The Island 1980

Blair Maynard is a British-born American journalist in New York City who once served in the Navy and becomes drawn to the mystery of boats vanishing in the Bermuda Triangle. He travels to Florida with his estranged son, Justin Maynard, promising a vacation at Disney World and a chance to reconnect.

During a fishing trip, an unkempt man attacks them and drags them to an uncharted island. There, they discover a centuries-old colony of savage French pirates who have lived in seclusion for generations. The pirates survive by raiding passing pleasure boats, killing most who come ashore. Blair and Justin are spared because the group believes they descend from Robert Maynard, and Justin is manipulated to become a surrogate heir to Nau, the pirate leader. Blair, meanwhile, is forced to impregnate Beth, the widow of the man Blair killed, and he is pressed into acting as a scribe for the largely illiterate pirate crew.

Captivity shifts Blair from a civilized, peaceful man into someone who must endure constant fear and brutal abuse. He makes several escape attempts, all of which fail, as the pirates tighten their grip and strip away his sense of normal life. Beth’s presence and Justin’s brainwashing deepen the tension, and Blair struggles to preserve any sense of humanity amid the island’s lawless brutality.

Blair eventually engineers a confrontation with a US Coast Guard cutter. The pirates overwhelm the vessel, wipe out most of its crew, and seize control. Blair manages to sneak aboard and, as most of the pirates cluster on the aft deck, discovers a deck-mounted M2 machine gun hidden under a tarp and opens fire, killing many of the attackers.

In the aftermath, Blair learns that Nau was not on the deck. The two men stalk each other through the wrecked ship, trading blows in a tense game of cat and mouse. Blair finally gains the upper hand and kills Nau with a flare gun. The deck is littered with debris and the gunfire dies away, and Blair is able to reunite with Justin, who has shed his pirate ambitions and grown more respectful toward his father.