A group of mostly wealthy people from Tokyo go out on a yacht, and the movie starts off a bit deliriously happy. Later on, after much unhappiness, another sort of happy delirium will occur.
They're hit by a storm, and while they get the main sail down, the boat sustains some damage to the sails, masts, and electrical system. After drifting for some time, they come to an apparently uninhabited island that they optimistically hope is part of Japan. They find there isn't much identifiable as food, and that birds avoid the island. They discover a derelict research vessel covered in mold, and they stay aboard it when they are not foraging for food or trying to repair the yacht. The log on the ship indicates the mushrooms on the island are dangerous, so they're initially avoided....
Those looking for a monster movie may be disappointed, since this is more of a suspenseful weird horror movie, I think. A creepy atmosphere abounds, and the mushroom-covered island and moldy derelict ship are very well designed.
Someone mentioned a scene involving a Shinto ritual not in all prints of the film. If it was on the Media Blasters DVD, I overlooked it; I wonder if anyone knows more about what that scene depicted?
Based on a 1907 story "Voice in the Night" by William Hope Hodgson (readily available on the internet) that had been previously, and more faithfully, adapted for TV for the Alfred Hitchcock-produced "Suspicion" (1957) TV-Series 1957-1959. I haven't seen that episode, but it was favorably reviewed by Variety, and others.
They're hit by a storm, and while they get the main sail down, the boat sustains some damage to the sails, masts, and electrical system. After drifting for some time, they come to an apparently uninhabited island that they optimistically hope is part of Japan. They find there isn't much identifiable as food, and that birds avoid the island. They discover a derelict research vessel covered in mold, and they stay aboard it when they are not foraging for food or trying to repair the yacht. The log on the ship indicates the mushrooms on the island are dangerous, so they're initially avoided....
Those looking for a monster movie may be disappointed, since this is more of a suspenseful weird horror movie, I think. A creepy atmosphere abounds, and the mushroom-covered island and moldy derelict ship are very well designed.
Someone mentioned a scene involving a Shinto ritual not in all prints of the film. If it was on the Media Blasters DVD, I overlooked it; I wonder if anyone knows more about what that scene depicted?
Based on a 1907 story "Voice in the Night" by William Hope Hodgson (readily available on the internet) that had been previously, and more faithfully, adapted for TV for the Alfred Hitchcock-produced "Suspicion" (1957) TV-Series 1957-1959. I haven't seen that episode, but it was favorably reviewed by Variety, and others.