5/5
Disturbing
by Marvin Jenkins (Bonifay,Florida)
I saw this movie back when it came out in theaters, and it was very freaky, I just watched it again, and it was still disturbing. The makeups were very creepy,and realistic. The acting was top notch. You could just feel the dread building up. There is just an uneasiness about this movie. You know everything is not gonna be alright at the end. And it was clear that alot of deformed people were hired to appear in the monster costumes gives it a more horrible, genetically mutated look. And that little tiny dude, that plays the piano with Brando would probably give me a heart attack if he strolled across my living room un announced! This is a dark, well made movie that should be seen by all Horror & Fantasy fans. Oh yeah, I guess the CGI rat monsters in the boat were supposed to be the comic relief.
3/5
Brando, Kilmer, Perlman, What More Can You Ask....Oh yeah A Decent Plot Would Be Nice
by Sebastian Sanjurjo (Miami FL)
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2KEG5JEU71RUM
5/5
Quirky, Scary, Mesmerizing Moreau Remake
by The Abominable Doctor Phibes (Western Pennsylvania)
This is a remarkable film. Let's begin at the beginning...
The opening, ground-breaking title-sequence is by designer, Kyle Cooper, the spiritual progeny of the late great Saul Bass (genius who liberated the title sequence from its boring status quo, and told stories with the titles before the movie even began in Psycho, Vertigo, etc.) The motion typography of Cooper brilliantly hints of things to come as we see type morph and mutate against a backdrop of biological imagery in a frenzied, twitchy manner, foreshadowing the characters we'll discover on Moreau's isle...
The film updates the story, which has as its original premise, vivisection, to a more modern DNA explanation. And the leap in filmmaking since its predecessor (the AIP version starring Burt Lancaster and Michael York - is amazing). The effects update the Planet of the Apes (1968) state of the art to Stan Winston's advanced mechanical creature effects. The scenes surrounding the animal revolt are truly frightening as sound, special effects, and excellent direction combine to great effect.
But what really mesmerizes is the "strange brew" of talent - a bold stroke on the part of Frankenheimer, as he combines the forces of the Brando and Kilmer characters, each as eccentric as the other, to play against the dramatic "straight man" (our sympathetic center) played by David Thewlis. Thewlis is great as we watch his what-on-earth-is-going-on, get-me-out-of-here expressions grow with the progressive revelation of the island's bizarre secrets.
I'll admit, there are some truly bizarre elements in the film - Moreau's dwarf "pet" who joins him at the piano, for one. The elements coalesce into a concoction that won't suit all tastes, but for those who appreciate bold, out-of-the-box strokes of originality, even if they don't all work perfectly, there is much to savor here.
I return to the Island often.
4/5
Very Under-Rated Movie - Horrific, Tragic And Deep
by Stephen B. O'Blenis (Nova Scotia, Canada)
The third filmed version of H.G. Wells's story (after 1932's "Island Of Lost Souls" and 1977's "Island Of Dr. Moreau") is a highly under-rated movie, that succeeds both as a part of the 'playing God' genre that (as with 'Frankenstein' and numerous more recent books and movies) looks at the idea of man reshaping both nature and himself to suit his whims; and as a riveting, at times tragic, monster-horror movie.
A plane crash leaves a UN diplomat (played by David Thewlis) the only survivor, adrift in a lifeboat, to be rescued by a boat bound for a mysterious island off the waters of Indonesia. Rescued and treated by the assistant (actually more like hired gun, as we're to find out shortly, and played by Val Kilmer) of the island's reclusive scientist/de facto ruler Dr. Moreau (Marlon Brando), Thewlis is completely unprepared for what he finds upon coming ashore, where the doctor has created a multitude of part-human, part-animal (various species, and possibly sometimes a combination of quite a few) creatures. The general story of the Island Of Dr. Moreau has become universally well-known over the decades through various tellings and re-tellings, and few people watching this would be surprised at the idea that things are going to soon spiral out of control.
There's a lot going on that's not specifically spelled out, though, mainly: did the spiralling out of control have to happen? Thewlis's character may have been a catalyst in a way he never intended.
