Tower of Evil

This is a horror-movie with great atmosphere. The film is pretty bloody consider that it have been made in 1972. The effect are cheap, but they have been made with style, and the some of the actors are really great (but not all). The first part of "Tower of Evil" is a bit dull, but the rest of the movie is exciting.

I liked it, but it's not for everybody's taste.

As early 70s horror flicks go, Tower of Evil (a.k.a Horror of Snape Island) has a greater-than-expected amount of sex and gore. Unfortunately, the script is pretty stupid and the performances are generally bad, ruining what might've been a decent little chiller. Some of the lines the actors have to work with are hopelessly silly, and the number of times characters go wandering off alone (even AFTER they've established there's a madman on the loose) beggars belief. What's particularly disappointing is that the plot is just outlandish enough to have made for an unusual and effective horror yarn.

The opening sequence is actually promising. Two sailors, John Gurney (George Coulouris) and his son Hamp (Jack Watson), search around a fog-shrouded island and stumble upon several dismembered naked bodies. Then, John happens across a living naked woman, but she is so startled by his arrival that she mistakenly stabs him. The story moves forward and we learn that the surviving woman from the opening scene has been charged with the murders of her friends, but a private detective named Brent (Bryant Halliday) has been hired by her parents to find out if someone else could've done it. Brent joins an archaeological party who are about to set off to the island in search of a Phoenecian treasure. Once there, the archaeologists soon learn that their lives are in grave danger, as they are picked off one by one by an unknown killer.

Tower of Evil has become a cult film, probably because it's so bad that in some ways it's perversely good. Ther are some attempts at atmosphere and suspense, though most opportunities for a jolt are clumsily edited, lessening the shock factor. In Halliwell's Film Guide, the film was dismissed as "an unoriginal little shocker", but unoriginal is probably the wrong word (how many times have you heard of archaeologists hunting for a Phoenecian hoarde off the English coast and and being victimised by a psycho? Absurd, yes. Unoriginal, no). I can't imagine this film being of particular interest to most viewers, but if you like 70s British horror, or are interested in how sex and gore have evolved over the years in horror cinema, then it may be worth catching.

Decent horror movie with chills , thrills , ghastly happenings and naive special effects and nowadays , considered to be an underground classic. The movie opens with a boat cruising throughout heavy fog , at a creepy night . The boat lands on the rocky island Snape and two older seaman go on shore . Soon after , they encounter a severed hand and others gory evidences . After that , they see a male body it was attached too , then they decide to go into the mysterious lighthouse to investigate . Sure enough , they find a female corpse and anything else . They split up and find another killed body . Then they meet a live , young woman , Penny (Candace Glendenning) , hiding in a closet and in state of shock ; she subsequently , stabs her saviours . Next , traumatized to an extreme Penny is being examined by a a team of Doctors who talk about her. Disturbing Penny starts to talk and remember how her and friends arrive in Snape Island , as a night of pleasure became a night of terror. And then she begins screaming as the flashbacks unsettling her . After hearing about this , a group of scientists decide to venture to the Island. They also know that the Island is loaded with gold and Phoenician treasures . Eventually, the team of seven ventures out to sea to investigate the Island, on the Sea Ghost . The group is formed by two women (Jill Haworth , Anna Palk) and four other men (Bryant Haliday , Mark Edwards, Gary Hamilton , Jack Watson) , they are the boat crew . One way in, no way out . They came, they saw, they died!

This chilling terror movie contains heart-pounding horror , suspense, thrills , chills , nudism and lots of blood and gore . Dealing with an old and mystic Phoenician treasure , that's why various characters arrive in a mysterious island , there they attempt to find out what happened , being submitted to extremely brutal attacks and enhanced by means of mind-blowing , terrifying frames . The spooky images are wide-ranging , including as follows : disfigured people , severed heads , slashing , beheading , among others . The picture based on George Baxt's original story takes accent on tension by means of a well-knit script full of twists , turns and an unexpected final . It packs eerie images-shock , slick edition and nail-biting pace . It displays some surprising images , colorful scenarios and foggy atmosphere that seem to be influenced in the successful John Carpenter's hit horror film The Fog (1980). Despite being dismissed critically and really panned by reviewers when it was firstly released , the flick has since gone on to get itself a reputation as a terror cult movie .

Here stands out the gorgeous and brilliant cinematography by Desmond Dickinson . As well as thrilling and suspenseful by Kenneth V. Jones . The motion picture was professionally written and directed Jim O'Connolly and filmed over a 30 day period . Resulting in an acceptable yarn , though originally released in Britain on a double bill with another one . Director Jim O'Connolly was a fine producer , production manager, and filmmaker , known for The Traitors (1962), Mistress Pamela (1973) and Smokescreen (1964) . His greatest successes were Berserk (1967) and Valley of Gwangi (1969) . Rating : 6/10 , worthwhile seeing .

To me, this seemed like a bloody episode of Scooby Doo-really! It has funky swinging 70s styles, spooky, misty locations, and lots of plot twists. But, the flick is also loaded with gory murders done with a funky type machete. Three teens are found hacked up on Snape Island. Did their friend Penny do it, or did someone else? Some people go to explore the quiet, mysterious island only to be stalked and chopped up one by one. Really scary and sick, with some great surprises. Jill Haworth and Anna Palk are good-looking chicks, and the murderer in this movie was genuinely frightening. Despite cruddy picture and ok sound, this is a definite winner. Too bad I don't own the DVD yet. I only own one of the old video versions. Just hunt this movie down, and see it!

Take my word on this…Tower of Evil is a MUST SEE if you're an admirer of raw, vicious and undiscovered horror. This film is so much fun I can't believe I just found out about it now! It's cheap and nasty, but very imaginative and spirited! Tower of Evil is appropriately set on a deserted island, carrying many secrets. After discovering the mutilated corpses of 3 teenagers and one severely traumatized survivor, an expedition team is sent to the island. An older sailor and a young handsome stud, both obviously keeping a few secrets hidden, guide the team. But the members of the expedition are more dealing with sexual intrigues and relational problems anyway. They encounter a savage caveman, severely decomposed human leftovers and authentic hidden treasures! Yay!! Horror with a twitch of adventure! The plot of `Tower of Evil' isn't exactly solid or logical, but director O'Connolly manages to create suspense nonetheless. Due to the isolated and raw location of the Snape Island, you feel trapped there along with the main characters. For the fans of typical 70's horror, there are several gruesome moments to enjoy as well as some ultra-sexy sleaziness. For example, one of the main actresses constantly wears a bikini-top, which ranks as one of the hottest ones since Raquel Welsh's in `One Billion Years B.C.'. `Tower of Evil' is a true gem of the ignored horror vaults and real fans can't afford to miss it!