Screamers (1981)

In 1891, a Lieutenant named Claude and a small group of prisoners survive a shipwreck.  Unfortunately their lifeboat seems to be made of balsa wood and it wrecks as well.  A few of the men wash up on an uncharted island and while searching for drinkable water, Claude falls into a man made trap and they realize they are not alone.

The island is inhabited by Edward Rackham, who is keeping  Professor Marvin and his daughter prisoner.  Marvin has figured out how to turn men into amphibians and Rackham is using these creatures to take gold and antiquities from the lost city of Atlantis which is conveniently located nearby.

The island voodoo priest predicts bad things are coming.  She's certainly correct since Rackham doesn't want anyone interferring with his plans and Claude doesn't like what is going on.

This movie is not what it appears to be.  This is an Italian film called Island of the Fishmen. A US distributor bought, added a 12 minute intro about a treasure hunt, and retitled it Screamers.   The original movie is pretty slow paced so it's like someone said, hey we've got a beach, some water and a cave... so let's add a gooey monster laden beginning. How could anyone complain about that?

The first 12 minutes are the most interesting with the gooey skeletons and cool monster hands. Actually the fishmen are pretty cool as well, but other than that the movie is pretty boring.  Oh and there was one part that reminded me of Goonies, since there was a boat in a cave and there were people looking for treasure. The poster and first 12 minutes are the coolest thing about this film.