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[tab title="Movie Review"]
Even when Peter Cushing loses his cool, he doesn’t lose his cool. You must remember that. The world could be collapsing around him (as it often does in his movies) and the actor would still respond with his familiar blue-eyed logic and a pair of protective gloves. The grimace never betrays those thin lips; he’s that unflappable. Wrestling with a large pair of binoculars and later with a stubborn buckle on a radiation suit in Island of Terror is a whole lot of fun to watch, yet he, playing pathologist Dr. Brian Stanley, remains as cool as a cucumber.
And just wait until he gets his hand chopped off. Wait. What? Yup, hands are chopped off and people’s bones are sucked clean from their bodies in this fantastical oddity. All thanks to a large slug-like creature with a single tentacle to help it find its way through cattle and citizens. Thankfully, Petrie's Island off the east coast of Ireland is a relatively small one.
Such is the limited territory of the weird and wildly wonky creature feature called Island of Terror. Making its debut on blu-ray thanks to Scream Factory, the new high-definition transfer straight from the original interpositive is marvelously detailed and clean. This was the rare naturalistic shoot from Pinewood Studios, but it shines with new purpose with this release. The chilling tale in Island of Terror has never looked better.
The creatures – the silicates – at the center of the horror story may not be the most detailed, but they are DEFINITELY bizarrely threatening. Hell, the sticky icky bastards even climb trees and leap from branches onto their victims far below. Automobiles mean nothing to them either. If not under, it’ll slide right over those four wheels. No cow, dog, or human is safe from the threat of these mutant mofos!
While America’s b-movies started experimenting with counterculture topics and biker gangs thanks to Roger Corman, the British – being very nonchalant about their popcorn flicks – were happy with presenting weird mutant creatures. Created as a side effect in the search for a cure for cancer, the silicates were born. Yes, science – even its quest to aid humanity – has unforeseen consequences. The British, though, are quick to get over it and respond. They just need to find what works best against this invasion.
Director Terence Fisher (Horror of Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein, The Mummy) keeps the film interesting with a healthy balance between freaky science fiction conversation and toss a bomb and run action. There are three big strikes from the creatures, one massive free-for-all, and two scenes heavy on exposition. The British LOVE to talk, you know!
And it all starts with the discovery of a pile of rubbery flesh. Weird! Something is sucking (or munching on) the bones of its victim and leaving bags of flesh in its wake. It is the territory - effects and all - of early Doctor Who. And Cushing nails it.
Co-starring Edward Judd and Carole Gray, the film reveals that every 6 hours, the silicate creature divides. Even on film, it’s a bit eerie to witness. Within a week, there could potentially be over one million of these slimy creatures. Petrol bombs and dynamite won’t stop them. These creatures even scoff at shotguns. And cleavers only piss them off more.
All creatures great and small indeed! Get slimed with the coolest cat around, the one and only Peter Cushing, on this Island of Terror.
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[tab title="Details"]
MPAA Rating: unrated.
Runtime: 89 mins
Director: Terence Fisher
Writer: Edward Mann and Al Ramsen
Cast: Peter Cushing, Edward Judd, Carole Gray
Genre: Horror
Tagline: They lived by eating human bones!
Memorable Movie Quote: "I just found one of my horses dead. At least, I think it's one of my horses. It's all soft and flabby."
Theatrical Distributor: Universal Pictures
Official Site:
Release Date: February 1, 1967
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: June 20, 2017
Synopsis: On a tiny island off the coast of Ireland, a new breed of terror is unleashed. In his quest to find a cure for cancer, a research scientist conducts an experiment involving mutated cells. But this attempt to benefit humanity becomes a nightmare that threatens the entire human race.
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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
Blu-ray Details:
Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - June 20, 2017
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Language: English
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Region A
Scream Factory’s 1080p HD transfer (with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1) has superb detail and bright colors with a good amount of pop to them. The elements show some speckle from time to time, and a few brief scenes are a tad soft, but this looks to be inherent of the original cinematography. It doesn’t appear that the picture has been tweaked or modified in any way, and the grain structure is well maintained. The DTS HD 2.0 Master Audio track is fairly strong, delivering the dialogue and dramatic score with nice clarity.
Supplements:
Commentary:
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How fabulous! The NEW audio commentary with film historian Dr. Robert J. Kiss and blogger/actor Rick Pruitt covers the film’s origin and its production. The two also talk about its cult status.
Special Features:
- While on the slight side, what’s included is fun.
- Theatrical Trailer
- Still Gallery
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