6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
An isolated remote island community is threatened by an attack by tentacled silicates which liquefy and digest bone and tissue.
Starring: Peter Cushing, Edward Judd, Carole Gray, Eddie Byrne, Sam KyddHorror | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Terence Fisher's forty-third feature Island of Terror (1966) boasts one of the more unique monster creations in cinema. Fisher and his collaborators wisely refrain from showing the creature's size, shape, and features for at least the first couple reels. Dr. Lawrence Phillips (Peter Forbes-Robertson) and his fellow scientists are developing a cure for cancer in a secluded laboratory on the east coast of Ireland. Dr. Phillips is typically mum about discussing his work around Petrie’s Island and doesn't even have telephone lines connected to the manor in which he operates in the basement. Something awry occurs during an experiment with the cancer cells, however. After this prologue, farmer Ian Bellows wanders into a cave where he's unexpectedly attacked. Mrs. Bellows (Joyce Hemson), Ian's wife, becomes concerned after he goes missing for hours. She pays an urgent visit to the abode of Police Constable John Harris (Sam Kydd). The constable ventures to the cave with his flashlight and discovers a shrunken, jelly-like figure on the ground. Bellows is virtually unrecognizable and doesn't have any of his bones left intact. Harris heads hurriedly over to the residence of Dr. Reginald Landers (Eddie Byrne), who performs a preliminary autopsy on Bellows. What happened to the poor farmer is something Landers has never seen before. He hopes pathologist Brian Stanley (Peter Cushing), a professor at the local university, will have some answers but Bellows's condition also completely bewilders him. Landers and Stanley then consult David West (Edward Judd), an expert on bone disease, but he's rather busy with his flame Toni Merrill (Carole Gray). When Landers says that Bellows was left bereft of any bones, that gets West's prompt attention. They perform a more detailed autopsy on Bellows and arrange to obtain a helicopter owned by Merrill so they can fly to Petrie’s Island and visit Dr. Phillips's lab.
Scream Factory's MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-25 is struck from a ca. 2017 HD transfer of the film, which originates from the 35mm interpositive. Island of Terror was originally filmed in either 1.66:1 or 1.85:1. Scream presents it in the 16x9-friendly 1.78:1. Cinematographer Reginald H. Wyer's Eastmancolor boasts bright hues that are accented by greens and burgundy (see especially Screenshot #14.). Skin tones look completely natural. Only the occasional presence of white speckles clutter a mostly clean image. They're most frequent during the trio of scientists' autopsy of Bellows. The most speckles appear during the shot of a scalpel incision into the body. In frame grab #19, you'll notice that the colors don't look as sharp. This was captured right before the main titles. Scream has encoded the feature at an average video bitrate of 28625 kbps.
The 89-minute film comes with the standard twelve scene selections.
Scream has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono mix (1636 kbps, 24-bit) from the film's original Westrex recording. The British dialogue is fully comprehensible. Barry Gray's distinctive electronic sound effects for the Silicates is a highlight of this track. There is no audible hiss, pops, crackles, or dropouts.
Scream's optional English SDH contain a few typos but deliver an accurate transcription of the dialogue.
Island of Terror is an enjoyable vintage British sci-fi thriller that's actually not made by Hammer Films. (It was backed by the British production company Planet Film.) I hadn't seen Edward Judd in a picture before and he reminds me somewhat of Richard Burton. Scream Factory's video and audio presentations are both very good, although the image could be cleaner. Robert J. Kiss's commentary is worth a listen even if it doesn't feature much firsthand research. RECOMMENDED to the fans of Peter Cushing and Terence Fisher, who should add it to their collections.
1958
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