La casa diabólica del Dr. Moreau

Brisk/credible script, the small cast give good performances and the prosthetics and photography work well too. I picked this up for a £1, so expectations weren't exactly sky-high and the Full Moon logo can sometimes spell 'AVOID', - I was very pleasantly surprised. Earl Kenton did a great job with the script, and recognised the budget limitations his story would work within. He has created a small, dark and believable realm. All the actors, (particularly Jacob Witkin and Lorielle New) give very watchable interpretations and transcend the usual standard of performance you expect from this type of film. 'House of Pain' reminded me of two other great films - Stuart Gordon's classic 'Dagon', and the recent remake of 'She Creature'. Good stuff.

you know a movie is bad when the beginning credits are made using Windows Movie Maker software. The make up was horrible the acting was worse. My girlfriend bought it used so i wasn't too upset besides i like watching semi-bad horror movies so that i can have a little laugh, but this movie was so bad that it became frustrating. I think the movie was supposed to take place in the 30's but for some reason you really cant even tell. They should make murderers and rapist watch this movie everyday in prison as a punishment. Well at least they have stores that let you trade movies. Im just surprised that they would even give me store credit for this crap.

Director Charles Band has walked a long way on the hard road of independent horror film-making. He has given us as many good movies as he has done awful ones, but the only thing sure in his work is that he is completely dedicated to the genre he loves.

With that said I must start saying that I was not expecting much of this movie, not only because of Band's uneven record, the main problem Full Moon has had in the last years has been the unbelievably low budget they use. I was expecting something really awful considering that the movie was loosely based in the really SFX-demanding novel "Island of Dr. Moreau" by H.G. Wells. I was really wrong.

Set around the 30s (the exact date is never given), the plot follows Eric Carson (John Patrick Jordan), a low profile boxer who is looking for his missing brother. In his quest he is joined by his brother's lover Judith(Jessica Lancaster) and their friend Mary Anne (Debra Mayer), who is a reporter always searching for the next exclusive. While following a clue in a bar, they get involved with a stripper named Alliana (Loriele New) who lures them to an abandoned Asylum. They will find Dr. Moreau (Jacob Witkin) and his collection of the creatures he calls "Manimals".

The most amazing feature of the film is the way it handled the budget to make the film REALLY look like it's set in the 30s. Band outdid himself this time as he really cared about things like scenery, music and props. He even recreated the look of film noir. The lighting and editing of the film is superb. I dare to say that it is among the best movies Band has directed, technically speaking.

The Make-Up for the Manimals and the overall SFX are a bit bad, but the story makes up for it; the script is surprisingly good and the characters are quite developed which is a good change from typical B-Movies.

The acting is above average, and while John Patrick Jordan struggles at times, the rest of the cast makes a good job, particularly Peter D. Badalamenti II as rebel Manimal Gallagher. Lorielle New as the sexy Alliene has good scenes, and shows plenty of nudity, for those interested.

Overall it was a good movie that was hurt hard by its lack of budget, nevertheless Charles Band proves that when he wants it, he still can make a good movie once or twice. 7/10. Nice Surprise indeed.

If your goal is to rent something bad and critique it then go find a TROMA film and have at it! If, on the other hand you like being pleasantly surprised at what can be done on a low budget then this film is an excellent example.

Charles Band is- an inconsistent director. Some of the films he's done are crap but others are Brilliant and explain his high status in the industry. Dr. Moraeu's House of Pancakes is a very watchable very enjoyable film with better than average Make-up fx and NO CG! not any to speak of anyway. The Make-up effects while conceived by old favorite John Buechler are fleshy and visceral and more than competently done by Veteran Bruce Barlow considering the budget and shooting schedule. Sets and art direction are key to what make this such a fun watchable movie and Mac Ahlberg's lighting and photography bring this to the caliber of many of it's bigger budgeted rivals. Judge for yourself!

Dr. Moreau's House of Pain (2004)

* (out of 4)

Eric Carson (John Patrick Jordan) goes looking for his brother who has gone missing after visiting Dr. Moreau (Jacob Witkin). Pretty soon he sees the horrible creations caused by the doctor as well as getting lucky with the sexy panther woman (Lorielle New).

DR. MOREAU'S HOUSE OF PAIN is pretty much what you'd expect out of a low-budget movie from Charles Band. If you're familiar with Band's work then you should know what to expect here. You've basically got a very low-budget movie that is "borrowing" from countless other films. Obviously this one here is a take-off on the H.W. Wells but one shouldn't be expecting anything like previous versions of the story.

The film's small budget seems to have had most of the money spent on the actual look of the film. It's quite colorful and I must admit that it looked rather good. The biggest problem with the film is its overall tone, which is just bad and not all that entertaining. Even worse are some of the special effects and the creatures just aren't all that believable. Even worse is that you really just don't care about the lead character, his brother or any of his problems.

I will say that the one saving grace was the performance by New. Obviously she's a very beautiful woman and her nude scenes are a welcome but I thought she was also good in the role.