7/10
A film so wrong, that it's actually alright.
25 December 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Island of Death, Nico Mastorakis' much-banned exploitation horror, sees a pair of sadistic lovers, Christopher and Celia (played by Robert Behling and the lovely Jane Lyle), travel to Mykonos where they proceed to punish anyone they deem to be perverted, a definite case of 'the pot calling the kettle black' since the murderous couple are easily the biggest deviants on the island: their numerous killings aside, Christopher calls his mother whilst having sex with Celia in a phone booth, Celia shags a French painter as Christopher watches from a distance, the couple masturbate over photographs of their victims, and a goat gets a good seeing to from Christopher when Celia turns hims down for nookie!

On top of all of this, Mastorakis' delightfully trashy film also tackles such unsavoury subjects as rape (both female and male), drug abuse, incest, and water sports (and I'm not talking about scuba-diving and wake-boarding), offering oodles of nekkid flesh and soft-core humping in the process, making it perfect viewing for anyone who likes their entertainment to constantly challenge the boundaries of taste.

Despite none of this dodgy content being overly explicit (and in the case of the goat sex, I've got to say that I'm rather glad!), the mere fact that the film even dared to explore these usually taboo themes qualified it for a place on the official DPP Video Nasties list during the 80s, and it is these high levels of extreme wrongness that still draws fans of such fare to seek out the title. The direction may be uninspired, the story not exactly riveting, and the gore rather tame, but I still recommend Island of Death simply for being so depraved.

And if you don't believe me, the end of the film reveals that Christopher and Celia are actually brother and sister, which makes that phone call to their mother all the more indecent!
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