Island of Terror (1966)

Planet Film Productions, who distributed (as far as I can tell) a total of six films, beginning in 1951 and ending their run with this, have put together a good, solidly made production featuring an scholarly Peter Cushing. Also, amidst the nicely creepy locations beautifully captured by director Terence Fisher, are the reasons for the 'terror' extolled by the title: b-movie style slithering 'Silicates', long-necked snail-like creatures that move around with staggering slowness. These monsters either destroy the nicely conveyed spooky atmosphere, or provide a somewhat silly high-point among the serious faces and long coats - depending on your point of view.The bodies of a series of murdered humans/animals have one gruesome thing in common: their bones have been liquefied, leaving the cadavers 'all soft and flabby.' Dr. Bryan Stanley (Cushing) and his authoritarian gang Drs David West and Reginald Landers (Edward Judd and Eddie Byrne) investigate, together with Toni Merrill (Carole Gray) - who has constantly to fight against their 'stay here, things might get dangerous', and then screams in terror whenever they are confronted by the Silicates. Girls, eh? The actors do a good job of staring in terror at these wonderfully daft creatures, who occasionally exude slimy spaghetti when attacked. Gray in particular does her best with Merrill, who looks pretty but is written as the wilting female who needs to be looked after.Terence Fisher doesn't make much of effort to make these monsters look particularly terrifying. A couple of zoom-ins, otherwise it seems to be a case of 'point the camera at them and let them get on with it.' ("They don't seem to be moving very fast," Stanley says at one point.) And yet the briefly seen boneless corpses are very effective, as is the depiction of something unpleasant happening to stoic Dr. Stanley's hand toward the end, which is genuinely shocking.Overall, this is good fun. The island setting is authentic and the sets are packed with convincing rural detail. It remains a lesser-known Peter Cushing film, however. "We were lucky this is an island. If it had happened anywhere else, I don't think we would have been able to destroy them," says West shortly before the film ends with an ominous final scene. Tremendous.

A great, old-fashioned thriller from an era which remains sadly long forgotten. Most viewers today would probably laugh at the quaint style of acting and the slightly less than awe-inspiring special effects on display, but this is one of those movies which just fulfils all of my requirements to enjoy it - it's British, it's got monsters in it, Peter Cushing is in it! Instead of typical alien monsters, these creatures are actually created in an almost plausible way, as the result of a scientific experiment (for the good of mankind) which has gone horribly wrong. There are no mad scientists, just these creatures, which are a lethal side effect. Although the film has obvious flaws - the low budget means that it's frequently possible to see the wires pulling these monsters along - the film succeeds by having a great cast to go through the ropes. The plot may not be a startlingly original one (for instance, it bears quite a similarity to NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT, released a year later) but it acts as a clever backbone and sets up the central premise of man vs. monster. The island setting is used well, making events quite isolated, although there is a twist ending which we see coming a mile off.Peter Cushing leads the cast, and once again, he's great. Cushing has to suffer the indignity of having one of his hands cut off with an axe and gets to suffer for the rest of the film, proving once again that he was an actor who knew exactly how to express physical pain. Edward Judd (INVASION) is also highly sophisticated and likable as the young scientist hero, his dashing looks and manner are well suited to this film even if his performance is rather lightweight. Carole Gray is the obligatory love interest and is satisfactory, and the rest of the cast, while playing clichéd characters (stuffy locals), are all fine. It's fun to play "spot the character actor" with the likes of Sam Kydd, Niall Macginnis, and Eddie Byrne turning up - all prominent actors.It's the monsters which stick in the mind though. For a start, they look like giant wood lice. They're not at all scary, more like laughable, and there are some really hilarious moments (the monsters jumping out of a tree to attack somebody). The special effects of the drained corpses are surprisingly effective and gruesome, however, and surprising for what is otherwise a fairly restrained film (arm-axing aside). The best word to sum up the effects on display here is "fun" - they may not be convincing, and they may be tacky, but they're fun to watch and have a laugh at.ISLAND OF TERROR is a film for nostalgists and monster buffs. It may not be a movie classic by any means, and lacks the finesse of the Hammer films made at the same period of time, but Terence Fisher ensures that things are never boring and the clever ending is quite exciting without actually showing the monsters too much. A cult film, definitely, and one I enjoyed very much.

I first heard this film reviewed when I was a 13-year-old in 1966, while listening to the radio. It sounded fantastic but somehow I've never seen it in all the years since then....until now, courtesy of a Blu-ray.It's a typical low-budget British Sci-fi/horror from the mid 60's, with all the usual features - a mysterious laboratory (with isotopes), strange deaths and geiger-counters. Not a brilliant film really, but director Terence Fisher brings his Hammer-ability to the proceedings, passing 90 minutes in a fairly entertaining manner and it gave us a chance to 'spot the faces'. The ubiquitous Sam Kydd is there, as is Niall MacGinnes looking somewhat like a retired butcher. I liked the way that early on in the story, we are carefully informed (via some banter) that the boat only goes there once a week and there are no telephones on the island. Unusually for a cheap release, there's a very informative booklet which I enjoyed. Extras consist of the original trailer and a picture gallery. And it's on Blu-ray!

This is a hugely enjoyable sci-fi horror film from the not terribly well remembered Planet Film Productions. Wonderfully directed by the great Terence Fisher, it reminds me of the "Quatermass" serials and some of the best American sci-fi films of the 1950s. It concerns a scientist who accidentally created a new lifeform, called a silicate, from a silicon atom in his attempt to cure cancer. As well as being a cool sci-fi plot, it's a nice commentary on well-intentioned scientists creating something with a peaceful application only for it to be subverted. The film takes place on the fictional Petrie's Island off the east coast of my native Ireland. According to Wikipedia, the film had a budget of only £70,000. If that is true, it's a testament to Fisher's great skill as a director since the film looks fantastic.The always superb Peter Cushing and the underrated Edward Judd lead a strong cast of predominantly Irish actors including Cushing's "The Mummy" and "Star Wars" co-star Eddie Byrne, Niall MacGinnis, Sam Kydd, James Caffrey and Liam Gaffney. The film's only major female cast member is Carole Gray, who is excellent as Toni Merrill, the love interest of Judd's character David West. She had a short acting career, which encompassed a mere eight films and three TV appearances, which is a shame as she would have made a great Bond girl or Hammer leading lady. The film is very well written with a strong plot which respects the audience's intelligence. The characters all seem like real people. I always get a little nervous when Irish people are depicted in British or American films but I need not have worried as no one said "Top o' the mornin' to ya" and the characters did not look like 19th Century farmers or IRA members. It's actually quite an accurate portrayal of rural Ireland in the 1960s, though the British number plates, lack of signs in Irish and one or two other things belie the fact that it was shot in Britain. When it came to the sci-fi and horror elements, the major threat posed by the silicates is emphasised by their excellent design, which is better than the design of most creatures in contemporaneous American sci-fi shows, and the distinctive noise that they make. There are many frightening visuals, particularly the remains of the various victims of the silicates whose bones have been liquefied. The film bears some superficial similarities to the lacklustre 1967 film "Night of the Big Heat", which likewise was made by Planet Film, was directed by Fisher, featured Cushing and concerned a crisis which took place on a remote island. It would seem to me that they were trying to recreate the success of this film but they failed, I'm afraid, as that one was nowhere near as good. Incidentally, Cushing's character Brian Stanley shares his name with one of my local TDs, which is what we call our MPs in Ireland. Sadly though, he's no Peter Cushing.