Sorry, this movie sucks

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Let's be realistic.

Lack of good storyline.

I have no idea why "Universal" commissioned this trash - it has nothing worth while about it at all.Dick Foran - a capable leading man - should have been given a worthier film than this!He is THE only reason to bother with a yawn fest like "Horror Island" - I don't recognise anyone else which is just as well.

Filmed most efficiently by George Waggner on a small budget and in record time, this little movie was such an audience-pleaser that Waggner was immediately promoted to Universal's "A" unit, where he directed Maria Montez in "South of Tahiti" and Lon Chaney in "The Wolf Man" (both 1941).Although lensed on a piffling (for Universal) budget of only $93,000 on a tight twelve days' shooting schedule, there is no sense of rush or poverty on the screen. I'm told that many of the players were often ill-at-ease, but this of course adds rather than detracts from the movie's over-all atmosphere. In fact, the film can be enjoyed on several levels, thus enhancing its appeal to a wide spectrum of moviegoers from kids to adults, from sophisticated to uncultured, from cosmopolitan to backwoods, from know-alls to know-nothings. Whatever the audiences, Waggner delivers fun, thrills, suspense and above all, identification. Unless an audiences identifies with the actors on the screen, their interest in the proceedings is minimal. But when they do identify – as here – you have a blockbuster movie on your hands, no matter whether the budget was $93 thousand or $9.3 million!The movie wrapped on March 15, 1941 and was actually in theatres on March 28 – so fast that it was actually released before it was copyrighted!

I had first known about this through a still in the Halliwell Film Guide, though the noted late critic usually dismissed similar programmers: it turned out to be a fun horror comedy (from a story by Curt Siodmak) whose 60-minute length zips by – providing plenty of characters (even if the gangster-on-the-lam and his moll don't really work here), action, old-fashioned thrills (a caped maniac after hidden loot is loose in a remote castle), chuckles – and a surprise villain; the film is a shade overbalanced by the comedy, but the typical Universal atmosphere (and a few of its more notable sets!) are certainly present throughout. It also features a good second-tier cast: likable Dick Foran and cute Peggy Moran – re-united after the superior THE MUMMY'S HAND (1940) – are the leads and they're ably supported by the likes of Leo Carrillo, Fuzzy Knight, Hobart Cavanaugh and Walter Catlett; however, it's Lewis Howard who steals the film as Moran's chronically tired companion – even though he's absent through most of the second half! Michael Elliott had rated this a *** and I almost did myself – but, in the long run, I don't think the film has quite the same draw as even some of the lesser titles in the Universal monster cycle; still, for an 'old dark house' type of film – of which the studio did their fair share – it's well up to par. Incidentally, I had acquired another copy of this on DVD-R last year, but the disc froze several times during playback and I had to give up after a while; I'm glad I caught up with it eventually, as the film deserves to have a legitimate DVD release along with some of the other rare/lesser-known Universal horrors, like MAN-MADE MONSTER (1941) – which I've never watched! – and NIGHT MONSTER (1942).

This film has a LOT of potential: a haunted castle with a cloaked "phantom" running about, secret panels, hidden treasure, etc.The only problem is that the crew seems to take FOREVER to get to the island, and once there, the "scarey business" happens much too fast. It would've been much better if they had added about 20 mins. to this film, that would've allowed them to slowly build up each "scare". As it is, things happens so fast, that you don't have time to "savor" them.A good film, none-the-less.