Island of Terror (1966)

An isolated remote island community is threatened by an attack by tentacled silicates which liquefy and digest bone and tissue.

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Edward Mann (original story) (as Edward Andrew Mann), Al Ramsen (original story) (as Allan Ramsen)

Stars:

Peter Cushing, Edward Judd, Carole Gray

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Cushing	...	Dr. Brian Stanley
Edward Judd	...	Dr. David West
Carole Gray	...	Toni Merrill
Eddie Byrne	...	Dr. Reginald Landers
Sam Kydd	...	Constable John Harris
Niall MacGinnis	...	Mr. Roger Campbell
James Caffrey	...	Peter Argyle
Liam Gaffney	...	Ian Bellows
Roger Heathcott	...	Dunley
Keith Bell	...	Halsey
Margaret Lacey	...	Old Woman (as Margaret Lacy)
Shay Gorman	...	Morton
Peter Forbes-Robertson	...	Dr. Lawrence Phillips (as Peter Forbes Robertson)
Richard Bidlake	...	Carson
Joyce Hemson	...	Mrs. Bellows

Storyline

A small, isolated island community's terrorised from a horde of creeping, blobbish, tentacled monsters which liquefy and digest the bones from living creatures. The community struggles to fight back, against these horrors.

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Plot Keywords:

chopping off a hand | hysterical female | silicon based life | medical ethics | pathologist | 

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Taglines:

How could they stop the devouring death...that lived by sucking on living human bones!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 February 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Night of the Silicates

Filming Locations:

Black Park Country Park, Wexham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Planet Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the French version (post-synchronized) Edward Judd is dubbed by Jean-Claude Michel / Visa d'exploitation en France : #38125

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Goofs

Dr. Phillip's dog is hit by a strong dose of Strontium-90. Later, strontium 90 is taken from Phillips' reactor to dose the cattle. In 1966, the nuclear reactors capable of producing Strontium-90 were far larger than the one in Phillips' lab and needed giant control boards, as well as huge amounts of water for cooling, none of which were in evidence.

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Quotes

[Stanley strays a bit too far from the main group]
Dr. David West: Brian, hold it! Come back to the car. If there is something in there, we better not get too close until we know what we're up against.
Dr. Reginald Landers: What do you think is in there?
Dr. David West: I don't know, but let's not take any unnecessary risks.
Dr. Brian Stanley: No, especially with me!

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Alternate Versions

The UK cinema version was cut by a few seconds by the BBFC to remove a brief shot of blood-spurts after a hand is chopped off with an axe. The early UK and French DVDs retain this version though the German CCI DVD issue has the scene intact. The 2014 UK Odeon DVD release is fully uncut.

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Connections

Featured in Aweful Movies with Deadly Earnest: Island of Terror (1970)

User Reviews

the same appeal as the daleks

I read another review of this film here that wonders if the special effects came from Doctor Who. Well, like that program's big enemy, the Daleks, the monsters in this exciting, scary, silly, fantastic film are SO EASY to imitate. Just as kids would run around playgrounds, arms outstretched, yelling "exterminate!" I remember being at lunch in elementary school sucking our straws at the bottom of our milks, imitating the sound of the evil bone-sucking creatures, and screaming in "agony" as our bones dissolved. Every Friday night, when a show called "Friday Fright Night" aired, in the 80s, this was the one movie we always PRAYED would be on...Brilliant