Terror Is a Man

This is the film that practically started the influx of Filipino exploitation that exploded in the 70s. It's a slow but mediocre version of THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU with a cat creature experiment that gets loose and kills a few secondary characters among scientific jabber about the experiment being for the benefit of mankind rather than personal vanity. This is lackluster stuff and is too Americanized. The Blood Island trilogy and women's prison flicks that would come ten years later is the kind of delirious entertainment that Filipino exploitation is remembered for. Worth a look but hardly memorable.

The lone survivor of the sinking of the "Pedro Queen," William Fitzgerald (Derr) washes ashore on a remote Pacific island one thousand miles off the coast of Peru. He is taken in by Dr. Girard (Lederer) and his wife, Frances (Thyssen). Fitzgerald soon learns that the doctor is conducting unusual medical experiments the island, assisted by his wife, who is a nurse, and a few servants. Shortly after Fitzgerald's arrival, he learns that a "panther" is loose on the island and has even killed people. He is puzzled when he learns that the native villagers have fled the island, allegedly because they fear what the doctor might be doing. The mystery deepens when Fitzgerald starts investigating the mystery of the doctor and the creature he is working on.

"Terror is a Man" is an uncredited adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel "The Island of Doctor Moreau." Whereas the classic 1932 version "Island of Lost Souls" and the 1977 version "The Island of Dr. Moreau" both feature large numbers of "manimals," this film has only one. By excising these creatures, the film loses the interesting cultural aspects of the manimal society and lacks, among other things, the key character known as the Sayer of the Law. The creature in this one is the tormented victim of doctor and is abused by the servant Walter (Oscar Keesee). Despite the differences between this version and the two better known adaptations mentioned above, this film is reasonably well made though somewhat slow-paced. Dedicated horror film fans should probably give this one a chance.

The castaway William Fitzgerald (Richard Derr) is rescued in an island by Dr. Charles Girard (Francis Lederer), his lonely wife Frances Girard (Greta Thyssen) and his assistant Walter Perrera (Oscar Keesee Jr.). A couple of days later, Fitzgerald has an affair with Frances and realizes that the unethical and insane Dr. Girard is developing sick experiments and transforming a panther into a man-like creature. Meanwhile, the monster escapes from the laboratory, killing Walter and the servant Celina and seizing and capturing Frances with him. Fitzgerald and Dr. Girard chase the being along the night.

"Terror is a Man" is a watchable rip-off of "The Island of Dr. Moreau", with a monster that behaves like The Creature in "Frankenstein" and with the appearance of The Mummy. The story is silly, but considering that it is a very low-budget and theatrical B-movie, entertains. Unfortunately, the shameful DVD released in Brazil by the distributor Fantasy shows a completely damaged copy, "jumping" many scenes and making parts of the story impossible to be understood. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Criatura Sangrenta" ("Blood Creature")

Apparently there are scientists around who want to turn animals into men. This is the story of one of them. Of course, the signature story is that of "The Island of Dr. Moreau." Here, a man traps black leopards and evolves them (?) into bipeds that have great strength. He is messing where he shouldn't be messing. A castaway comes along and gets in the way (by being moral in one sense but messing with the pretty wife in the other sense). Anyway, there is a nasty sidekick who hits the animal/man with a two by four and catman becomes violent when he sees this guy. Anyway, other than a kind of oppressive jungle setting, there is little new ground here.

"Terror Is a Man" (1959) is perhaps more well known for its status as the first Filipino horror film, rather than for its own fine merits. That's a real shame, as it turns out to be an extremely well done take on H.G. Wells' "The Island of Dr. Moreau," but with unique slants all its own. Here, the marooned sailor is played by the likable Richard Derr (who sci-fi fans may remember from 1951's "When Worlds Collide") and the not-so-mad surgeon/scientist by Francis Lederer. The doctor has a hotty wife in this version of the story, and she is played by Greta Thyssen (Miss Denmark, 1954), shown to good advantage in negligee and bathing suit in several steamy scenes. (She really does put the "thigh" in "Thyssen," lemme tell you!) In addition to uniformly fine, no-nonsense acting, the film boasts beautiful B&W photography (nicely presented on this clean and crisp-looking DVD), eerie and suspenseful music, stylish direction, and a unique-looking monster that is unfortunately (and literally) kept under wraps until the denouement. The film gives us some interesting speculations on just what makes a man a man, and is really quite intelligent and restrained throughout. A warning bell alerts the audience to a shocking scene (a close-up of a surgical incision) that should gross out only the most squeamish of viewers. My only problem with this DVD, really, was the fluctuating sound quality. But that should not deter viewers from checking out this most interesting horror tale. It's a winner.