?This is a dead isle. We?re only here because we have no choice.?
In The Isle, three seamen survive an unexplainable shipwreck. They find themselves in a rowboat in thick fog. When the fog begins to lift, they see an island and make their way to it. They find that there are only four people on the island: the harbormaster, a farmer and his niece, and a woman who seems to be mad. Set in 1846, there is no way to get help, just wait until the next boat comes to the island. But the inhabitants are both rather unfriendly and secretive. No one is willing to share why there are so few people here or when the sailors can expect rescue.
When the sailors begin to explore the island (against the recommendations of the residents) they begin to meet accidents. Obviously, there is something wrong here. What sort of evil force is involved here? Is it the people, or something more sinister? And what of the song they keep hearing, and they heard before the shipwreck? Is it a siren luring seamen to their deaths?
The film sets up the story well enough, but it doesn?t do as well creating a satisfying culmination. The supernatural aspects of the film are never quite fleshed out. The film does well to create a creepy atmosphere, but never completely hooked me into the horror.
[Some spoilers follow] As with most horror films, it deals with an evil that refuses to be satisfied. This horror has the four inhabitants of the island under its spell (especially the two women), so that they and any sailors that get lured in cannot escape. It is only through a final sacrifice that the evil is broken, but so too are the lives of the people involved.
Photos courtesy of Brainstorm Media
