Voodoo Island

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!

The 1957 Boris Karloff film "Voodoo Island" seems to have a widespread reputation as being one of the actor's all-time worst, so it was with a feeling of resignation and borderline cinematic masochism that I popped this DVD into the player the other night. "Voodoo Island" was Karloff's first horror picture in four years, his only release for 1957; he would rebound a bit the following year, with the releases of the fun shlockfest "Frankenstein 1970" and the even better (British) film "Grip of the Strangler." Filmed on the Hawaiian island of Kauai on the cheap, the picture turns out to be a modest little B film that, despite its many flaws, still retains a certain strange charm.

In it, Boris plays a character named Phillip Knight, who seems to be a professional debunker of popular myths. Knight, when we first encounter him, has already disproved the legends of the Loch Ness monster and a Nantucket sea creature, and now, the owner of an international hotel chain wants him to hightail it to the Pacific island that the company hopes to build on. It seems that a party of men has already been lost there, the only survivor being in an unqualified zombie state. So off Knight goes, accompanied by his beautiful but prim research assistant (played by Scranton-born Beverly Tyler), a tough blonde architect/designer (Jean Engstrom), the zombie and his doctor, and a hotel chain rep (Murvyn Vye). En route, they stop over at a nearby island, where they charter a boat from its greedy owner (the great character actor Elisha Cook, Jr., always a welcome presence in any film) and his hunky-dude right-hand man (played by Rhodes Reason, who my fellow Trekkers may recall as Flavius from the episode "Bread and Circuses"). And then...it is on to the eponymous Voodoo Island....

So, you might be asking yourself at this point, just how bad IS "Voodoo Island"? Well, I'm not gonna lie to you: Objectively speaking, the film really IS pretty lame. Not the slightest bit scary and only occasionally suspenseful, the picture also suffers from a weak script and an ending that even the most forgiving viewer would categorize as a letdown...and an overly abrupt letdown, at that. Seemingly inevitable is the halfhearted romantic subplot that we must bear with, as Knight's lovely but repressed assistant and the Reason character (who I suppose suffers with what today is termed PTSD) squabble, make up and discover love. None of the characters are all that likable, and even Karloff's is something of a stuck-up know-it-all (or so he thinks). The direction by Reginald LeBorg (whose previous "psychotronic" credits include "Weird Woman," "The Mummy's Ghost" and "Dead Man's Eyes," all from 1944) is uninspired, the FX are weak, and the beautiful Hawaiian scenery...well, let's just say that it's a shame that this thing was not shot in color!

Fortunately, though, there IS some good news, especially for Karloff's fans. For that special breed (of which I count myself a member), any opportunity to watch this fascinating actor, and to hear that wonderfully mellifluous voice, is a pleasurable one. Simply stated: Boris saves this movie from being a total loss just by his mere presence. Plus, once on Voodoo Island, the picture becomes very much a "safari film," a subgenre for which I have been a sucker ever since I was a little kid. And then there are those cobra-headed, carnivorous plants, easily the most horrific aspect of the film, and they DO make for some cheezy fun. The acting by one and all is better than this material would seem to demand, and...well, that's about it. I really cannot come up with any more pluses, no matter how hard I try. Truth to tell, this film really is for Uncle Boris completists only. I'm not sure if it's his worst, as I still have never experienced such supposed late-career stinkers as "Snake People" and "Cauldron of Blood," but of the 40 Karloff films that I have seen, this one is certainly right near the bottom. On the flip side of this MGM DVD can be found the 1959 chiller "The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake," another film dealing with the subject of voodoo, and this is where the real horrors reside on this disc. "The public loves to be scared," Phillip Knight tells us at one point; too bad his picture just isn't up to the task!

Given the fair warning so generously given me by others, I was prepared for the very worst but surprise, surprise...it wasn't all that bad, after all.

I can't say it was very compelling, true, but it wasn't "dreadfully boring" either, as it's been called. There were some cringe-inducing moments to be sure, particularly when Elisha Cook 'freaked out' towards the end - and I'm still not sure what function the older of the two ladies was supposed to be occupying within the group, but I did find the lesbian undertones (with good reason since I did find Karloff's secretary rather attractive myself) surprising for a schlocky B-movie of its era! So, no great shakes definitely but an adequate time-waster nonetheless...though the voodoo promised by the title had nothing to do with the man-eating plants we eventually ended up with!

Maybe when I get more acquainted with Karloff's other programmers, my opinion of this film will take a nose-dive but so far, it was a watchable diversion and nothing more; besides it was nice to see Karloff in a straight, i.e. non-menacing, role - though it was somewhat uncomfortable to watch him stumble about on many occasions (due to his illness and old age).

"Voodoo Island" was Boris Karloff's first American film in four years. Nearing his 70th birthday, good parts must have been hard to come by, given that the old Gothic style horror for which he became famous, was now not in vogue.

Hotel entrepreneur Howard Carlton (Owen Cunningham) is planning a new hotel/resort on a distant Pacific Island. A survey team that had been sent out earlier disappeared except for Mitchell (Glenn Dixon) who returned in a zombie like state. Carlton hires Philip Knight (Karloff) an investigative reporter to investigate the remote island where the disappearances occurred.

The expedition includes Knight, his assistant Sara Adams, Carlton's front man Barney Finch (Murvyn Vye), Claire Winter (Jean Engstrom), local resort manager Martin Schuler (Elisha Cook) and his assistant Matthew Gunn (Rhodes Reason). Knight also insists that Mitchell be brought along. Before they leave for the island, Mitchell mysteriously dies and a voodoo death warning is left.

When the expedition arrives at the "voodoo" island, strange things start to happen. First their boat breaks down and later they discover their food supply spoiled trapping them on the island all the while under the watchful eyes of mysterious natives. Then, while enjoying a swim Claire is killed by a flesh eating plant. The rest are captured by the natives. Schuler refuses to leave and later becomes a zombie as does Finch while watching two children play. Will the others escape?

Karloff is totally miscast as the fast talking "Gerardo" type investigative reporter. Although he does his best, he certainly deserved better. He would make two more films in 1958 and then disappear from the screen until 1963 when Roger Corman "rediscovered" him for "The Raven".

The cast spends most of the film trudging across the jungle island. We never see any so-called black magic and are left to wonder how the zombies are created. We do get to see some cheap looking dolls with pins in them though. This was obviously a film on a low budget. Most of it was shot outdoors and the special effects are cheaply done.

Strictly for the lower half of a double bill.

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.