Too much of everything

So much average

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

. . . Devo, we learn from the background materials included with the 2011 Criterion Edition for ISLAND OF LOST SOULS. Before the alcoholic haze of their automaton job drudgery produced Akron's exploding tires scandal, forcing all the rubber plants to take root off-shore in the more civilized nations of Asia, local law enforcement was sharp-shooting Lake Erie area college kids for sport, whenever they made a peep of protest against Tricky Dick's illegal foreign wars. If the USA's King Richard III told them that he was Hell-bent upon breaking every Geneva Convention and committing every imaginable War Crime despite 40 years' of Pentagon Papers proving that God was dictating an American defeat in Vietnam, Akron's church-goers continued to back Milhouse's baby killers 1,000%, Devo sang to the rubber toilers in their Happy Hour Beer Halls. Paramount's make-up artists prophetically churned out a legion of Island Ape Men who could pass for the tire molders of the 1970s, Devo observed. Though novelist H.G. Wells and his source material for this story might be British, ISLAND OF LOST SOULS never rang more true than among the so-called "faithful" of Northern Ohio in the 1970s, Devo contends, noting that such Nixonian catch phrases as "onward and upward," "bright future," and "progress" have been a total crock since at least World War Two.

This is worth watching for many reasons. First, who doesn't like anything the author H.G. Wells does? After that, I find Charles Laughton fascinating and finally watching a movie from the thirties is interesting of itself. The story given is that a scientist who was not appreciated in the city and supported by the medical profession refuses to give-in or give-up and moves his experiments to an island where he won't bothered. There, he can work things out and when done, go back to civilization with the results. Sounds like a plan to me and that is what we watch develop and unfold but with a few twists here and there. It is also interesting to behold the different animals and try to guess their original form. I have watched the different versions of this story over the years some better than others as it has been remade at least twice with such stars as Burt Lancaster, Michael York and Marlon Brando no less. I usually recommend a meal, sandwich, snack or goody with a tasty drink while watching movies. It just makes it more enjoyable as movie fans can attest. However, I had trouble eating with this film and I wont explain why. Perhaps you can have your snack and then have a different experience? Enjoy this classic for its time

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.