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7.3/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 7.3/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Island of Lost Souls remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like movies that feel like a fever dream and have zero interest in modern, clean-cut horror, yes. Watch it tonight. If you need a movie to make sense or you get annoyed by people making bad decisions in the jungle, skip it. You will probably hate the pacing if you are used to TikTok attention spans.
Charles Laughton as Dr. Moreau is honestly one of the weirdest performances I have ever seen. He walks around in this white suit, radiating a sort of smug, intellectual menace that feels like he is about to explain the theory of relativity while he guts a cat. It is glorious. There is this one shot where he is just standing there watching his creations struggle, and he looks almost bored. Like he is just waiting for his tea to cool.
The makeup effects on the 'beast people' are still genuinely jarring. You can tell it is rubber and fur, but that somehow makes it worse? They move in this jagged, unnatural way that feels like they are constantly fighting their own bodies. It’s got a totally different energy than, say, a slapstick romp like Road to Rio.
There is a sequence where the island just feels completely suffocating. You know that feeling when you are stuck somewhere and there is no way off, and the locals are acting weird? That. It hits that specific nerve of being an outsider in a place that wants to chew you up.
Some of the dialogue is clunky, sure. But then you get a line that just cuts right through the noise, and suddenly the whole room feels cold. It’s not a perfect movie, but it is a movie that knows exactly what kind of monster it wants to be. Definitely not for the faint of heart. 🧪🌴
