Terminal Island (1973)

For viewers of a certain age, the most interesting aspect of Terminal Island (1973) lies in the cast, with early appearances from two of the stars of Magnum PI  - Tom Selleck and Roger E Mosley -and a post-Lost in Space appearance from Marta Kristen.  A typically cheap and cheerful exploitation piece from Dimension Pictures, Terminal Island has a pretty straightforward premise: in a near future (in 1973, at least), the US, having abolished the death penalty, instead sends its worst convicted offenders to a remote island, to fend for themselves.  The surrounding sea is constantly patrolled by warships to discourage escape attempts and armed guards make regular deliveries of essential supplies.  The problem is that it really has no idea where to go after this set-up, instead opting for a survival narrative with a new arrival caught between two rival groups of prisoners.  All the usual tropes are there - the small number of women are treated as chattels and sex slaves by the dominant group, rival men fight over them and the leader of the dominant group is a ruthless psycho who kills any potential rival, for instance.  While the main group holds the island's settlement, the others have been exiled to the wilderness and there are various changes of allegiance, with the women escaping from the settlement and joining up with the other group and Tom Selleck's doctor likewise changing sides.

The fact that all of the main characters are prisoners, convicted for the most brutal and heinous of crimes, makes it difficult for viewers to sympathise with most of them,  A point apparently recognised by the makers, as Selleck's character is revealed to have been convicted of a mercy killing, presumably considered a more 'acceptable' form of homicide, while Kristen, it turns out, was responsible for constructing a bomb for student protesters, which subsequently killed someone.  With its black heroine and feminist undertones (the women are clearly the most intelligent and resourceful people on the island, subjugated by the males simply on the basis of physical strength), the film also touches on other popular exploitation sub-genres such as Blaxploitation, as well as, in effect, being a variation on the 'women-in-prison' genre.  The feminist themes is unsurprising bearing in mind that the film is directed by Stephanie Rothman, a pioneering female director in the exploitation field, (who also directed the interesting and stylish Velvet Vampire (1972) for Roger Corman).  To her credit, she avoids the film falling into the worst of exploitation tropes by avoiding any rape scenes.  Indeed, even nudity is kept to a minimum, a surprising choise for an exploitation film of this era and with this sort of subject matter.  Production values - most of the film is shot outdoors Lake Sherwood - are rough and ready, but the pace is good and the performances decent.  While somewhat lacking in originality, Terminal island is, nonetheless, a solid piece of above average seventies exploitation.