Isle of the Dead (1945)

What could have been just another low budget thriller turned out to be something of a little gem in the annals of horror, partly thanks to Boris Karloff's excellent portrayal of a strict Greek army general who falls apart during the course of this movie. If any film needed to be proof of Karloff's talents, then this would be it. Thanks also goes to director Mark Robson who has done everything correctly, and to producer Val Lewton, who brings his own unique spooky atmosphere to the proceedings, in much the same way he did in other classics like BEDLAM and THE BODY SNATCHER.The clever story mixes and matches many genres in a successful way, which I'm sure you'll know is no mean feat. Inspiration partly comes from the old classic haunted house horrors like THE OLD DARK HOUSE and THE GHOUL, where a group of people in an isolated location are terrorised by supernatural events. Agatha Christie's famous tale 'Ten Little Indians' is also an evident source as the characters die of the plague one by one. The old vampire story is given a new twist because the viewer never really knows if the vampire exists or not; there is a completely rational explanation of the proceedings for the sceptics, but there is a niggling suspicion that all is not quite right.The cast is small and therefore special emphasis is given to characterisation and development. Happily Ellen Drew, the female lead, is fleshed out and gives a good performance, she's not just relegated to running around and screaming. The young male lead is suitably macho and the older actors and actresses are all convincing and believable as they succumb to the plague and die. However it's Boris Karloff who steals the acting credits as the general who may be as bad as the vampire he seeks; in one scene he makes a man commit suicide. Our love-hate relationship with Karloff is cleverly done, he is a good man at heart who uses evil means to deal with trouble. Therefore the values of good and evil are never really clear or defined in this film, it keeps us guessing. Karloff's role pushes much the same buttons as Peter Cushing did as Gustav Weil in TWINS OF EVIL, the puritan witch hunter who was just as bad as the witches he slaughtered. Only great actors can pull off these kind of roles and I'm happy to say that Karloff does so with great skill.As usual for Lewton's films, there is plenty of fog-bound atmosphere. Main locations include a tomb and some dark woodland, and the island the film is set on is appropriately spooky and neglected. There is some mild gore to move things along and the tension really builds as the various characters succumb to the plague, who will be next? Even touches of Poe are present as one woman is buried alive and claws her way from the coffin, totally insane. Although the film is slightly dated and the low budget is occasionally apparent this does not detract from the overall power, and there are some truly frightening moments, especially when a mad woman runs around killing at the end. ISLE OF THE DEAD is a tense melodrama and well worth a watch.

I am a big fan of classic horror cinema and I've been working through the entries in the magnificent book HIDDEN HORROR which spotlights "underappreciated" horror films from every era. This movie was one of those recommended in that book. I will admit, right off the bat, that I'm not as big a fan of Val Lewton's movies as other classic horror junkies. I would say my favorite of his work is I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, but in general I prefer just a little more action in my movies. I can enjoy a slow burn, or a movie built on atmosphere, certainly, but I prefer the action of a Universal monster movie over the understated chills of Lewton's work at RKO.I say all of that to confirm that this movie had much the same effect on me as many of the other Lewton works that I've seen, namely, it was okay. Nothing special and nothing that I would go out of my way to view again. It's relentlessly bleak. Almost like Lewton making a film version of a Camus novel. While many of Lewton's movies revolved around the specter of death, this one just brings death forth and makes it a central character. Death is everywhere in this movie as the plague invades a small Greek island.The real main character is Karloff as a brutal Greek general. The story revolves around him, mainly, and the war between science and superstition, created at a time when many of the old world superstitions still lingered around some.The movie definitely gets more chilling towards the end and utilizes some film techniques and camera angles that were well-done for the time the movie was created. They bring things to a satisfying conclusion, but by that point in the movie, I had already lost a good deal of my interest.The question you should ask yourself is how deep into classic horror cinema are you? If you've seen all of the most famous ones and you're looking for something new, this is worth the shot, but there are many classic films that would rank higher than this for the new initiate to classic horror or the Karloff filmography.

If I had to review this film using just one word, I would select "tedious". Which says a lot when the whole film lasts on 71 minutes! By 1945, Karloff had left his previous studio because he felt they were milking the "Frankenstein" concept to death. I'm not sure that RKO did him any favors with this film, although at least he's a normal person in this film. The story takes place on a Greek island during a war in 1912. Karloff plays a Greek general, who -- along with a reporter and several other people -- are quarantined for the plague. Why did they go to the island? To visit the general's wife's tomb...which they find open and robbed. But, I couldn't quite figure out what that had to do with the rest of the story. Ata ny rate, one of the women in the inn may be a vampiric demon, although that too is never quite established. Perhaps the most interesting part of the plot is that one of the other, and older, women at the inn has always had a fear of being buried alive...which of course, is just what happens when they think she had succumbed to the plague. To be honest, it's all pretty murky.Not recommended, unless you just want to see Karloff in a non-monster role.

As far as being one of the famous series of suspense and horror films produced by Val Lewton for RKO Studios, Isle of the Dead proves to be one of the lesser efforts. Although it's nicely filmed with an eerie ambiance, moody sets, and some genuine chills, this Isle certainly doesn't make an essential destination for audiences today.The screenplay was inspired by Swiss symbolist Arnold Böcklin's 1880 painting of the same name, and places an assorted group of European nationals on a tiny Greek island in 1912 that soon is placed under quarantine because of a rampant plague. Boris Karloff appears miscast as a by-the-book Greek general in the First Balkan War, who keeps strict watch over the quarantined island inhabitants.Director Mark Robson does his utmost to inject some thrills, but there's a lot of dialog used to propel the plotting, and the suspenseful scenes, although very nicely done, are too few and amount to too little in the end. The movie's plot seems unfocused, with a few too many elements, leading to a little confusion regarding certain character's motivations and dispositions. Is Isle of the Dead about the plague? Is it about the Balkan War of 1912? Is it about the Greek vampires called "vrykolakas?" Is it about premature burials? Mistaken identities? War crimes? Grave robbing? All these elements and more are dumped into the stew, stirred and then simmered for seventy-two minutes. Each element would be interesting in its own, but as each one is touched upon, they become so diffused and diluted that the sum seems to add up to less than the parts.Nevertheless, fans of the genre will still enjoy the film, considering its decidedly unique setting and off-beat characters. The love interests of Ellen Drew and Marc Cramer are attractive and likable, making this viewer wonder why the handsome Cramer didn't achieve greater success. There's a nice scene early on, when Cramer delivers a lecherous wisecrack to Drew, and immediately regrets it because of her annoyed reaction. He takes it back, and makes it up to her in a sweet and honest way that seems to melt her heart, and make the audience warm up to both characters.The great horror icon Boris Karloff appears somewhat out of his element here, playing an ambiguous character whose agenda is unclear and wearing a curly blond hairstyle borrowed from Saint-Exupéry's "Little Prince." At times fatherly, other times menacing, Karloff's general isn't written distinctly enough to become a memorable character -- through no fault of the actor. Nice support is given especially by two character actresses, Katherine Emery as a socialite with a very specific yet reasonable phobia, and Helen Thimig as a spooky Greek native who's the former owner-turned-housekeeper of the only estate on the island. Other characters are given fairly little to do, but there is a tasty cameo from the always-welcome Skelton Knaggs as an early victim of the plague.So, it's not Lewton's or Robson's best work by far, but still Isle of the Dead has enough life to keep it afloat.*** out of *****