Isla del terror

Starring horror legend Peter Cushing Island of Terror tells the story of the discovery of a messy boneless corpse on a secluded British island.

When an investigation is done they discover that the island is becoming infested with horrible creatures that put the towns population at threat!

Created by many of the same people who brought us the original Hammer Horror classics this looks great for its age and even the rubber monsters are better than you'd imagine.

Sure it's goofy, cheesy and even Cushing isn't exactly on form here but it's entertaining enough stuff for fans of the genre.

If you can get past the silliness of it all and stomach the sight of Peter Cushing trying to get into a threesome then there is entertainment value to be had.

The Good:

Interesting beasties

Ahead of its time

The Bad:

Leading lady poorly used

Seven different types of cheese

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Solitaire was Peter Cushings second choice

Working lighters weren't in the budget

A very long way after 'Quatermass', this was the second of three sci-fi quickies Terence Fisher made away from Hammer for a modest little outfit called Planet; set in Ireland, but obviously shot in bitingly cold weather in the countryside around Pinewood.

A competent cast give earnest performances in the face of stupid-looking monsters - described by Peter Cushing as "nasty little creatures" - that leave their victims looking like Dorian Gray's portrait in the 1945 movie, accidentally created in a lab trying to find a cure for cancer.

Edward Judd makes a truly shocking intervention at one point on behalf of Peter Cushing; and the film has a memorable sting in the tale.

While researching a possible cure for cancer on an island off the coast of Ireland, the renowned scientist in charge of the project accidentally creates a living organism that feeds off of all other living creatures. Since the island isn't very big, three doctors named "Brian Stanley" (Peter Cushing), "David West" (Edward Judd) and "Reginald Landers" (Eddie Byrne) desperately look for a way to kill these organisms before it's too late. Helping them is David West's girlfriend, "Toni Merrill" (Carole Gray). Anyway, filmed in the mid-60's, this movie has good suspense and keeps the tension going pretty much from start to finish. The acting was okay but I imagine most people will find the special effects to be quite primitive compared to the computer enhanced graphics used today. Even so, the movie managed to maintain my interest and I believe most people will find it relatively enjoyable all the same. Slightly above average.

A reclusive scientist working on a cancer cure inadvertently unleashes deadly creatures onto the local population, turning it into an...Island Of Terror!

'Island Of Terror' is an interesting midpoint between 50s sci-fi and 60s Hammer horror - too light for what Hammer and Amicus usually produced, but their gravitational pull is evident. There's something very Quatermass about science unleashing havoc, yet science also providing the solution. There's a nice element of mystery to set the scene, with people being brutally murdered off-screen and their corpses being discovered sans bones, but at the same time, you are left in no doubt that there must be some connection with the scientist up in the manor house and his secretive experiments. Soon enough, the horror he unleashes becomes apparent, and it's up to the three 'responsible' scientists, played by Edward Judd, Peter Cushing, and Eddie Byrne, for whom the film goes to great pains to show how responsible they are as they wisely spend a lot of time studying notes before taking action and applying science methodically, while the uneducated locals must wait patiently because science takes time and there's a process to things. Yes, there are monsters coming over the hill, but there's a procedure to everything and it has to be followed. One can't really disagree with any of this, but the way in which the film portrays the scientific method if anything, shows how long ago it was held in such high regard - it's just hard to imagine a film doing this today. The nature and form of the monsters themselves instantly brings to mind the classic Star Trek episode 'Devil In The Dark', although their appearance and design is more classic Doctor Who. Which is quite fitting, given that Quatermass inspired early Doctor Who, lead Peter Cushing had been playing him on the big screen for the last two years, and both 'Dr Who & The Daleks' and 'Island Of Terror' were scored by Malcolm Lockyer.

Cushing, I have to say, is wonderful in this film. A far cry from the sombre puritans or mad scientists he would soon become well-known for, here, he is dashing, rounded, and somehow far more natural in his performance. This is more of the Peter Cushing the world used to see before horror films took over his life and it's great to see within the part of his filmography I'm more interested in. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast are extremely theatrical by comparison, with Edward Judd getting very declarative by the end - he reminds me of the way Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes would practically give speeches on the proper order of things before the closing credits. I'm almost expecting him to turn to the quivering frequently-Carole Gray and say 'Don't worry, my dear - science will save you!' Nonetheless, Judd is the archetypal square-jawed hero and fits the part.

Director Terence Fisher was a firmly-established horror veteran by this point, with the Dracula series and one of my favorites, 'The Gorgon' his recent successes. Having seen the latter again fairly recently, I noticed the same approach to mood lighting, although this time around, the 'big reveal' happens earlier, and Fisher leaves the design team to breathe life into the antagonists of the piece. I think he would have gotten away with it for the most part, but for aspects of the design (read: appendages) that require puppetmasters more skilled than those on offer for them to stand a snowflake's chance in hell of convincing the viewer. They work fine when they're hovering menacingly around a door frame, but not so much when the dreaded miscreation they're attached to shuffles into view. The only reason it even half-works is because the cast face their foes with the same conviction the Doctor Who stars were so frequently seen to give down on the sound stages of Lime Grove.

Less defensible, unfortunately, is Malcolm Lockyer's frequently light and fluffy score. His trademark cues and melodies worked wonders in 1965's 'Dr Who & The Daleks', where the words 'kids matinée' were practically stamped into Roy Castle's forehead, but it's hard to feel a sense of creeping foreboding in 'Island Of Terror' when the camera is panning through the eerie, deserted scientist's mansion accompanied by xylophone motifs. This is a film where the production values need every other department on board to help project a convincingly menacing atmosphere - not have the composer imagining cartoon bees dancing on toadstools. Again, this underscores for me how the film sits between two genres and no-one's fully made up their minds which way it should go.

Putting all these elements together, I find myself giving 'Island Of Terror' a 6 out of 10. I'm frequently drawn to Peter Cushing like a magnet, and he's in fine form here. I love the idea behind the monsters of the piece, and the respect given to science as it triumphs over all when used properly. Alas, the creatures' design needed a slight revision on the drawing board under the title 'Let's be realistic about what we're able to do here', while James Bernard should have been placed in the conductor's chair. A pleasing effort, and worth a look especially if sci-fi of the period appeals.

I remember watching this movie numerous times as a child(I'm 37 years old and I believe I was around 8 or so when I first saw this movie). I've read all the IMDb reviews of the cheesy special effects but I didn't really notice these faults when I was a youngster. I haven't seen this movie for many years but can remember really enjoying this Peter Cushing movie and seriously being scared of those weird creatures. I'm sure as an adult the faults would be glaring but kids(at least back in the early 70's) didn't seem to care or notice if the effects were flawed. Hopefully I can find this movie on rental or on TV so I can get a refreshed look at this movie.