Island of Lost Souls (1932)

Exceedingly grisly for its day, and still pretty frightening, the movie is an adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel The Island Of Dr. Moreau, about a mad scientist who experiments with evolution in his island laboratory, leading to shocking results, half-human half-beast creatures for whose predicament the term identity crisis would be a gigantic understatement. Their lives are hell, as Laughton's sadistic treatment of them makes their existence sheer pain.

Filmed like a horror movie, which is how it's often classified, the film is more like a precursor of the nature-gone-wild science fiction pictures of the fifties, minus the usual military heroics. It also, thanks to Wells, has the courage of its convictions, and the pessimistic implications of its ideas are not glossed over or simplified in the least. Science, in other words, is not used as an excuse for showing us horror but is rather,--and there's no beating around the bush here--the cause of it.

It is a very dark and gloomy film, and it is impossible for any intelligent person not to ponder the year of its release, 1933, as the reason for this as much as the story itself. This was the year Hitler came to power in Germany; also, Franklin Roosevelt in the U.S. We knew what Hitler was about, or at least his ideas, while FDR was still an unknown quantity. The Depression was at its worst, and millions were unemployed and starving. Without going too far out on a limb it is easy enough to see the lost, tortured souls in the film as victims of the Depression. They are men twisted out of shape by those in power,--like the wicked, white-suited Dr. Moreau--and their future looks grim, their prospects few. "Is this what the world is coming to?", the movie seems to ask. In 1933 it was hard to come up with a glibly optimistic reply. As one of the leaders of the beastly mob asks at one point, "Are We Not Men?". This was a question that at the time had no easy answer. That it had to be raised in the first place is as frightening to contemplate as anything we have actually seen.

Fmovies: This fantastical horror movie based on "The Island of Dr. Moreau" is not necessarily scary by today's graphic standards. However, it still manages to touch on the terror of "humanity's inhumanity." It also provides a classic mad-scientist performance which still gives me the creeps. The makeup isn't perfect, but it is far superior to typical fare of the time.

The basic plot:Edward Parker is picked up by a ship, and then thrown off by a drunk captain along with the ships cargo,the cargo being a ship of animals. The cargo arrives at an uncharted island with strange natives . He makes the acquaintance of Dr. Moreau , who turns animals into the natives which we see .....

The praise: Actually very creepy ,intelligent and entertaining .Charles Laughton gives an excellent, silky performance as Dr. Moreau, the perfect villain . All of it is perfect entertainment, and all of the scenes in the woods are still frightening, including the superb " What is the law?" sequence. Bela also turns in a fine performance as the keeper of the law. Creepy, simple makeup. All finely staged, structured , with a terrific script . The intelligent subtext about the line between man and beast and disturbing order is still interesting.Top-notch lighting, design, atmosphere and art direction. a must-see, and an all time great.

The flaws: Comic relief and the romantic couple date it somewhat.

Note: It's ironic that Paramounts 4 Horror movies( this, Dr. J and Mr. H, Murders in Zoo, and Murder by the clock) are darker than universals horror movies of that period, for Paramount wa known as a light entertainment company.

Island of Lost Souls fmovies. I'll be brief: If you've never seen this definitive, influential horror film, see it. After all these years, it still has the power to shock. Good performances all around (Charles Laughton in particular). Small wonder this thing was banned in the U.K. for so long. Now that it's been remade (at least twice), it's worth taking a look at the original.

For those unfamiliar, Island of Lost Souls (1933) is the earliest and easily the superior version of H.G. Wells' Dr. Moreau. This is a beautifully filmed movie that still supplies the creepy moments almost 70 years after being made.

The basic story: A man rescued at sea is dropped off at an uncharted island owned by Dr. Moreau. The island is filled with strange "natives". The man soon learns that the natives are actually the creations of Dr. Moreau. Dr. Moreau is a god to his creations. But, once the "natives" learn that Dr. Moreau is not a god, they turn on him with horrifying consequences.

Charles Laughton delivers one of the best performances in the history of horror as the mad Dr. Moreau. Dressed head-to-toe in white, he is as sinister as you get. A brilliant acting job. The rest of the cast is fine. Bela Lugosi, in a very small supporting role, is quite good. Kathleen Burke (Lota the Panther Woman) is also a stand out. But, this is Laughton's film and he makes the most of it.

The very simple creature makeup is effective. The cinematography, etc. are also quite good. For example, there are several scenes with Moreau standing in the shadows that are especially effective.

This is a film not to be missed. While it may not appeal to the hack and slash crowd, Island of Lost Souls is a wonderful horror movie. For what it's worth, I'll give this one 10/10. (It's a shame Paramount didn't make more horror films in the 30s.) One final thought, the ending of the film is very reminiscent of the ending of Freaks (1932) with the same savagery on display.

I have noticed some commenters found the movie boring or slow. You have to remember that it was made in 1933! The pacing and suspense probably felt very quick to an audience that had never seen TV, and whose primary source of entertainment was radio (for drama, suspense, horror and comedy).

The aspect I find most interesting about this definite classic of the horror genre -- aside from the excellent acting, atmosphere, script (the only adaptation of "Island of Dr. Moreau" that is faithful and the only one that's good) and makeup -- is the way it chronicles the development of film, from silent movies to talkies. Perhaps the reason some viewers find it boring is that one thing the film lacks is any musical soundtrack. I noticed this quite strikingly in some of the long pans that take place, and also in the chase scenes. I may be wrong, but I think this is a holdover from silent movies, when the music was supplied by a live musician playing piano in the movie theater. Certainly some of the emotional reaction shots, and in particular the shots of the group of half-men approaching the camera near the end, which are repeated several times, have the feel of silent movie technique. In fact, the overall feeling I get when watching this movie is that of a silent movie, with talking added in. This movie just seems to me to have been made exactly on the cusp of a time when filmmakers were adjusting their techniques to the use of sound, but hadn't fully arrived there yet.

Of course the movie is also excellent as pure entertainment. Charles Laughton was the perfect Dr. Moreau, and all the other players were well done too. And we all remember the quotes of the Sayer of the Law. I remember another one, though, by the Captain that brings the girl to the island. "No long pig?" he asks, grinning. We are chilled to learn that long pig refers to consumption of human flesh. And the final line, "Don't look back." Overall, this is a frightening look at the way science can be perverted by people with no conscience.