Sunday, July 02, 2006

Movie review - "Isle of the Dead" (1945) ***1/2

The penultimate Val Lewtown horror film has a wonderful title and beautifully evocative setting: during the war of 1912 a Greek general (Boris Karloff) visits an island, where he gets stuck due to a plague outbreak. An old crone on the island blames the plague outbreak on a beautiful young woman, which provides most of the plot. 

It gets a little repetitive in around the middle - people die, girl wonders if she is responsible, Karloff goes madder - but was a wonderfully spooky finale (can't be wondering around islands at night time on your own with wind blowing and someone raised from the dead) and benefits from some strong characterisations: the best known is Karloff's general, ruthless with some well hidden nice parts who goes increasingly superstitious (or perhaps he's just trying to cover all his bases) but I also liked the Swiss man who lived on the island and embraced superstitions and the doctor who calmly accepts his death. 

Like Bedlam the film was partly based on a painting - a copy of which was on the wall in Hitler's bunker when Hitler died!

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