The Flesh Eaters

Jan Letterman hires pilot Grant Murdoch to fly Laura Winters from New York toward Provincetown. A fierce storm forces an emergency landing on a small island. The survivors brace for isolation and the unknown ahead.

On the secluded shore the crash survivors encounter Prof. Peter Bartell, a marine biologist living in seclusion. He brings crucial scientific insight but remains wary and enigmatic. The chance meeting marks the start of a fragile alliance against the island's dangers.

Over the following days a sequence of skeletons washes ashore—first human, then fish. The surrounding water glows with a mysterious microbe that devours flesh at an alarming rate. The cast realizes they are dealing with something far more monstrous than expected.

Bartell explains he was a former US Government agent sent to Nazi Germany to recover data and language skills. He discloses his plan to cultivate flesh-eating monsters as biological weapons. His revelation casts him as morally ambiguous in the struggle to survive.

Omar, a beatnik shipwreck survivor, washes up and joins the group. He adds a counterculture perspective and gives the group a new dynamic. Trust among survivors becomes a constant issue as fear rises.

Tensions mount when the plane that brought them drifts off into the ocean, severing any immediate chance of rescue. The surviving castaways and Bartell become potential meals for the ravenous monsters. The isolation hardens their resolve as they prepare to confront the threat.

Bartell unveils a high-voltage plan, using a battery-based system to slay the monsters. He explains the theory behind using electricity to disrupt or kill the creatures. The method raises the stakes as the group gears up for a dangerous test.

The electrical attempt fails to kill the creatures; instead, it causes countless microbes to coalesce into a more formidable organism. The threat grows larger and more cohesive, forcing the survivors to rethink their tactics. The episode demonstrates the monsters' unexpected resilience.

A critical discovery reveals the beasts devour flesh but not blood; remains with blood are found in prior victims. Bartell hypothesizes that hemoglobin is lethal to them, offering a potential vulnerability. The group begins to test ways to exploit this weakness.

Applying a large electrical shock to the surrounding waters drives the dispersed microbes into a single giant organism. The behemoth becomes a formidable new threat that the survivors must face. The island becomes a battlefield as science and survival collide.

In the climactic struggle, Bartell is killed before Murdoch can unleash the final countermeasure. His death removes the main antagonist from the group, though his actions shape the outcome. Murdoch fights to end the threat and protect the remaining survivors.

Murdoch and Letterman manage to defeat the last creature and leave the island together. They sail away, scarred but alive, with their experience shaping their view of science and survival. The final moment hints at the lasting consequences of their ordeal.