Island of Lost Souls (1932)

I first saw this on a vhs in the late 90s. Revisited it few days back on a blu ray. God bless Criterion Collection. This is the first n the best version of H.G. Wells novel The Island Of Dr Moreau with an amazing cast n splendid performances. This is indeed one of the best horror films of its era. Many may find it a bit slower now because of the romantic sub plot. In this movie, appearance wise, Charles Laughton looked n behaved like Hitler with his moustache n dictatorial ways but his deeds were more like Josef Mengele when it came to human experiments. I had always wanted to play football with Joseph Mengele's head. Charles Laughton was a terrific actor. In this movie he looked a bit comical with his goatee, helmet and whip but his acting was amazing. His mannerisms n facial expressions were top notch. Bela Lugosi's performance was also very good but a bit too small n his face hidden with lots of wolf like hair.

First saw this on KHOU-Houston's old Late, Late Show when I was 14. I remained haunted by it from that night forward. I read the novel, "The Island of Dr. Moreau" in college. If you're reading the reviews, you know the plot and probably the denouement. Let me just say that Laughton's performance will chill you to the bone and the under-lit sets add to the nightmarish quality. The film being made in 1932 black-and-white actually enhances this nightmarish affect. Yes, there have been at least two remakes. The one with Burt Lancaster as Moreau is a huge disappointment; the one with Marlon Brando is better and very watchable. However, both pale next to Laughton's b/w version. Watch it and be among those who are haunted.

A true classic in the genre from a long forgotten era, ISLAND OF LOST SOULS surprisingly still holds up today as a fast-moving, intriguing ride through H. G. Wells' horrifying tale of vivisection and animal cruelty. Although two further versions of the novel have been made, neither of them come close to achieving the sheer power and force of this original classic. Surprisingly horrific for the time in scenes of cruelty and torture, the film was banned for years by the squeamish British film censors before they finally came round. Indeed, not many other films from the '30s can be considered so shocking; Moreau's screams as he is picked apart by knives are truly disturbing.The acting in the film is typically good all round, but it is Charles Laughton as the sweating, sadistic villain who stands out from the rest. Whether he's whipping the primitives or gleefully hurting his captives, he is the true embodiment of the dedicated scientist, and I daresay ISLAND OF LOST SOULS is at least partly responsible for the creations-rise-up-and-attack-creator theme we're used to seeing from many, many horror films. An oppressive drum beat on the soundtrack keeps things moving along nicely, and the jungle setting is also put to good use. With Bela Lugosi (Dracula himself) as a native with a big bushy beard and lots of ape-men running through the trees, ISLAND OF LOST SOULS is a marvellous film to watch and a film which others must try and equal themselves with. One of the rightful classics.

Island of Lost souls is an 'old-school' Universal horror movie, meaning that there was a great emphasis on the darkness and fog of the sets and lighting, actors were presented at times (many times) in contorted and exaggerated ways, and science goes horribly awry. This is really an adaptation of the Island of Dr. Moreau, and that's Charles Laughton's character name. How close this is to the book is hard to say without reading it, but it is very close to the Universal-horror aesthetic (the director is Erle Kenton, and this his most notable film).What we get here though, on top of the thrills and kills, is a tale of the repression of nature, and what it means to be a MAN or to be a BEAST in society. You might wonder if this really gets any 'depth' in such a raucous genre movie, and really, there is some - the writing is very clever about doling out its themes and pathos about the split between how to control the beast in men and to let it out. Of course here the story is about making hybrids and experiments, and how science goes awry. But there is a philosophy behind it and, of all people, the rock group DEVO ("Whip it", you may remember) took this film as a launching pad. "What is the law?" and "Are we not men?" as rock lyrics - why not? This includes one of Laughton's creepiest (and, in many enjoyable scenes, subtlest) performances, and he's surrounded by lots of awesome monkey-men -Bela Lugosi pops up as the kind of head monkey-man and threatens to steal the show with those eyes - and has some salacious pre-code hijinks. It's also genuinely scary in a few spots, and actually holds up just as well if not better than a lot of the more classically known/regarded horror films of the early 30's; it could fit quite well in fact as double-bill with Freaks. Another highlight: Kathleen Burke as the 'Panther Woman' in a doomed romance.