Great Film overall

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

When I say "not especially convincing", I mean that both the concept of the monsters and the special effects that put them on the screen are pretty weak, barely above the depictions of walking pickles and flying oven mitts that drove the typical Corman monster/science fiction movies. Even so, this is a classic of its kind. Cushing carries the film with his usual aplomb, and everyone else delivers the kind of performance that a Hammer film needs - generic cardboard roles that somehow are invested with life and energy by hard working, well-directed actors and actresses. (Update - apparently this was not a Hammer film after all, but an effort from "Planet Productions" using a lot of the usual Hammer talent.)Least convincing moment - the first moments of the standoff between the monsters and the villagers as the villagers try fire and dynamite to destroy the beasts. Still pretty decent as these things go, but not at all exciting.Most convincing moment - when one of the monsters has Cushing's arm in its tentacle, and his assistant has to take drastic action to save him. The expression on Cushing's face as he looks at his friend, assenting to what most be done, is the emotional peak of the entire movie, and shows why this actor is worth every penny they paid him.Great, solid stuff. Won't surprise anyone or convert anyone, but fans of this kind of genre stuff will find lots to enjoy.

I first heard this film reviewed when I was a 13-year-old in 1966, while listening to the radio. It sounded fantastic but somehow I've never seen it in all the years since then....until now, courtesy of a Blu-ray.It's a typical low-budget British Sci-fi/horror from the mid 60's, with all the usual features - a mysterious laboratory (with isotopes), strange deaths and geiger-counters. Not a brilliant film really, but director Terence Fisher brings his Hammer-ability to the proceedings, passing 90 minutes in a fairly entertaining manner and it gave us a chance to 'spot the faces'. The ubiquitous Sam Kydd is there, as is Niall MacGinnes looking somewhat like a retired butcher. I liked the way that early on in the story, we are carefully informed (via some banter) that the boat only goes there once a week and there are no telephones on the island. Unusually for a cheap release, there's a very informative booklet which I enjoyed. Extras consist of the original trailer and a picture gallery. And it's on Blu-ray!

Sorry to disappoint anyone expecting silly cats. Sillicats are nothing more than the pizza-monsters in the "Star Trek" episode "The Devil In The Dark", plus a long elephant-like trunk glued in the middle, which flaps about somewhat when targeting a luckless islander.Not too much padding, as is usual in low-budget monster fare, but there is a hilariously drawn-out scene which shows nothing more than the two scientists putting on some large condoms (suits) in a lab. Perhaps the director was forced to show the entire sequence of putting on those goofy suits because if he'd cut straight to Cushing dressed as a condom the scene would have garnered some unintentional laughs. This way the audience at least has time to adjust to the fact that the two heroes will be dressing as condoms. Dramatic music accompanies this protracted scene, just in case we notice how irrelevant this scene is. This was a typical "trick" in the meager 50s/60s B-movie weapons arsenal: when you know the scene is lame, put on some mega-dramatic music on top of it.Fancy that, the young scientist putting his girlfriend in charge of controlling the villagers in the town hall (or village hut). And what exactly qualifies her to control the rabble? This is exactly how Mira Markovic and Elena Ceausescu got to where they were: spineless husbands pushing their ugly wives to power. (OK, fine, this actress is neither ugly nor evil, the comparison is slightly flawed, so shoot me.) A bit too silly how even an ax cannot even slightly damage the sillicats. If they're made out of silicon, they're not made out of steel.Watch for Cushing get all jovial and cracking jokes, mere hours after having had his hand amputated by an ax. So very English. So B-movie.IOT is a charming little monster-invasion flick, with little action and a lot of talking which is typical of its type, but very much watchable.

Tom Blakely's Planet Productions made just four features, three of which were this film, 1964's "Devils of Darkness," and 1967's "Night of the Big Heat" (their last). For ISLAND and NIGHT, they secured the services of Hammer director Terence Fisher and Hammer star Peter Cushing, adding Christopher Lee to the cast of NIGHT for extra measure. DEVILS was an odd footnote, the first British vampire film set not in the Gothic world represented so well by Hammer, but in the modern day, otherwise undistinguished. Terence Fisher expressed no fondness for science fiction, and his early black and white Hammer entries, "Four Sided Triangle," "Stolen Face," and "Spaceways" (all 1952), are all overly talkative and extremely dull. 1964's "The Earth Dies Screaming" was a modest step up, a very low budget alien invasion represented by a tiny cast and one single robot. Fisher's two Planet features make quite a matched set, perhaps not as revered as his better known Hammer efforts, but allowing him to focus on his cast of characters, presenting them in dangerous situations that create tension. Fisher always emphasized the human side of his monsters, and even in these two sci fi entries, he remains true to form. Both scripts benefit from finely etched characterizations, and wonderful actors bringing them to vibrant life. In ISLAND OF TERROR, an isolated island off the East coast of Ireland is the setting of an invasion created by scientists searching for a cure for cancer, creating a form of life that survives by devouring the bones of people and animals. Sam Kydd plays the constable, John Harris, who discovers a missing farmer dead in a cave, the body a mass of jelly. Eddie Byrne (THE MUMMY, THE VENGEANCE OF FU MANCHU, STAR WARS) is the island doctor, scoffing at the apt description of the corpse: "there was no face, just a horrible mush, with the eyes sittin' in it." Both actors, well known faces in British cinema, are so natural in these roles that the horror of the situation is instantly established with great credibility, and this is BEFORE the introduction of the heroic Peter Cushing, who never fails to convey sincerity in even the smallest of parts. Here, Cushing occasionally takes a back seat to second billed Edward Judd, but both work well in tandem, putting together the scientist's notes as to what went on in the laboratory, and learning how to stop the onslaught of terror. Cushing was usually the voice of reason, the authority figure, a character the audience trusts completely to present all the facts to them, yet here, his character is not so sure of himself, a quick quip to try to hide his fear, a more believably written hero, and this marvelous performer delivers one of his very best. The low budget special effects, especially the eating sounds, deliver on a modest scale, and the harrowing sequence where Cushing is attacked and implores Judd to chop off his hand at the wrist is the stuff of childhood nightmares. A first time viewer may be surprised at the unusual depth of characterization, and Niall MacGinnis (NIGHT OF THE DEMON, DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS, TORTURE GARDEN), as the island's leader, Liam Gaffney as the first victim, even the smallest of roles are played faultlessly. Of course, when one puzzled islander remarks "some peculiar goings-on going on on this island," there's always a risk that unintended humor might overcome the intended, but it's not fatal. Superior to NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT, and proof that Terence Fisher could make excellent science fiction, provided he had a script that presented human characters little different from the ones in his Gothic chillers. Make no mistake, this is definitely a CHILLER, and one of Richard Gordon's infrequent productions, ranging from "Mother Riley Meets the Vampire" (Bela Lugosi), "Grip of the Strangler" (Boris Karloff), "Corridors of Blood" (Karloff and Christopher Lee), "Devil Doll," "Curse of Simba," "The Projected Man," "Tower of Evil" (all four with Bryant Haliday), "Horror Hospital" (Michael Gough), "The Cat and the Canary" (Carol Lynley), and finally "Inseminoid" (Judy Geeson and Stephanie Beacham). Thirty years of genre cinema with the greatest stars of their day.