Tagline: “They came, they saw, they died”!
Here we have an excellent crowd pleasing haunting British gothic slasher number that was initially released in the U.S. under the slightly more appealing title “Horror on Snape Island”, and later re-titled “Beyond the Fog” before becoming “Tower of Evil”. It’s a somewhat overlooked 70’s shocker that’s been one of my [many] favorites since I first saw it on full frame Gorgon video many years ago. Needless to say it comes recommended for fans of early and non typical slasher riffs.

Two fisherman visiting deserted Snape Island make the gruesome discovery of the dead bloody bodies of a group of teenagers strewn about Island as well as a sole survivor that’s fallen into a catatonic state. Back on the main land in a hospital Candace Glendenning revels the grisly fate of her horny hippie friends who where slaughtered with valuable Phoenician spear. Prompting Jill Haworth and Bryant Haliday, part of a group of Museum treasure seekers, to go to Snape Island investigate to investigate the mystery of the slain teens and look for a cache of Phoenician treasure.

Like Mario Bava’s slasher “A Bay of Blood” ’71 this was ahead of its time as a very early & gory---especially by British standards---slasher piece. Surprising it didn’t find its way to the Video Nasty list? My guess is it didn’t have a cover that caught attention. Featuring an excellent mix of gothic horror, the dark setting and ever present gloomy atmosphere and slasher sensibilities, the all-important body count, gory kills, and sex happy characters with a pinch of the psychedelic and a few usual horror clichés. It serious looks and feels like what a Hammer Studios hippie gore film would look like.

The Island surrounded in fog with a decaying lighthouse has a nice creepy atmosphere with liberal amounts of nudity, good suspense, a number of hacked up bodies with splashy graphic gore by a wacked out cackling killer, and caves with a Baal statue and the sought after Phoenician treasure. Written [screenplay] and directed with gusto by Jim O’Connolly whose only other direction in the genre was “Berserk” ’67 starring Joan Crawford and the Ray Harryhausen stop motion f/x film “The Valley of the Gwangi” ’69. Produced by Richard Gordon who produced a number of British films like “Fiend Without a Face” ’58, “Devil Doll” ’64, “Island of Terror” ’66, “Horror Hospital” ‘73 and the dreadful “Inseminoid” ’81.

Anchor Bay was the first to resurrect this on VHS re-mastered in its proper 1:85.1 widescreen. Followed by this Elite bare bones DVD release that is also re-mastered and UNCUT in the proper 1:85.1 widescreen with a flawless print that looks to be taken from the original negative. A huge step above the old VHS release. Sadly the Xtras are nothing more than a trailer.

My Original 1 sheet

My Anchor Bay VHS