The old Castle is gone, and the one that emerges wants to focus on black humor, and a kind of family friendly suspense. This considered, it's not so bad. The star is young Pat Cardi, a rich orphan sent to live with his globe-trotting war hero uncle, Nigel Green. Cardi befriends Mary Badham, who is being sent to live with her aunt Linda Lawson on the same island. The two are warned not to go near the old deserted hotel, so of course, that's where they head first, only to encounter a shark in the murky swimming pool (the same shark stock footage is shown several times throughout the film) and they sense danger all around, but the grownups auntie Lawson and Robert Pickering (a detective hired to safely transport Cardi) don't believe them, and are busily involved with each other.
Nigel Green is amusing, from his judo practice to his hammy meal presentation wearing a big chef's hat, but he's up-front with Cardi. He's out to kill the kid for his fortune, via hypnosis, poison mushrooms, the pool shark, whatever it takes. It becomes 'who can outwit who - the kids versus the uncle, to survive. There's nothing really scary here, and the slight wackiness of Green keeps the viewer from feeling any real suspense, but it is sort of a fun watch.
I prefer Castle's acid pit or blood filled bathtub for memorable gimmicks but I'd give this a solid 6/10.
Nigel Green is amusing, from his judo practice to his hammy meal presentation wearing a big chef's hat, but he's up-front with Cardi. He's out to kill the kid for his fortune, via hypnosis, poison mushrooms, the pool shark, whatever it takes. It becomes 'who can outwit who - the kids versus the uncle, to survive. There's nothing really scary here, and the slight wackiness of Green keeps the viewer from feeling any real suspense, but it is sort of a fun watch.
I prefer Castle's acid pit or blood filled bathtub for memorable gimmicks but I'd give this a solid 6/10.