DbcultAccessing Vault...
A definitive 6.2/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Eight Bells remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like your movies fast, messy, and filled with people shouting over sound effects that clearly weren't recorded on a real boat, Eight Bells might be your cup of tea. It’s the kind of flick that doesn't waste time on character development when there’s a perfectly good mutiny to attend to. If you need logic or quiet moments, stay away.
Ann Sothern is the main reason to stick around. She’s stuck playing the stowaway Marge, a role that mostly requires her to look distressed while wearing a very impractical dress for a long-haul sea voyage. Watching her try to navigate the weird romantic tension between Ralph Bellamy and the rest of the crew is honestly more entertaining than the actual storms.
The pacing is a bit of a nightmare. One minute we are dealing with a lighthearted stowaway bit, and the next, there’s a typhoon rocking the set so hard you can practically see the stagehands shaking the walls. It reminded me a little of the chaos in The Man Who Laughs, though with significantly less face-makeup and way more rope.
Speaking of the mutiny, it happens so fast you might miss it if you blink. One guy gets angry, everyone starts shoving, and suddenly the ship is a war zone. I'm not sure how they found time to keep the ship moving toward Shanghai with all that internal conflict going on, but somehow they manage.
There’s a weird energy to this movie, like the director was trying to win a bet about how many plot points you can jam into an hour. It’s not great art, but it’s certainly not boring. If you’ve ever watched Partners in Crime and thought, "I wish this had more ocean," then you’ve found your match.
It’s deeply imperfect, and honestly, that’s why it works. It’s a relic from a time when studios just wanted to churn out a quick adventure and move on to the next one. Don't think about it too hard, just enjoy the ride. 🌊