It’s loose… It’s angry… And it’s getting hungry!

Directed by Paul Lynch

Reviewed by Deep Red

Same director as Prom Night (1980). An 80s slasher, Canadian, I originally saw years ago on video. Scores a ‘humongous’ 0% on the ol’ Tomatometer. OK, it’s only 5 reviews but seriously, that’s just sadder than a sweaty arse guys. Do these people even watch what they review? Sometimes I wonder.

Now, the version I’ve just watched is cut. I know exactly what’s cut and while it is annoying it doesn’t ruin the film. Basically there’s a rape scene early on in the film and they’ve cut some shots of this guy’s sweaty face as he’s doing his business, so to speak, this shortens the rape scene somewhat. They’ve also cut bits from the rest of this scene where these dogs attack the rapist. You know, I would rather see the full scene, I’m sure I could handle it /sarc, but at least the rest of the film is intact.

So, that aside, Humongous….

Well, it starts on Labour Day Weekend 1946 where a young woman called Ida (Mary Sullivan) is brutally raped (not so brutally in this version) outside a party by a drunk called Tom Rice (Page Fletcher). Rice is then viciously attacked (not so viciously in this version) by her dogs, Ida finishes the job.

Film then moves forward to 36 years later, two brothers, Eric (David Wallace) and Nick (John Wildman) Simmons, their sister, Carla (Janit Baldwin) and their girlfriends, Sandy Ralston (Janet Julian) and Donna Blake (Joy Boushel), set off on daddy’s yacht for a bit of fun. That night, in the fog, they rescue a fisherman called Bert Defoe (Layne Coleman) who warns them that they’re heading for rocks. He tells them his motor went out. He then tells them about an old lady on the nearby island, Dog Island, where there’s just her and some wild dogs. Nick loses his cool and tries to take control of the yacht, the resulting struggle between him and Eric causes the yacht to explode, forcing them to make for the island.

This is one atmospheric slasher but it is almost intolerably dark in places, in places you simply can’t see what’s going on. This is a shame as otherwise it’s a quality slasher, I really hope this gets a decent release, on Blu-ray would be great, and that some of this problem is rectified if possible. The acting is great, I liked the cast/characters. The story is cool, this kind of thing’s right up my street, slasher, woods, bit of a mystery, the fact it’s set on an island makes it quite unique. I liked it.

Humongous