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Doomwatch
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - 88 Films Review written by and copyright: Eric Cotenas (11th October 2024). |
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The Film
 Two years after a catastrophic oil spill off the southern coast of England, specially-appointed British government Department of Measurement of Scientific Work – nicknamed "Doomwatch" – sends scientist Dr. Del Shaw (Fright's Ian Bannen) to the island of Balfe whose shores were most effected by the spill to take samples to assess the degree to which detergents have dispersed the spill. Upon arrival, Shaw finds little cooperation among the locals, including local pub owner Betty (Nothing But the Night's Shelagh Fraser), Constable Hartwell (The Cockleshell Heroes' Percy Herbert), and even the vicar (Gorgo's Joseph O'Conor). Schoolteacher Victoria Brown (Fear in the Night's Judy Geeson), who has only been on the island for two years, explains that the community is very close and wants to be left alone to the extent that she turns a blind eye and ear to mysterious goings-on including Shaw sighting some of the villagers dragging a man into the woods near their guesthouse. Shaw feels a presence following him and observes outbursts of violence among the locals. Sensing something deeply wrong, he sends back the samples but remains on the island. When he finds the body of a child buried in the woods, it is gone when he returns with the constable who does not take him seriously. After Doomwatch's scientists – supervisor Dr. Spencer Quist (Deadly Record's John Paul), colleagues Dr. John Ridge (Simon Oates), and Dr. Fay Chantry (Impact's Jean Trend) – discover the presence of a growth hormone in unusual amounts, Shaw and Victoria's fisherman friend (Highlander's James Cosmo) discover oversized examples of local fish around an area of the island cordoned off by the British military for toxic waste dumping. One of a number of feature film spin-offs of popular British television series – which included everything from Doctor Who and The Sweeney to Are You Being Served? and Steptoe & Son (the same year that it got its American remake Sanford and Son from the same team that remade Man About the House into Three's Company which both included spin-offs for The Ropers) – Doomwatch largely relegates series regulars Paul and Oates to the background and entirely the mainland with newly-introduced scientist Bannen and Geeson taking center stage. The stereotypical horror elements like the island and its secretive practices everyone appears to be in on – one almost expects a Lovecraftian twist of the villagers worshipping some mutant human or animal life – provide some atmosphere and suspense, largely courtesy of the photography of Kenneth Talbot (I Don't Want to Be Born), the scoring of John Scott (Wake in Fright) and jobbing director Peter Sasdy (The Stone Tape) making more of the Cornwall-lensed "Scottish" setting than he did with Nothing But the Night, a somewhat thematically-similar film set on a Scottish island in which horror tropes give way to a science fiction reveal. This section is actually less compelling than the second half of the film once the horrific mystery elements are out of the way and the viewer sees that the cause of the pollution is not some sinister government experiment or malicious poisoning but an all-too-familiar chain of events; whereupon the "monsters" become pitiable even when they are supposed to be threatening. As in Tigon's The Body Stealers, George Sanders is on hand to represent military secrecy but seems less visibly embarrassed here (even if the extras suggest he was no less difficult). The end result of Doomwatch is a pretty entertaining Tigon film and, as we discover in the extras, something more along the line of where the creators wanted to go rather than where the show-runner took it on the small screen. 
Video
Despite being a spin-off of a British series, the theatrical Doomwatch did get release overseas theatrically and on home video. The American 2001 Euroshock Collection DVD from Image Entertainment and the British Metrodome and Prism Leisure DVDs all utilized the same fullscreen tape master. The film finally received a 2K restoration in 2016, appearing stateside on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber and in the U.K. from Screenbound which was also the source for 88 Films' 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen Blu-ray. There is a healthy field of grain throughout the film which makes a smoother transition between the location and studio scenes with detail at its best in close-ups (not always the best for the make-up effects). The color scheme is fairly muted with an emphasis on browns, greens, and grays and the grading keeps things appropriately chilly. The opening sequence teaser is murky-looking but this is presumably due to the night-for-night location shooting rather than the tinting baked into the grades of some of the earlier Euro London title remasters including Tigon titles. 
Audio
The uncompressed LPCM 2.0 mono track boasts clear dialogue – much of the location work post-synched – and a rich rendering of Scott's scoring from the lush main theme to the suspense cues and stingers. Optional English HoH subtitles are included, which is helpful given Bannen's pronunciation of acromegaly. 
Extras
Unlike some other 88 Films Tigon releases that have dropped older commentaries and extras, 88 Films has carried over Kino Lorber's audio commentary by director Peter Sasdy in which he admits to not having seen the series – having worked overseas during the first series airing – and took the job because he was interested in the story. While he concedes that fans of the series were probably disappointed in the movie theaters, he states the necessity of taking steps not to turn the film into an "enlarged episode" including casting two new leads and bringing in Clive Exton (The House in Nightmare Park). He does not that series writer Gerry Davis (The Final Countdown) served as consultant regarding the film's treatment of the series characters but that he had his own scientific advisor, although co-writer Kit Pedler is listed in the film's credits as technical advisor. He reveals that Bannen was his first choice for the role and laments that Geeson soon after moved to Los Angeles to continue her career (despite the slump in British filmmaking from the early seventies onward). He also discusses the film's thematic and prophetic aspects, as well as scouting locations for the Scottish location and coming up with a village in Cornwall. New to the disc is an audio commentary by film journalists Kim Newman and Sean Hogan which is much appreciated in placing the film in the context of the series as well as Sasdy's work (noting that the horror elements of both this film and Nothing But the Night made them "The Wicker Man before The Wicker Man"). They reveal that Davis and Pedler actually wanted to keep the series' tone as horror with a message while show Terence Dudley (The Survivors) runner took the second and third series in a more realistic direction. They also discuss the elements of the film shared with episodes of the series – including a recurring theme of islands and insular communities destroyed by scientific progress as well as another island one with Fraser – and also reveal that although Pedler and Davis sold the characters to the BBC and could not use them in their novels, there are scenes and dialogue in one of the novels that suggest that they did a draft of the script before Exton took over.  Also ported from the Kino disc is the introduction by director Peter Sasdy (2:12) who expresses his enthusiasm for the film. New to the disc is "Saving Our Oceans - Jean Trend on Doomwatch" (13:23) who reveals that she got her role from the second series onward by contacting Dudley and asking if he had anything for her, and that she was disappointed that the characters were not more up front in the film. "To the Big Screen - Making Doomwatch" (14:53) featuring intercut interviews with three of the film's crew members. Sue Gentle (Link) discusses working as a stand-in for Geeson and her impressions of the series. Assistant art director Alan Cassie (Demons of the Mind) recalls the expense of shooting on location, using a piece of backlot at Pinewood for part of the village, and matching the underwater scenes on location to the shots in the studio tank. Assistant editor Eddy Jospeh (Pink Floyd: The Wall) reveals that he and editor Keith Palmer (Wake in Fright) were offered the job by Sasdy after working with him on a series with Shirley MacClaine together and that they recommended Scott as composer. The disc also includes the film's theatrical trailer (2:45) and a stills gallery. 
Packaging
The disc comes with a reversible sleeve featuring new artwork by Sean Longmore and the original poster while the first pressing includes a glossy O-ring slipcover and booklet notes by Jon Dear (not supplied for review).
Overall
The end result of Doomwatch is a pretty entertaining Tigon film and, as we discover in the extras, something more along the line of where the creators wanted to go rather than where the show-runner took it on the small screen.
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