Boris Karloff stars as a TV host who is very much into debunking the supernatural. A hotel magnet shows him a man who appears to have been turned into a zombie. the man had been part of a lost party that was sent off to survey an island in the pacific for the location for a new hotel. Karloff insists that there is a rational explanation for what happened to the man and the party. he then heads off to investigate what happened. Plagued by weird happenings and equipment failures they eventually make it to the island where weird plants and weird creatures begin to widdle down the party.
This is a creepy little drive in movie that is probably better than its reputation suggests.Up until you get to the island you really don't know whats going on and the film nicely exploits our fear of the unseen. Only when we get to the island and we see the inflatable plants and stiff crab creatures does the film begin to falter since the build up is better than the revelations. The film is clearly a 1950's B film with many of the island scenes stereotypical of similar movies. Making things so much better is Karloff playing a know it all man of science is very good in a role that is not his typical monster or mad doctor. its a strong role that avoids the histrionics of many of his later roles. The rest of the cast, including Rhodes Reason and Elisha Cook Jr is also good.
Tim Lucas at Video Watchdog and others have mentioned this film a couple of times on their blogs with recent airing on Turner Classic Movies. The film gets noticed partly because Karloff is in it but also because one of the characters is very clearly a lesbian. The speculation is that this is possibly the first overt lesbian role in a horror film (or at least an American horror film). I might go farther and say I don't remember ever seeing a lesbian that openly portrayed in any film released prior to this. Sure we have say the tension in Johnny Guitar or other films where strong women are suppose to be equated with being a lesbian, but this is the first time where I remember one woman actively pursuing another while fending off her male pursuers by all but saying she wasn't interested because she liked girls. I think for my money this is probably the most open any "mainstream" movie was to dealing with a lesbian character prior to its release. (of course I could be wrong).
Worth a look for those who like B-horror films
This is a creepy little drive in movie that is probably better than its reputation suggests.Up until you get to the island you really don't know whats going on and the film nicely exploits our fear of the unseen. Only when we get to the island and we see the inflatable plants and stiff crab creatures does the film begin to falter since the build up is better than the revelations. The film is clearly a 1950's B film with many of the island scenes stereotypical of similar movies. Making things so much better is Karloff playing a know it all man of science is very good in a role that is not his typical monster or mad doctor. its a strong role that avoids the histrionics of many of his later roles. The rest of the cast, including Rhodes Reason and Elisha Cook Jr is also good.
Tim Lucas at Video Watchdog and others have mentioned this film a couple of times on their blogs with recent airing on Turner Classic Movies. The film gets noticed partly because Karloff is in it but also because one of the characters is very clearly a lesbian. The speculation is that this is possibly the first overt lesbian role in a horror film (or at least an American horror film). I might go farther and say I don't remember ever seeing a lesbian that openly portrayed in any film released prior to this. Sure we have say the tension in Johnny Guitar or other films where strong women are suppose to be equated with being a lesbian, but this is the first time where I remember one woman actively pursuing another while fending off her male pursuers by all but saying she wasn't interested because she liked girls. I think for my money this is probably the most open any "mainstream" movie was to dealing with a lesbian character prior to its release. (of course I could be wrong).
Worth a look for those who like B-horror films