I only really know cult film-maker Alan Ormsby for his starring role in the delightfully scuzzy cheapie CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS, but he also directed a trio of low rent films back in the day. Two of these are interesting - the Ed Gein-inspired DERANGED and the West Indian slasher POPCORN - while the third is THE GREAT MASQUERADE, which I saw under the title MURDER ON THE EMERALD SEAS.

Sadly, this film turns out to have a pitiful storyline about a cop who has to go undercover in drag in order to find out who's been murdering women via some grisly knife slayings. The acting is largely contained on board a ship filled with partygoers, which occasionally gives this a Columbo-style feel, but sadly 95% of the running time is packed with dumb comedy that really makes it a chore to sit through.

The film's lead - who appears to be Aaron Eckhart's lookalike brother - is a small-time cop required to dress up in drag to board the ship. Why he must do so is never really answered, nor is the situation funny. The laughs are sparse and never amusing, and although Vinegar Syndrome has marketed this as an exploitation movie, there are just a couple of scenes of nudity so fans of that type of film will be disappointed too. MURDER ON THE EMERALD SEAS is a very odd choice for high definition release.