24 April 2024
Cyclone (1978)
100 min.
Directed by René Cardona Jr.
With Hugo Stiglitz, Carroll Baker, Arthur Kennedy, Andrés García, Olga Karlatos, Mário Almada, Lionel Stander.
Don't be fooled by the disaster movie-type title: this Mexican disaster flick quickly morphs into queasy horror.

A handful of tourists (genre regulars Baker and Karlatos, et al) are adrift in the ocean when a catastrophic cyclone hits the area, at the same time downing a crippled airliner nearby.

When the plane's few survivors meet up with the ramshackle boat, the newly merged group prays for a quick rescue out on the open sea.

But it's not long before hunger, dehydration and ravenous sharks begin to take their toll.

As their fellow passengers die one by one, those still alive turn to the dead...for FOOD.

Bleak and uncompromising, this cannibalistic terror sustains a grim but compelling pace; intentional or not, there's a vacuum of sentiment here, a lack of heart that surprisingly works to its favor. No classic, but this seasick little mood piece deserves proper refurbishment.

Also known as Terror Storm.

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