Demon of Paradise is set on 'Kihono, Hawaii' where a group of four men are setting dynamite off in a local lake, I have no idea why but they're all villains & up to no good. Then, out of nowhere, a fish-lizard mutant thing turns up. A herpetologist named Dr. Annie Essex (Kathryn Witt) is doing some research in the hope of finding a new species, she becomes involved with Sheriff Keefer (William Steis) so when the dead, mutilated body of a fisherman (Ramon D'Salva) turns up she goes along, I have no idea why Keefer would involve her but what does that matter? After examining the corpse for all of 5 minutes Annie finds a claw & confidently announces to Keefer that there is a fish-lizard creature in the area killing people. At first Keefer is somewhat sceptical as is his right as the local law enforcement officer but soon has to change his doubting mind when the bodies continue to pile up & he sees the 'terrifying' creature with his own eyes, it's up to Keefer & Annie to save the local residents from becoming fish-lizard creature food!<br /><br />This Pilippines American co-production was co-produced & directed by Cirio H. Santiago &, quite frankly, is crap & stinks worse than a 2 week old kipper left in the sun to rot. The script by Frederick Bailey obviously steals it's best ideas, themes & situations from other, much better films such as Jaws (1975), Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954, 2006 remake if it ever happens) & Humaniods From the Deep (1980) for example. Nothing is explained with any degree of satisfaction, the plot is as thin as my plot synopsis makes it sound & it's incredibly slow & dull. I suppose it's a cliché but in the case of Demon of Paradise it's true, it would be more exciting watching grass grow. The character's are poor & unlikable, the dialogue had no effort put into it & the final nail in Demon of Paradise's coffin is that there are very few attacks, the monster sucks & there is no gore whatsoever, I have to ask the question what's the point? It has a snail's pace & takes itself far too seriously & provides little, if any, entertainment value. The ending hints at a sequel which thankfully has never been made, I shudder at the very thought.<br /><br />Economy conscious director Santiago does nothing to liven things up, the attack scenes are rubbish, there's no gore or violence at all & he seems more interested in cheap action with a few boats exploding & a lame shoot-out. The monster looks pretty bad, it's obviously a guy in a rubber suit with a mask that looks more like a Wolf than anything else. To save on special effects there's no blood, violence or gore either, sorry I've already mentioned that haven't I? I mean I'm not bitter or anything but I want the 90 odd minutes I spent watching this crap back. However, if you can stay awake long enough there is a scene when a fashion model takes a quick swim topless.<br /><br />The budget on Demon of Paradise must have been low, there is simply no other explanation as why the whole thing is so cheap & tacky. Actually shot in Hawaii the locations are the best thing about the film which just about says it all. The acting was brilliant & the whole cast deserve Oscars, only joking they were all awful.<br /><br />Demon of Paradise is a terrible film, it's dull, boring, badly made & just painful to sit through (I still have the emotional scars to prove it). Don't even consider it, there are much, much better water & fish life based horror out there. Picked up for distribution by Roger Corman.