The Bermuda Triangle (1978)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE is a low key, low budget science fiction thriller by Mexican director Rene Cardona, Jr. It's set on a boat stranded at sea in the Bermuda Triangle, where the assembled passengers and crew are assailed by constant strange events and mysteries: a doll is washed up and a little girl feeds it raw meat; they receive constant transmissions from vessels and planes that aren't around; an underwater earthquake threatens a diving expedition; people begin to die in strange accidents. Truth be told, it's a slimly-plotted film that feels more than a little dragged out at times; there's little actual 'meat' to the story, just one thing following another. The lack of a decent budget precludes any big effects but you do get turns from Mexican film star Hugo Stiglitz alongside a slumming-it John Huston and former Bond girl Claudine Auger. It's a film you watch to experience the mildly spooky atmosphere more than anything else.

"The Bermuda Triangle" is mostly a corny movie. But it's also a fun movie. The plot is pretty routine - a tour boat begins experiencing unexplainable things - I like the set of characters that it depicts: the kindly old man who has wise words about everything, the indigenous steerer who warns the passengers about interfering with the ocean, the bikini-clad babe, the girl whose cuteness is hiding something, and some others. These 1970s European horror flicks are the sorts of movies that you just gotta love. And this one is enough to make anyone want to go scuba diving...maybe in the Bermuda Triangle. As for René Cardona Jr., the only other movie of his that I've seen is "Beaks", a hilariously bad ripoff of "The Birds".Since this movie stars John Huston (the director of "The Maltese Falcon") and Hugo Stiglitz (to whom Quentin Tarantino paid homage in "Inglourious Basterds"), I now picture Brad Pitt's redneck telling the ocean something like: "I need me two million square kaɪ̯lometers*. We're gonna be doin' one thing and one thing only: disappearin' taʊ̯rists**!"*kilometers**tourists

Rene Cardona, Jnr was arguably the most recognisable Latin exploitation film maker in the late seventies through mid eighties, and his brand was easily identifiable through his use of fading American character actors and gory special effects. Disappointingly, that brand is conspicuously absent here, with John Huston in a relatively brief supporting role, the only 'marquee' import, and little to none of the gory special effects usually synonymous with a Cardona picture.The plot concerns the usual spate of mysterious disappearances converging on the Bermuda Triangle, while research vessel inadvertently sails into a maelstrom of intrigue and bizarre occult activity that seems to centre on a creepy-looking doll that is found floating in the ocean. It soon possesses the youngest child and in turn manages to wreak havoc amongst the rest of the crew, until, mysteriously, just a handful of weary survivors remain.Perennial Cardona leading-men Stiglitz and Garcia make an amiable cinema coupling, and they continue their reliable presence here, with the once-sultry Marina Vlady and former bombshell Claudine Auger largely wasted in shallow supporting roles. Miguel Fuentes as a chiselled, Neanderthal looking mechanic is unintentionally hilarious at times, as he randomly emerges from the small engine room door to taunt the spooked passengers with doomsday prophecies, before returning to the ship's bowels to inhale more petrol fumes and envisage even more facile tales of terror for his next appearance.While not totally inept - some unsettling suspense, good sets, colour and sound in particular - the special effects are profoundly amateurish and the dialogue is at times, painfully puerile. The possessed doll on which the story centres however does convey a certain Argento 'esque feel which is plainly scary (watch for those unnerving close-ups of the doll's face - creepy). Not your typical Cardona-style picture, and probably more accessible as a result. Average, but worth a look.

You have to hand it to Rene Cardona Jr.--maybe his films aren't very good, but he was always able to make them the way he wanted to in Mexico and successfully distribute them internationally (as opposed to today where most Mexican filmmakers manage maybe one acclaimed art film before they're swallowed whole by the Hollywood whale). This film seeks to exploit all the publicity surrounding the Bermuda Triangle at the time. A deep sea diver (John Huston)and his much younger wife and family sail into the Bermuda Triangle to explore some undersea ruins. Along for the ride is his bickering half-brother and sister-in-law and a superstitious crew of Mexican sailors. Strange things begin to happen. They find a creepy doll floating in the sea and give it to the youngest daughter who feeds it raw meat (which, hilariously, no one remarks on)and become possessed by it, accurately predicting the demise of various cast members. There are freak storms, bizarre accidents, and perhaps most creepy they keep hearing distress calls from the ships and planes that have disappeared over the years, including even their own transmissions.This movie is pretty effective and has a surprising amount of character development. The cast is Cardona's usual mixture of washed-up Americans (Huston), Mexican regulars (Hugo Stiglitz and Andres Garcia) and a little delectable bikini-filler imported from Europe (Gloria Guida). Since this was marketed as a low-budget disaster movie, it is fairly family-friendly (although it's probably too violent and scary for little kids), so don't expect the usual sex and nudity from the director of "Tintorera"--in fact, this is the only movie I've seen with Gloria Guida where she does NOT take her clothes off (she spends most of the movie in bed, literally, after a diving accidentally). It is a testament to the effectiveness of this movie though that I really didn't mind. The only real negative here is the atrocious dubbing: the dubbed dialogue of the black cook, in particular, would be offensive if it wasn't so ridiculous--he comes off like a throw-back to Step'n Fetchit.Still I would definitely recommend this. Even if it's not much of a compliment, this is definitely Rene Cardona's Jr.'s best movie.