Doomwatch (1972)

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

This feature film version of the British TV series of the same name uses some of the actors from the show, while adding Ian Bannen and the lovely young Judy Geeson for name value. Bannen stars as Del Shaw, a doctor with the title department of the government. They investigate effects of pollution on the environment. Del is sent to Balfe, an island community where the locals go out of their way to NOT make him welcome. What's more, chemical dumping in an off limits area has affected the fish in the waters and subsequently the islanders that have eaten them. In addition to being surly and violent, they fall victim to acromegaly as well.Overall, this is a reasonably absorbing story, but pay no attention to false advertising. This is NOT a horror film, but more of a drama that tries to play things in a somewhat realistic manner. Thrills and suspense are minimal. The makeup effects are decent, but you don't see much of them until the end. The story is pretty simple, and straightforward, with clear cut villains and heroes. Actually, it tends to work better when Bannen's not around. The supporting characters are fine, but Del is a rather ridiculous guy, and Bannens' performance is not one of his better ones. He tends to shout his lines, and overreact.Geeson has some appeal as a schoolteacher who is something of an outsider herself, and wants to maintain her relations with these superstitious and religious islanders. John Paul (Dr. Quist), Simon Oates (Dr. Ridge), and Joby Blanshard (Bradley) all come from the series, and they do alright. George Sanders is the special guest star, with Percy Herbert ("One Million Years B.C."), Shelagh Fraser ("Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope"), Geoffrey Keen (who appeared in four of the James Bond adventures), Norman Bird ("Cash on Demand"), and James Cosmo ("Trainspotting") all providing solid support."Doomwatch" scores some marks for good intentions, and for ending in a believable enough manner.Six out of 10.

Heavyweight casting and an intelligent script do nothing to dispel the atmosphere of lethargy surrounding this production, which often threatens to be stodgy and dull but somehow retains interest despite this. An adaptation of a popular BBC TV series at the time, this follows the typical plot of having an outsider arrive at a mysterious village where the villagers are rude, unwelcoming, and hide an unwholesome secret. Except this time the plot is grounded in scientific realism and the 'monsters' aren't really monsters at all – just unfortunate townsfolk who have become diseased by some toxic fish off the bay.The film has generally good production values all round, and handling the directorial chores is the steady and solid Peter Sasdy. The script is literate and the mystery unfolds at just the right pace. It's just a shame that all the building menace never has a pay-off; there is little or no action in this movie, unless you count a man having a fight with a dog at one point. Ian Bannen makes for a campaigning, slightly stuffy lead, whilst Judy Geeson has nothing to do except tag along on some scenes; a Scully to Bannen's Mulder she is not. The cast is packed out with interesting British character actors, ranging from Percy Herbert to Shelagh Fraser, as well as John Paul and there are two big-name cameos from a tired George Sanders and also Geoffrey Keen as a couple of bigwigs. DOOMWATCH isn't bad, just a bit bland; UK viewers may have fun spotting the familiar faces and second-guessing the plotting, but it doesn't add up to that much in the end.

I came across this film by accident while I was looking for movies with George Sanders that I could watch online. This film was one of his last before his unfortunate suicide at the age of 65. I'm sure he did some high living because he is a very old 65 in this film.That being said, most people, especially horror aficionados, probably won't cite this as a horror film, per se. I also happen to agree with them. However, it has enough of a horrific element, a sort of Lovecraft meets X-Files, that I was compelled from beginning to end. Some viewers might say there is no real payoff, but the film itself as a whole is the payoff. As much as I enjoyed Nothing But The Night, which I rewatched again recently, you might imagine my delight at finding(afterwards) that this film was also made by Peter Sasdy. Mr. Sasdy must have enjoyed the locale of this film because I believe it is the same isle used in Nothing But The Night made one year later.The plot involves a environmental research group called Doomwatch(based on a TV series) who sends out one of their researchers to collect some data from an island were there was an oil spill. The research was to find out what sort of effects the spill caused to wildlife in the area. The researcher, one Dr. Del Shaw(played exquisitely by Ian Bannen), arrives on the island and finds himself hampered at every turn by the locals who shun him immediately. They are unfriendly, mysterious, and even violent at times. He meets one person on the island, a schoolteacher, who is an outsider like himself, though she's lived there two years. She, too, is untrusting of the new visitor, but she quickly warms to him while the rest of the inhabitants remain cold and aloof. The film cuts back and forth between island investigations and lab work back at Doomwatch HQ. Apparently, someone has been dumping chemically enhanced pituitary secretions sealed in cannisters into a No-Dumping zone on one side of the island. The navy also had previously dumped toxic waste there(hilariously, or rather, sadly, no one seemed particularly concerned that toxic waste cannisters were dumped in the ocean near an inhabited fishing village). Here's where George Sanders come in. He has more than a cameo and, as many veteran actors tend to do, he is starring in a low budget thriller before his untimely death. However, while this film is low on budget and scares or effects, it makes up with excellent acting in spades. Sanders looks incredibly old as the Navy Admiral or whatever his rank is, but his scenes are still quite good. The villagers, once they learn of the cause of their distress(being deformed by eating fish that ate the pituitary chemicals), revolt against Dr. Shaw and are even willing to kill him to keep their community safe from mainlanders.The directing is in keeping more in line with a TV movie, not quite as good as Nothing But The Night, but the acting, "gush" , is stupendous for such a modest budget feature. Ian Bannen is very good and the only place I recall seeing him before was as the Leper in Braveheart(he got under my skin(heh) in that role).This is a good Sunday afternoon film that even kids could watch(the mutated villagers aren't all that scary). Highly recommended for buffs who get off on refined acting. God, how I want to find that island and live there. It's so quaint looking. I just want to throw on a nice turtleneck sweater, a pea coat, and an ivy cap and just sit in the pub smoking the old calabash pipe.

Scientist, Dr. Del Shaw is sent to a remote Cornish island to investigate the effects of a tanker spill on the local wildlife. On arrival on the island, he is immediately struck by the strangeness of its inhabitants, they are dismissive and suspicious of him, they seem wary of outsiders and he struggles to find a room for the one night of his stay. As he goes about his business collecting marine samples, he is aware that he is being followed, he begins to feel he may be in danger, some odd nocturnal goings on make him even ,ore suspicious that there is something amiss on the island and when he finds the shallow grave of a child he knows for sure there is. The set up is excellent, both in mood and atmosphere, one is left with the distinct impression that a Wicker Man type plot is imminent, but sadly the film never lives up to those lofty heights and instead turns out to be more of an ecological drama, interesting but never as compelling as it could have been.