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 | island | scientist | laboratory | 

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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

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

The silicates are later shown not to be fast movers, yet when one slides down the back window of a car, it disappears completely by the time men run over to see what happened.

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Quotes

Constable John Harris: You know that I'm not a man that's easily shaken, Dr. Landers.
Dr. Reginald Landers: I know that. I know. Now, would you like a drink?
Constable John Harris: No, no-no. I've just seen somethin', and by all that's holy... I just can't be sure, but... I think it's Ian Bellows.
Dr. Reginald Landers: You THINK it's Ian? What's happened to him?
Constable John Harris: I-I don't know. His body's all like... like jelly.
Dr. Reginald Landers: Jelly?
Constable John Harris: Aye. It's like nothin' I've ever seen. There was no face, just a... horrible... mush... with the eyes sittin' in it.

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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 (1973)

User Reviews

The only horror movie that scared me when I was a teen.

It was the early 70's when I first saw Island of Terror on a Saturday late night horror show called Shock Theatre. I've always been a fan of Peter Cushing and his films so when I read that he was in it that made it a must see. We were hearing more and more about cancer research so this movie had relevence to the times. Growing up as a youngster in a rural area surrounded by livestock, the opening scene with the dead horse spooked me. At the time I first saw the film, the idea of Cancer research going haywire was a possiblilty and having your bones sucked out of your body while you were alive sent chills through my body. As the creatures were shown more and more, took more victims in varying fashions, more and more lights were turned on in my living room where I was watching the movie. The ending put the icing on the cake and I slept with the lights on for about a week. I had seen many horror movies including The Blob, but this was the only one to really get me sacred and keep me scared. I strongly recommend this movie to everyone. It's got suspence, surprises, a bit of humor, some horror, is just an enjoyable movie to watch and is one of my favorites. It's been many years since I've seen the movie so I just ordered a copy to enjoy again and again. Definately a classic for anyone's movie library.

I've noticed some reviews talking about how cheap the special effects were and the weak story/plot line, but these are all comparing the film to the standards of todays filmaking. As a child I didn't notice any of the effects simplistics. I was looking for some entertainment and a good late night scare, and Island of Terror delivered.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 February 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Island of Terror

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