''Tanya's Island'' is a 1980 Canadian-American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

film directed by

Alfred Sole Alfred Sole (July 2, 1943 – February 14, 2022) was an American production designer, film director, producer, and writer best known for directing such films as ''Alice, Sweet Alice'' (1976) and '' Pandemonium'' (1982). Prior to beginning his car ...

. It stars Denise "Vanity" Matthews (credited as “D.D. Winters”) as a young woman caught up in a

love triangle A love triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with someone is simultaneo ...

with her aggressive boyfriend and a wild ape-man on an imaginary tropical island. The ape-suit was created by

Rick Baker Richard Alan "Rick" Baker (born December 8, 1950) is a retired American special make-up effects creator and actor. He is mostly known for his creature designs and effects. Baker has won the Academy Award for Best Makeup a record seven times f ...

and

Rob Bottin Robin R. Bottin (born April 1, 1959) is an American special make-up effects creator. Known for his collaborations with directors John Carpenter, Paul Verhoeven and David Fincher, Bottin worked with Carpenter on both ''The Fog'' and '' The Thin ...

, with special effects contributions from Steve Johnson.

Plot

Tanya is a female model in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

who lives with her boyfriend Lobo, a

surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

painter who is extremely violent. Subjected to Lobo's constant abuse, Tanya dreams of escaping to a desert island, and her dream comes true. The only other person on her island is an enormous blue-eyed man-ape who emerged from one of Lobo's paintings. Tanya befriends the beast and nicknames him "Blue." Soon she begins to feels a strange attraction to the creature, which makes Lobo increasingly jealous in the real world. He becomes determined to capture the man-ape and put it in a cage.

Cast

Vanity Vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness compared to others. Prior to the 14th century, it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant ''futility''. The related term vainglory is now often seen as ...

as Tanya (credited as D.D. Winters) * Richard Sargent as Lobo * Mariette Lévesque as Kelly * Don McLeod as Blue (credited as Don McCloud) * Donny Burns as Blue's Voice

Production

Mick Garris Mick Garris (born December 4, 1951) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter and novelist born in Santa Monica, California. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, as well as making Stephen King adaptations. Early life Garris was b ...

and

had written the screenplay together, but their work on the final film went uncredited as producer Pierre Brousseau who came up with the initial idea changed the script notably making Blue more threatening and less sympathetic than in the initial draft. When Sole and Brousseau approached

about doing the creature effects, the two envisioned a standard gorilla design but Baker only agreed to do the creature work if he was given free rein on the design. As Baker wanted to create something new and exotic, he opted for a mixture of baboon and orangutan which he nicknamed a "Boom-Orang." As Baker had to leave due to commitments on ''

The Incredible Shrinking Woman ''The Incredible Shrinking Woman'' is a 1981 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Joel Schumacher (in his cinematic directing debut), written by Jane Wagner, and starring Lily Tomlin, Charles Grodin, Ned Beatty, John Glover, and El ...

'', Baker's designs were entrusted to

References

External links

* 1980 films American erotic drama films American fantasy films Canadian erotic drama films Canadian fantasy films English-language Canadian films 1980s English-language films Films about domestic violence Films set on islands Zoophilia in culture 1980s erotic drama films 1980 drama films 1980s American films 1980s Canadian films English-language erotic drama films {{fantasy-film-stub