I hate to mirror the ambivalent musings of the other commentators here, but I have to go along with the CW. Karloff is quite good and it is a treat to see him star as the "good guy" instead a creep of some variety. There is some location shooting here (some sound stage as well) and the footage, shot in Hawaii I guess, is well-lensed, though I wish it were in color for this particular reason. Elisha Cook Jr. is also good, you believe he is quite nervous and afraid. He's been excellent in everything I've ever seen him in.
But now, on to the bad. The plot makes very little sense. I didn't view the trailer beforehand, so I didn't know that man-eating plants were involved. When they did show up, I was disappointed to say the least. That's the scary thing about the island? Giant man-eating PLANTS???? Carnivorous FLORA scared the WITS out of a guy and turned him into a living zombie??? PUH. LEEZE.
Also, the plot moves so slowly, we're more than halfway into the movie before the body count starts, and only 4 people die in the whole movie! Not very impressive for a horror flick. I guess the slow pacing was to "build a sense of dread" and make the island seem really scary. It didn't work. And of course, there's the usual nonsense: after bodies start showing up, everybody splits up so they can be stalked one-by-one in the jungle and killed off. But Karloff, the "rational one" convinces them to continue on in spite of the increasing body count, to find out what happened to the first victims. Plus, as I like some others were thinking throughout the movie, THERE'S NO VOODOO IN THE PACIFIC!!! Voodoo originated in Africa and migrated to the Caribbean!
I just managed to wrangle a copy of this DVD in the Midnight Movies line. It has been released in Canada, but a US release is still not assured. It may never come out now that Sony bought out MGM, so this MIGHT be one rare little item. The DVD has awesome picture quality but I did notice some weird sound problems with the music score (by Les Baxter, BTW, and it is GREAT!) being too loud. Anyway, it's a goofy horror film, so I give it some credit for its entertainment value, which is notable. But you should know what you're getting into. A cute little time waster.
But now, on to the bad. The plot makes very little sense. I didn't view the trailer beforehand, so I didn't know that man-eating plants were involved. When they did show up, I was disappointed to say the least. That's the scary thing about the island? Giant man-eating PLANTS???? Carnivorous FLORA scared the WITS out of a guy and turned him into a living zombie??? PUH. LEEZE.
Also, the plot moves so slowly, we're more than halfway into the movie before the body count starts, and only 4 people die in the whole movie! Not very impressive for a horror flick. I guess the slow pacing was to "build a sense of dread" and make the island seem really scary. It didn't work. And of course, there's the usual nonsense: after bodies start showing up, everybody splits up so they can be stalked one-by-one in the jungle and killed off. But Karloff, the "rational one" convinces them to continue on in spite of the increasing body count, to find out what happened to the first victims. Plus, as I like some others were thinking throughout the movie, THERE'S NO VOODOO IN THE PACIFIC!!! Voodoo originated in Africa and migrated to the Caribbean!
I just managed to wrangle a copy of this DVD in the Midnight Movies line. It has been released in Canada, but a US release is still not assured. It may never come out now that Sony bought out MGM, so this MIGHT be one rare little item. The DVD has awesome picture quality but I did notice some weird sound problems with the music score (by Les Baxter, BTW, and it is GREAT!) being too loud. Anyway, it's a goofy horror film, so I give it some credit for its entertainment value, which is notable. But you should know what you're getting into. A cute little time waster.