The creatures are used to life under Moreau, whose ultimate goal with his experiments is to be able to 'program out' all the human race's violence and other undesirable tendencies. Moreau considers himself the 'father' of all the hybrids, and considers himself a benevolent one at that, but it's obvious to everyone but Moreau himself that there are hypocrisies and injustices about. First of all, the more human a hybrid appears, the more Moreau favors him or her, and no one is more aware of this than the least human-looking of the hybrids. His personal favorite is his 'daughter', (Fairuza Balk), who indeed is a gentle and articulate being, but one has to wonder, would Moreau (and for that matter, Thewlis's character) have responded to her in the same way if she'd been, say, furry and hunchbacked (but with the same sweet personality) as opposed to the beautiful young human woman she appears to be, whose only tell-tale signs of difference are her unique eyes? Second, the hybrids, with the exception of a few favored ones who live in Moreau's mansion with him, have little control over their own lives - Moreau dominates them completely, and though he seems to want the best for them, isn't a benevolent dictator still a dictator? Moreau and Kilmer control any undesirable behavior in the hybrids by using remote control devices that activate intense pain in implants within their bodies. Since there are no external wounds, Moreau seems to think they should all forget about it, but still, some of the hybrids have suffered greatly because of these devices. Moreau would argue that they're necessary, as some of the hybrids, particularly those bred from the DNA of carnivorous animals, occasionally show signs of giving into their more feral nature. But still, the seeds of bitterness are planted. It's apparant that many of the hybrids have been struggling for a long time before the movie begins - for example, one of the rules of the island is that no one eats meat, but the hybrids with a lot of, say, wolf or tiger in them, long instinctively to hunt for their own food. They're told they're not supposed to, and are left fighting their instincts and wondering what's wrong with them to feel like this. Meanwhile, aside from Moreau, the authority on the island lies in the hands of Kilmer's character, who's a glorified mercenary and unlikely to have gone out of his way to make life easier for the hybrids.
Then Thewlis comes to the island, the first 'outside' human the hybrids have ever seen (although many of them know that large numbers of 'normal' humans exist off the island) and, although justifiably shocked, immediately reacts to the creatures as if they're freaks and abominations. Except for Balk, who he's immediately drawn to, not even realizing at first that she's one of 'them'. He later gains more respect for some of the creatures, but the damage may have already been done - one more reminder that the island's full-human masters, and now presumably normal humans everywhere, are always going to regard them as lesser. And this plays into a series of events that's already been escalating for some time, where more and more of the more feral hybrids are beginning to rebel. Added into this is that, without regular drug injections, All the hybrids, Balk included, will theoretically revert to a much more savage state.
Great special effects are a highlight of the movie, and swing into full force in the latter parts of the film, as carnage erupts and tremendous, horrifying, beast vs. beast and beast vs. human action engulfs the island with tragic results. Great characters - both good, bad, and sort of in-between -, the aforementioned effects, a jungle setting that's both beautiful and primal, and terrific action sequences all pump the movie up. Scary, thought-provoking, exciting and fascinating, this is highly recommended for fans of horror, action and science fiction, and for anyone interested in stories set in the increasingly relevant territory of the ethical dilemnas of genetic enmgineering and the like. Very underappreciated movie deserving of much more respect. Incidentally, director John Frankenheimer also directed another horror movie in this general vein, The Prophecy (1979), in which the monsters are spawned by the effects of rampant pollution rather than scientific engineering. That's another one I wholeheartedly recommend.
5/5
Lions, Tigers and Hyena-Swine. Oh my!
by jarredbyitall (Davison, MI United States)
Great make-up effects and story. This film has some terrific Stan Winston creations. The Hyena-Swine, Lo-Mai the catman, the Sayer of the Law (Ron Perlman) and Temuera Morrison (of Jango Fett fame) as the creepy man-beast Azazello. Fairuza Balk is a catgirl. There's a dwarf that looks like Benjamin Button. Rat People. This thing has it all. Don't miss it! 5 Stars!
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