Rating: 4/5
Edward Parker (Richard Arlen) is a man from a shipwreck saved by a freighter full of animals en route to a remote island owned by Dr. Moreau (Charles Laughton). Instead of being taken to the nearest port, the captain throws him onto the boat that is heading for the island
There, Edward witnesses the “natives” of the island — men covered with abnormal hair and animal-like features. He learns of Dr. Moreau’s experiments to accelerate evolution in other animals towards humanity and the horrific torture required to do it, performed in what the “natives” call the House of Pain
The Sayer of the Law (Bela Lugosi) recites The Law:
What is the Law? Do not walk on all fours Are we not men? What is the Law? Do not eat meat Are we not men? What is the Law? Do not spill blood Are we not men?
The film (and the sourcebook) use this pseudoscientific concept of evolution to evoke the fear of the other that was prominent in horror stories of the time — here, the monsters of science gone too far, presented on the big screen to induce horror and nausea (the story goes that several moviegoers threw up when the creatures came onscreen)
Intentional or not, the film also (through gross racist caricature) explores colonialism and the “taming the savage” mentality that drove it, “advancing” other cultures by brutalizing and enslaving them. Australia saw the parallels and banned Aboriginal people from seeing the movie when it came out, lest it provoke riots
The movie still holds the capacity to upset — watching these people suffer at Dr. Moreau’s unaffected hand is uncomfortable
Stray Thoughts
- Dr Moreau learned to whip as a boy in Australia
- Charles Laughton is iconic in this — Colonel Sanders white suit — there’s a similar energy between him here and Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina
- I know Clara Bow is the inspiration for Betty Boop, but you could convince me it was Kathleen Burke