Rating: 3/5
Hooptober | 12/31 | Terence Fisher 2/5
On Petrie’s Island, a fictional island off the coast of Ireland, Dr. Lawrence Phillips receives a shipment from the mainland. Dr. Phillips believes he has a cure for cancer and is carrying it out despite lacking the clearance to do so. He spends all his time in his secluded castle lab, so the other islanders can only speculate about his activities.
Ian Bellows makes his way home as night falls. He hears a sound and, like a horror victim, inspects the sound. Ian’s wife visits the constable, worried that Ian hasn’t returned. The constable searches for Ian. He finds Ian’s body, but it has no bones — “a horrible mush with the eyes sitting in it.”
What happened to Ian? Is this related to Dr. Phillips’s research? The islanders can’t find answers, so they contact mainland Dr. Brian Stanley.
Terence Fischer and Peter Cushing teamed up for the rare non-Hammer collaboration. The sci-fi bent of the story contrasts with Hammer’s more Gothic leanings.
The 50s wore out sci-fi horror, so in 1966, this film was a little old hat. Still, the filmmaking is sharp and contains all the dry Britishisms that Fischer was known for.
Also, the movie is quite gory, which is a nice change of pace from the sterile 50s sci-fi flick.
The movie echoes a myth that Napoleon invented Solitaire, but we don’t have any evidence of him doing so.
This movie won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I found it delightful.