Tower of Evil

This week's entry is:

Tower of Evil (1972).

Also known as Horror on Snape Island and Beyond the Fog, this delightful horror movie is directed by Jim O'Connolly and stars Bryant Haliday, Jill Haworth. Mark Edwards, Jack Watson, Anna Polk and Derek Fowlds amongst others. The name that stuck out the most is Derek Fowlds who is most known for playing Bernard Woolley in Yes Minister/ Prime Minister.

First off, an epilepsy warning. There are a few scenes with strong flashing lights and you may need to be careful if you are sensitive.

The story is this; a group of young Americans are found murdered on Snape Island, a grim and lonely place that even the seagulls avoid. The only survivor is obviously the main suspect but she is completely catatonic from whatever horror befell them. One of the victims was killed with an ancient Phoenician spear made from gold. Such a find on a British island causes quite a stir and an expedition is put together to see if they can discover more. Of course, this being a horror movie you can probably guess that a lot of horrible stuff follows, and you'd be right.

Tower of Evil is a surprisingly slick little horror movie. Apart from one scene it is completely shot in a studio and although it shows, it didn't detract from the experience. The entire island and its decrepit lighthouse is already such an unbelievable place that it didn't bother me to see how clearly it is a set piece.

The actors are good, most of them veterans of British TV and film, although many weren't veterans yet. The music is also fine and the movie itself is pretty stylishly shot. Beyond a couple of plot holes, I have no complaints about this movie. There was a scene or two that I thought were screw-ups at first but they made sense upon further reflection. For my money though, it's the beginning that really sold me on this movie. It is really one of the best openers in horror movie history in my book. Not the best, no, but up there. Sadly I can't go into more detail, but I won't spoil this film.

There are several scenes with grisly gore and quite a bit of nudity, so adjust your watching companions accordingly.

So, do I recommend this movie? If you couldn't tell, then yes, absolutely. Overall it is a product of the 70's. It's not really all that scary, not by today's standard and the fashion and the haircuts are something else, but for a low budget horror movie it does a good job. Any fan of older horror movies do need to see Tower of Evil, but do keep your expectations in check and you'll have a good time. They didn't try to reinvent the wheel and as a result they got a solid piece of work and sometimes that is all you need. 

 

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great and safe week!