The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936)

The Prisoner of Shark Island, despite its sensational title, tells the story of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd (Warner Baxter), the doctor who helped John Wilkes Booth (Frances McDonald) by setting his broken leg mere hours after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The film opens as the Civil War ends.Continue Reading

Deep Blood (1990)

Shark movies come in many varieties. There are a plethora of over-the-top and ridiculous ones. However, boring movies featuring sharks are almost as rare as truly exciting ones. One such boring shark film is Deep Blood. Directed by the prolific Joe D’Amato, Deep Blood is an Italian sharksploitation film thatContinue Reading

FM (1978)

I remember listening to rock radio back in the 1970s and early 1980s when I was a kid. The variety of the music one could hear on the airwaves back then would simply be unimaginable in today’s age of corporate ownership and per-determined playlists. FM, released theatrically in April, 1978,Continue Reading

Furie (2019)

To support her daughter, Hai Phuong (Veronica Ngo) works as a debt collector in rural Vietnam. Her days are spent tracking down debtors and thrashing them within an inch of their life if they can’t pay. Her nights are spent caring for her daughter, Mai (Mai Cát Vi,) whom sheContinue Reading

Orca (1977)

Captain Nolan (Richard Harris) captures sea creatures and sells them to aquariums for a living. He’s currently hunting a great white shark, for which he claims he can get as much as $250,000. When Nolan’s boat meanders into a diving zone occupied by a whale researcher, Rachel (Charlotte Rampling), heContinue Reading

Dark Tide (2012)

One complaint that I have about most shark-related movies is that they’re wildly exaggerated. Sharks don’t actively hunt people. Most shark attacks are accidents, with the shark not knowing that it is biting a human. Once a shark discovers what it’s bitten isn’t a seal or other prey item, itContinue Reading

The Demolisher (2015)

When I first read the description of The Demolisher, I immediately thought of 1980’s The Exterminator. The plot lines sound quite similar. Both feature men pushed to vigilantism after someone they love is harmed by criminals. (Of course, both of these films owe a debt to 1974’s Death Wish, starringContinue Reading