Voodoo Island

This movie was kind of sad to watch, because Karloff is a much better actor than this kind of tripe. It is always a sad commentary when the actors care more about the quality of a movie than the writers, directors and producers, who just were happy to tack Karloff's name on this turkey and run with it...

Okay, apparently, the writers didn't know anything about Voodoo, other than Voodoo dolls and Zombies. They didn't know enough to know that Voodoo happens in the Caribbean, not in the South Pacific. I think this might have been an excuse for everyone to go to Hawaii...

So the characters land on this island and encounter these man-eating plants that resemble... well, I won't tell you what they look like other than to say I am amazed they got past the censors in 1959. Apparently these plants feed by people being so dumb as to walk right into them, not only the explorers, but apparently, natives on this island as well...

I've seen worse programmers. Boris Karloff brings class to anything he works in. It's fun just to watch him. His ill-health hadn't yet slowed him down and he was a real presence. Elisha Cook also gives an excellent performance.

I think I know how the lesbian undertones between the two women got by (though the tones weren't that "under"). If it had been a big budget picture, the censors would have been on it like white on rice. As a low-budget picture it came in under the radar.

Several of the actors do rise above the material. Actually it reminds me of some of the TV shows being churned out about the same time. They, too, didn't have much of a budget. What adds to the TV feeling are some of the actors, such as Rhodes Reason and Mervyn Vye, who were mainstays of '50s television.

This odd little film is--oddly enough--good because it is so badly done. For starters, it concerns some sort of South Seas witchcraft instead of voodoo. And many viewers probably feel bewitched while trying to figure out all the confusing plot devices and glaring gaps in the storyline. One can easily get the impression that minimal direction has allowed the players to conjure their own magic in regard to their individual roles. Some ring as hollow as a dried-out gourd, like those of Boris Karloff and Elisha Cook, Jr., actors who certainly knew how to move the spirit in melodramas. Rhodes Reason, on the other hand, puts yeoman effort into his boat-captain portrayal, struggling at times to make schmaltzy lines sound serious. Beverly Tyler, as Karloff's all-business assistant, lays it on thick as a prissy prig, high-mindedly brushing off the attentions of Reason and Jean Engstrom, who, as elegant decorator Miss Winters, delivers a subtle but nonetheless obvious portrayal of a lesbian. In such a lightweight, run-of-the-mill script, Engstrom's character probably could have emerged as merely a sophisticate trying to glamorize Tyler's dowdy Sarah Adams and rebuff Reason's rough-hewn Matthew Gunn. But Engstrom intricately weaves a fascinating, on-the-QT characterization that steals every scene she is in. Both women have to contend with predatory phallic-looking plants as well as the macho ministrations of Reason. And there are threats posed by hexing island natives and their oddly Anglo chief. All in all, a fun flick to be marooned in for an hour or so!

"Zombies and chomping plants greet an expedition led by a debunker of the occult." That's the description of VOODOO ISLAND given by TCM and it hits the mark. But the only real reason for watching is the presence of BORIS KARLOFF as the debunker. Others in the cast do little to help the project, but include BEVERLY TYLER as a frigid assistant to Karloff and RHODES REASON as the stalwart leader of the group. His romance with Tyler gets off to a bad start but heats up before the final reel.

The special effects are unintentionally funny, especially a scene where one of the young ladies is attacked by a carnivorous plant. Les Baxter's score is a major asset though, accenting whatever danger is indicated by the script.

But overall, the film is a distinct letdown for anyone expecting a good zombie movie. Most of the action takes place in bright sunlight amid sets that look like leftovers from Fantasy Island.

Summing up: Karloff admirers won't mind watching him here, but no one is likely to be impressed by the lame storyline.

I'd been searching for this movie for more than a year now.Hadn't seen it since the early 70's.Was just going to give in and buy a bootleg when lo and behold it aired on TCM.Taped it and settled in to give it a watch.

Critics tore this one up.Karloff was accused of "phoning in" his performance.Have to wonder what movie they were watching.The movie is low budget and the script admittedly is very weak but Boris is the saving grace for the film.He makes it worth watching.

What little plot there is involves a hotel magnate hiring Mr Knight(Karloff).Knight is a renowned hoax buster and he is to ferret out the secrets of an island that the hotel magnate wishes to build on.

The intrepid group runs into voodoo, man eating plants and nasty natives.Are they all doomed or will somebody survive to tell the tale?

Again this film was shot on the cheap (probably under $100000 with probably 25% of that going to Boris).There is a lot of talk and a little action.Just watch it for Boris, still capable at the age of 70 of carrying a film on his shoulders.