Two American brothers find themselves on an island(inhabited only by women, woot!)encountering trouble from the female tribal leader whose suspicious nature, in regards to a god she serves, creates tension and fear among the people. Chris(Bill Cord) is a polite, well mannered man who attempts to keep his greedy no-good brother Lee(Don Durant) out of trouble, falling in love with Mahia(Lisa Montell), the girl who rescued him from being shark food. Mahia is forbidden to associate with Chris, but her burgeoning love for him causes angst and anxiety, and soon they will have no choice but to leave the island as tribal leader Pua(Jeanne Gerson) has signaled for the police. Lee is responsible for the senseless murder of a security guard, killed during a gun smuggling operation which went sour. Lee is dependent on his big brother to help find him sanctuary from the authorities out to catch him. Lee, feeling pressure regarding their limited time before a ship would be in the area, needs to find a means off the island. There are far worse things than watching cute island girls Hawaiin dancing, but it doesn't exactly move the plot along..it almost feels like Corman, the epitome of "prolific", is more dedicated to presenting the Hawaiin location as a travelogue for tourism than the story itself. Eventually, though, the story picks up as Chris and Mahia's love is tested by both sides, his brother and her island family. When Lee steals pearls and kills one of the island guards, this only adds to an already difficult situation..along with Pua who they kidnapped and Mihia, the two brothers had to stop off at the nearby reef in order to wait out until conditions on the water were better for travel. Pua isn't about to let them off that easy and Lee's antics sure don't help matters. Brother against brother and Mahia narrowly escaping Pua's attempts to sacrifice her to the sharks to appease their gods thanks to Chris, there's plenty of drama unfolding in Corman's little movie. Not one to let a setting(or set)go to waste, Corman had the uncanny ability to whip a story up around any location. Attractive cast and lush environs, Corman utilizes beauty well, taking advantage of what is provided him. Some striking underwater photography as Mahia is shown saving the two hunks from certain death, herself also rescued more than once by Chris. Sharks are established as quite the threat even though they are not the great whites we normally think about in a terror situation.
Review of She Gods of Shark Reef
