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      Doomwatch

      1972 1h 29m Sci-Fi List
      Reviews 20% Audience Score 50+ Ratings A British researcher (Ian Bannen) and a military man (George Sanders) face islanders indirectly mutated by dumped chemicals. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

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      Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Despite that title and those fearsome creatures on the Blu-ray cover art (and original theatrical poster), this British production isn’t really a horror movie. Rated: 3/4 May 9, 2023 Full Review Eddie Harrison film-authority.com ‘…Doomwatch is way ahead of its time in suggesting government conspiracies, and expressing anxiety about what we eat and how it might affect us…' Rated: 3/5 Aug 1, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      martin a A very enjoyable film, not really a Horror, but more of a mystery which follows a scientist who visits a remote Island to monitor the effects on the wildlife following an oil leak from a sunken ship. Problem is that he starts to notice strange goings-on the Island, dead bodies and mutated crazy residents. It then turns out that body changing chemicals that have leaked from barrels dumped illegally have started to mutate fish and those that eat them. But can the damage be undone and will the locals listen to get help? An enjoyable, well-acted film Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Oh dear. What a terrible pickle. What will the islanders do when they are told that they are not inbred hillbillies suffering the divine punishment of god, but instead are actually being poisoned by a bad dumping of toxic wastes? probably cry. mark my words. Silly and boring. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Environmental take on The Wicker Man (though Whisky Galore also comes to mind with the closed island). Rushed ending feels a bit of a damp squib. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Reasonable spin-off from the early 70's BBC series. The script by Clive Exton starts out like a horror with it's unfriendly villagers hiding a terrible secret, the outsider, the isolated location, dead bodies & deformed people but then goes into thriller mode as the illegal chemical dumping takes center stage while the whole movie is wrapped up with plenty of moral & environmental message's which in todays ultra polluted world are very relevant & pretty topical. Some have said how slow Doomwatch is, this is something I disagree with as I found it very entertaining, consistently engaging & a very worthwhile way to pass an 90 mins. I liked the story a lot, it manages not to give too much away too early which keeps things interesting. There's a cool atmosphere that you might expect to find in a Hammer movie of the period, the director manages to create some nice tension & some effective scenes although it's not really scary overall. There's no blood or gore but that's not what Doomwatch is about. Technically Doomwatch is fine, it has 70's written all over it but that suits the story perfectly. It's generally well made on location in Cornwall which looks cold all the time. The acting is good. Doomwatch isn't for everyone but I liked it a lot. I liked the story, the mystery, the well thought out script & atmospheric locations & make-up effects. I doubt I'll watch it again anytime soon but if your looking for something a bit different and your a sci-fi/horror/thriller fan then Doomwatch may be worth an hour & half of your time. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Reasonable spin-off from the early 70's BBC series. The script by Clive Exton starts out like a horror with it's unfriendly villagers hiding a terrible secret, the outsider, the isolated location, dead bodies & deformed people but then goes into thriller mode as the illegal chemical dumping takes center stage while the whole movie is wrapped up with plenty of moral & environmental message's which in todays ultra polluted world are very relevant & pretty topical. Some have said how slow Doomwatch is, this is something I disagree with as I found it very entertaining, consistently engaging & a very worthwhile way to pass an 90 mins. I liked the story a lot, it manages not to give too much away too early which keeps things interesting. There's a cool atmosphere that you might expect to find in a Hammer movie of the period, the director manages to create some nice tension & some effective scenes although it's not really scary overall. There's no blood or gore but that's not what Doomwatch is about. Technically Doomwatch is fine, it has 70's written all over it but that suits the story perfectly. It's generally well made on location in Cornwall which looks cold all the time. The acting is good. Doomwatch isn't for everyone but I liked it a lot. I liked the story, the mystery, the well thought out script & atmospheric locations & make-up effects. I doubt I'll watch it again anytime soon but if your looking for something a bit different and your a sci-fi/horror/thriller fan then Doomwatch may be worth an hour & half of your time. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member rather tepid ecological zombie horror. A distinct lack of Zombies and horror give its zombie horror film status a rather weak look to it. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Doomwatch

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis A British researcher (Ian Bannen) and a military man (George Sanders) face islanders indirectly mutated by dumped chemicals.
      Director
      Peter Sasdy
      Screenwriter
      Clive Exton
      Production Co
      Tigon British Film Productions Ltd.
      Genre
      Sci-Fi
      Original Language
      English
      Runtime
      1h 29m