Country: GREECE
aka:
Devils in Mykonos
Devils in Mykonos
Island of Perversion
Killing Daylight
This loathsome piece of exploitation garbage has steadily gained a cult reputation for being one of the most notorious films banned as a video nasty. The BBFC’s refusal to grant the film a certificate in anything other than a heavily cut form has aided its steady climb as one of the UK’s most forbidden films. The sheer exaggerated nature of the narrative, which includes almost every perverse act known to man, makes it a rather unique experience even to this day - and for 1975 would have been extremely shocking. Many of the films that found themselves the subject of state subjugation in the early 1980’s were shoddily made and very amateurish and should have been banned for the bad acting and tedium more than anything else. However there were an exclusive handful that at least looked good, and Island of Death is one of them. Nico Mastorakis is pretty much a one man show here - he directed, wrote, produced, and photographed the film, working with a very low budget, and in some cases non-professional actors (the two hippy rapists for example were tourists holidaying on the Greek island of Mykonos). Content aside one must have a grudging admiration for Mastorakis, who was only concerned with making a commercial movie (no aspirations for art here - despite what cult fans might think) and by and large this is a highly competent visual experience. On occasion the cinematography is very good and captures the simplistic beauty of the island and its community.