Nostalgia Kinky

A fairly incredible final-act highlights The Island, a 1980 thriller from director Leong Po-Chih. Recently restored in 2K and released as a special edition Blu-ray from Eureka, The Island is a violent and entertaining take on films like Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes and Joe D’Amato’s Anthropophagus that horror fans will especially find of great interest.

Decades before he made the crossover to English language cinema, Northampton born Po-Chih was raised there by his Chinese born parents. His Chinese heritage eventually led him to relocate to Hong Kong and by the seventies he was working both in front of and behind the camera. His debut as a director, Jumping Ash (1977) garnered much positive attention as did his later 1984 production Hong Kong 1941. Most of his early films were either comedies or action films, with one notable exception being 1982’s slasher inspired He Lives by Night. 

While The Island certainly has roots in the North American slasher films of the late-70s/early-80s, as Frank Djeng points out during his excellent commentary track for Eureka, it is more Wes Craven’s Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes that Po-Chih is reaching back to the most. Neither as intense, nor as great, as either Craven’s or D’Amato’s island-bound gore classic, The Island is a bit too reserved at times, save for its final somewhat Texas Chainsaw Massacre inspired section which is quite fantastic. 

The Island features a nice ensemble cast and strong cinematography by the great Poon Hang-Sang, still early in his inspiring career. The Island was just Hang-Sang’s third feature but already he is showing signs of the great work he’d soon be doing on films like Peking Opera Blues (1986) and A Chinese Ghost Story (1987). Not everything about The Island works but its never less than a great looking film. 

Along with its strong visual appeal, The Island is also a great sounding film. The score is a nicely rendered soundtrack inspired by the some of the seventies great synth tracks and it works nicely throughout. Although The Island really comes to life during its final section, on a sheer technical level this is a fine film throughout.

Eureka’s fine looking Blu-ray of The Island features several intriguing extras. These include a 2nd commentary track featuring genre cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema, as well as a 2023 interview with Chih Leong, filmed at a screening of The Island. Also on hand is a book featuring new writing by Roger Garcia and an additional interview with Chih Leong. A great release for a lightly recommended film.

-Jeremy Richey, Feb 2026-

Order the limited edition Blu-ray of The Island direct from Eureka or from MVD.