Really Surprised!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE is a low key, low budget science fiction thriller by Mexican director Rene Cardona, Jr. It's set on a boat stranded at sea in the Bermuda Triangle, where the assembled passengers and crew are assailed by constant strange events and mysteries: a doll is washed up and a little girl feeds it raw meat; they receive constant transmissions from vessels and planes that aren't around; an underwater earthquake threatens a diving expedition; people begin to die in strange accidents. Truth be told, it's a slimly-plotted film that feels more than a little dragged out at times; there's little actual 'meat' to the story, just one thing following another. The lack of a decent budget precludes any big effects but you do get turns from Mexican film star Hugo Stiglitz alongside a slumming-it John Huston and former Bond girl Claudine Auger. It's a film you watch to experience the mildly spooky atmosphere more than anything else.

Folks on a boat cruising around the Bermuda Triangle find an evil doll floating around in the ocean. The doll is given to a little girl on board and then a bunch of strange stuff starts happening. What a turd. John Huston must have needed money badly. It doesn't have much to say about the Bermuda Triangle, either. That's just a means to an end to get this evil doll story going. On the plus side, the bad dubbing and worse dialogue are good for laughs. There are also a few weirdos in the supporting cast who are fun. Beautiful Gloria Guida certainly gives us some nice eye candy. It's not a good movie but fans of badly-dubbed stinkers might like it more.

Rene Cardona, Jnr was arguably the most recognisable Latin exploitation film maker in the late seventies through mid eighties, and his brand was easily identifiable through his use of fading American character actors and gory special effects. Disappointingly, that brand is conspicuously absent here, with John Huston in a relatively brief supporting role, the only 'marquee' import, and little to none of the gory special effects usually synonymous with a Cardona picture.The plot concerns the usual spate of mysterious disappearances converging on the Bermuda Triangle, while research vessel inadvertently sails into a maelstrom of intrigue and bizarre occult activity that seems to centre on a creepy-looking doll that is found floating in the ocean. It soon possesses the youngest child and in turn manages to wreak havoc amongst the rest of the crew, until, mysteriously, just a handful of weary survivors remain.Perennial Cardona leading-men Stiglitz and Garcia make an amiable cinema coupling, and they continue their reliable presence here, with the once-sultry Marina Vlady and former bombshell Claudine Auger largely wasted in shallow supporting roles. Miguel Fuentes as a chiselled, Neanderthal looking mechanic is unintentionally hilarious at times, as he randomly emerges from the small engine room door to taunt the spooked passengers with doomsday prophecies, before returning to the ship's bowels to inhale more petrol fumes and envisage even more facile tales of terror for his next appearance.While not totally inept - some unsettling suspense, good sets, colour and sound in particular - the special effects are profoundly amateurish and the dialogue is at times, painfully puerile. The possessed doll on which the story centres however does convey a certain Argento 'esque feel which is plainly scary (watch for those unnerving close-ups of the doll's face - creepy). Not your typical Cardona-style picture, and probably more accessible as a result. Average, but worth a look.

Bermuda Triangle, The (1978) * (out of 4) Incredibly bad film from Mexican director Rene Cardona, Jr. A family goes off to the Bermuda Triangle to see what the big deal is and guess what happens. This film tries to be mysterious and creepy but fails on both levels because the screenplay is all over the place and never really makes a bit of sense. Character enter and exit the film without any explanation and the "mystery" of the Bermuda Triangle is never resolved or even talked about much, although the film tries to play claim to a cursed doll, which causes all the problems. There's some wonderful underwater photography but this too get hampered by three real sharks being killed on the screen for no reason. John Huston, Andres Garcia, Gloria Guida and Claudine Auger star.