Darwin H. (movienut) from BLOOMINGTON, MN
Reviewed on 7/15/2012...
For my money The Island of Lost Souls from 1932 is far and away the best of the 3 different film adaptations based on H.G. Well's novel "The Island of Dr. Moreau" that are readily available on DVD. In fact nothing else even comes close. The acting was very good across the board, the special effects for the time were incredible. The story is dark and perverse in more ways than one; and no mad scientist ever put on film was as brazenly twisted as Charles Laughton's very restrained and decidedly creepy portrayal of Dr. Moreau (including the "doctors" in every Frankenstein movie I have ever seen). Can you say God complex? Check out this great film from back when horror movies were big business. I have no idea why this is not as well known as Dracula, Frankenstein, etc. The only explanation I can think of is that back then Universal was the undisputed king of big budget horror and this was a competing Paramount release. Well worth checking out.
This has been a Movienut "no spoilers" quick review.
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