Uriah43 Review of The Devil Came from Akasava

The Devil Came from Akasava (1971)

A Slow-Moving Spy Film Without Much Action or Suspense

[4/10 · 28 February 2021]

This film begins with a man by the name of "Joao" (Antonio Padilla) discovering an extremely valuable crystal which has the potential to turn ordinary metal into gold. It is also highly radioactive and unless a person takes extreme precautions will either kill or severely debilitate him into a shell of his former self. To that extent, as soon as Joao emerges from the cave carrying a lead-lined box he is shot and severely wounded by an unnamed assailant. Even so he manages to get back to his workplace but is subsequently murdered by that same person when his boss "Professor Forrester" (Angel Menendez) temporarily leaves his side to find medical help. Not long after that Professor Forrester also goes missing and the box containing the stone is stolen. The scene eventually shifts to the professor's nephew "Rex Forrester" (Fred Williams) boarding an airplane from London to a tropical region known as the Akasava to search for him. Following him at a distance is an agent for the British Secret Service named "Jane Morgan" (Soledad Miranda) who is also investigating the disappearance of Professor Forrester and the murder of his assistant. But what neither Rex nor Jane realize is that they are being closely followed by several different people who each have their own agendas. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a mediocre James Bond clone which not only lacked the suspense necessary for a film of this type but also stretches any sense of realism beyond the breaking point as well. It does, however, have two beautiful actresses in Ewa Stromberg (as "Ingrid Thorrsen") and the aforementioned Soledad Miranda who has several semi-nude scenes throughout the film to keep things somewhat interesting. But that's about all it had going for it. That being said, while this may not have been a great spy film by any means, it wasn't necessarily that bad either and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.