Film Review - Island of Dr. Moreau, The

OH! MY! GOD! These were our first thoughts as we stepped out of the theater. This is a movie that crams its message down our throats, and makes us unbelievably sick. It wasn't so much the message, but that the producers decided to treat the audience like idiots and actually spell out the message in the last 30 seconds of the film. There was some sort of a time warp feel to the film also; some sets felt like it was the 1930s, and others showed technology from the 1990s. Make up your minds!

And then there were the other obvious questions:

  1. What happened to the editors; were they on the same drugs that the Val Kilmer character was on?
  2. Is the word "plot" incomprehensible?
  3. Maybe the filmmakers had only read the Cliff Notes version!
  4. Character development? Kilmer's abs don't count! That's what made the character's names so memorable...
  5. The DUH questions:

  6. Why would a man so allergic to the sun live on a remote tropical island?
  7. How can someone get so fat living for 17 years on just vegetables?
  8. Where did that Apple Powerbook come from?
  9. Why didn't the Val Kilmer character just leave for good (he frequently left the island to acquire needed supplies)?
  10. Just what were all those animal-people supposed to be? We got the cat, the dog and the hyena, but nothing else.

Of course, there was the stiff performance by a buck-toothed Marlon Brando playing Dr. Moreau, offset by the great performance by Kilmer playing Brando. David Thewlis gave a brilliant performance as Gilligan, I mean the reporter. For those who are fans of the series Beauty & the Beast, Ron Perlman stretches himself to play a disfigured man/beast. The special make-up effects were superb, as always when Stan Winston is in charge. Mr. Frankenheimer certainly created a monster with this film.

If you feel you still want to, we recommend seeing this movie during a matinee. Some of the scenes need the large screen perspective. This movie took in $9 million the first weekend, and we respectfully suggest the makers feel indebted to viewers for that.

Dust Bag Full

Film Facts

Directed by John Frankenheimer

Released in 1996

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Reviewed by Smiley