Originally rejected by the BBFC on its original release for being against nature this first and best screen adaptation of H. G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau is a taboo-flaunting blood-curdling spectacular and one of Hollywood's wildest most notorious pre-Code pictures. Shipwrecked and adrift Edward Parker finds himself a guest on Dr. Moreau's isolated South Seas island but quickly discovers the horrifying nature of the doctor's work and the origin of the strange forms inhabiting the isle: a colony of wild animals reworked into humanoid form via sadistic surgical... experiments. Furthermore Parker quickly begins to fear his own part in the doctor's plans to take the unholy enterprise to a next level. Featuring a peerlessly erudite and sinister performance by Charles Laughton (Spartacus Hobson's Choice The Hunchback of Notre Dame Mutiny on the Bounty) as the diabolical doctor a sterling appearance by Bela Lugosi (Dracula The Raven Ninotchka) as the half-beast-half-man Sayer of the Law and sensationally atmospheric cinematography by the great Karl Struss (Murnau's Sunrise Mamoulian's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) Island of Lost Souls now returns to claim a central position among the most imaginative and nightmarish fantasies from Hollywood's golden age of horror. Island of Lost Souls is a true classic of horror cinema from the early 1930s - alongside Dracula Frankenstein Freaks The Invisible Man Vampyr and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. [show more]
An excellent adaptation of H.G. Wells' short story about an evolution obsessed, mad scientist who creates a race of human-animal hybrids on a remote island. Edward Parker (Richard Arlen) is the hapless protagonist marooned at sea, rescued by a passing trawler, thrown off and into a fateful journey that leads him to the sinister enclave of Dr. Moreau (played with menacing glee by Charles Laughton). Director Erle C. Kenton ('The House of Frankenstein') successfully creates an atmosphere of unease; with strange goings on behind closed doors and oddball characters roaming around the isle.
Essentially a satire on Darwinism, 'The Island of Lost Souls' is an engrossing trek through bizarre and dangerous terrain: where primitive creatures cower under the whip-hand of Dr. Moreau and a traumatized girl known as The Panther Woman (Kathleen Burke) comes to terms with the horror behind her creation. Look out for a cameo by monster movie legend Bella Lugosi as The Sayer of the Law, uttering his now classic line: "Are we not men?" and an early nod to chaos theory (i.e. if M'ling hadn't accidently spilt that bucket of water, Parker and Moreau would never have crossed paths).
In a curious parallel to the storyline, a lot of the film stock for this movie was either damaged or lost, and thanks to the cinematic Dr. Moreau's at 'Criterion', was re-assembled reel-by-reel, re-mastered and released on Region 1. The European release comes courtesy of 'Eureka!', who are on a par with 'Criterion' for a lot of titles and produced a brilliant 'Nosferatu' DVD set in 2010. 'The Island of Lost Souls' is a fascinating movie from a bygone era, definitely worth seeing for fans and newcomers alike.
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Controversial 1930s horror in which a shipwrecked man stumbles upon on island where horrifying experiments are taking place. When Edward Parker (Richard Arlen) is thrown overboard after a fight with the captain of his ship he is initially happy to land on a populated island. However, this is no ordinary island. Presided over by the insane scientist, Dr Moreau (Charles Laughton), a series of experiments are underway to transform animals into humans. As they descend towards chaos Parker finds himself caught uncomfortably in the middle.
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