bermuda Triangle - taking with him his estranged adolescent son Justin (Jeffrey Frank) - their boat is attacked, and both father and son are brought to an uncharted island where a group of savage pirates have lived for centuries raiding passing boats and killing their crews. Blair and his son are both kept alive, however, due to a false assumption regarding their lineage and a need to offset the negative effects of inbreeding! Whilst Blair is used to impregnate a female, Justin is groomed to become the heir to Nau, the pirate leader...

Notes

• Based on the 1979 novel of the same name by American author Peter Benchley (1940-2006). Benchley is perhaps best known as the author of the 1974 novel "Jaws", which became the basis for the 1975 film of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg.
• This film has the honour of being among the nominees in the very first Golden Raspberry Awards, an event held in March 1981 to identify the worst film offerings from the previous year. Michael Caine was nominated as Worst Actor (though the award was actually won by Neil Diamond for his performance in "The Jazz Singer") and Michael Ritchie was nominated as Worst Director (though this award was won by Robert Greenwald for his film "Xanadu").
• Screencaps from this movie can be found in the Gallery of Jeffrey Frank's profile page in this database.