Screamers (also known for its original title, The Island of the Fishmen) is a handsomely mounted piece by Sergio Martino from 1979.

He pulled in an impressive cast, including Barbara Bach, Richard Johnson, and Joseph Cotton, for an Island of Dr. Moreau-type action-adventure.

The lack of exploitation elements (no sex and little blood) inspired Roger Corman to buy the original Italian film. He then chopped thirty minutes out and added a specially-shot prologue with more splatter and a slasher movie vibe as a group of sailors led by Cameron Mitchell and Mel Ferrer are picked off by a much more homicidal branch of the fish-men team.

The gore effects by Chris Walas are very ’80s, and both sections of the film are well-done, even if there’s not much connection in terms of the story or theme.

With exploding volcanoes, armies of fish-men, and a diving bell trip to Atlantis, this is much more of a Saturday matinee adventure than an adult horror, and the vigor of Martino’s story-telling is something to behold.