Retro TV Movie: Satan's Triangle

Regular readers of this blog have probably noted my fondness for the eerie made for TV movies of the 1970s, such as The Night Stalker, Gargoyles and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. Some of these films are well-made chillers which are now regarded as classics, while others fall into the categories of guilty pleasures, such as the enjoyably off-kilter The Horror at 37,000 Feet and Satan's School For Girls. I recently came across another entry in the latter category when I rediscovered Satan's Triangle, which originally aired on ABC in 1975. This eerie chiller is set in the Bermuda Triangle, that legendary area in the North Atlantic where a number of ships and planes have reportedly disappeared without a trace over the years. The mysterious "Devil's Triangle" was the subject of a lot of books and TV shows in the 1970s, including In Search Of..., hosted by Leonard Nimoy.

The film opens with a rescue chopper sent out to answer an SOS from a small craft stranded at sea in the area known as the Bermuda Triangle. When the chopper arrives at the scene, co-pilot Lt. Haig is lowered to the craft via winch. What he finds there are three dead bodies and a frightened woman named Eva. When an attempt to pull up Haig and Eva to the chopper fails because the line snaps, weather conditions and low fuel require the pilot to return to base to refuel. Lt. Haig and Eva are left on the ship, and she tells Haig the story of how everyone on the vessel died, attributing their mysterious and violent deaths to supernatural causes.

Eva says that all of the odd events began when their schooner picked up a priest named Father Martin, who apparently survived a disaster at sea. Several men, including Eva's husband Hal, die mysteriously after he comes aboard, leaving Eva as the lone survivor. A skeptical Haig tells Eva he can explain all of these deaths, including Hal, who seems to be floating in mid-air, and Martin, who's hanging from the ship's mast, as the result of accidents and natural circumstances. Eva remains unconvinced, but the two grow closer as they wait for the rescue chopper to pick them up.

(Take note; spoilers ahead) Haig and Eva are eventually transferred to the returning helicopter from a rescue vessel which has arrived in the area. After the chopper takes off. the rescue ship radios the pilot and says that it's not a man that's hanging from the mast, as reported by Haig, but a woman! He turns to Eva, who laughs maniacally and transforms into the priest, then shoves the surprised Haig out the door into the ocean. The devil (?!) then goes after the pilot, threatening to take his soul, but he crashes the copter into the ocean. The last shot of the film is of Haig, who's now floating in the sea, boasting an evil grin, and waving at the approaching rescue ship.

The cast is chock full of familiar faces. Doug McClure, a familiar face to both TV and cinema audiences of the 1960s and 70s, who was featured in sci-fi movies such as The Land That Time Forgot and At The Earth's Core, stars as Haig. Movie legend Kim Novak, of Vertigo and Picnic fame, portrays Eva. The supporting cast includes Alejandro Rey of The Flying Nun, Jim Davis from Dallas and Michael Conrad of Hill Street Blues. The film was helmed by Sutton Roley, a veteran of movies and television who directed a ton of TV movies and series, including episodes of Hawaii Five-O, Kojak and Starsky and Hutch. The teleplay is by William Read Woodfield, who co-wrote and produced many episodes of the original Mission: Impossible TV series, and was also well-known as a photographer who shot pictures of stars like Marilyn Monroe.

Satan's Triangle is enjoyably goofy, spooky fun. This is one of those TV movies that, after its initial airing on ABC, showed up constantly throughout the 1970s and early 1980s on local stations as part of their afternoon movie showcases. Remember The 4:30 Movie in the New York area? It's not a classic like Trilogy of Terror or The Night Stalker, but if you dig the 1970s made for TV chiller genre, you'll have a good time watching this one. The film is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime. And remember, don't pick up any strange survivors if you're in Satan's Triangle!