Just discovered this Philippine(My parents' native country)-made horror movie here on IMDb as linked from Hulu. Despite the bland romantic trappings between the triangle of Francis Lederer, Richard Derr, and the buxom blonde from Denmark named Greta Thyssen, this was a pretty effective chiller during the last 30 minutes as effectively visualized by Gerardo de Leon with I'm sure help from producer Eddie Romero. There's also some nice work from the natives like Oscar Keesee as the villain, his son Peyton as the innocent boy, and stunning Lilia Duran as the other hired help. And then there's the creature played by Flory Carlos who spends most of the movie wrapped in bandages. His mummy-like performance gets effective treatment due to the music by Ariston Avelino. May be most effective to maybe to those 12 and under who haven't seen anything gory yet. Certainly the "buzzer" that warns of a 15-second "surgery" scene was nothing that shocked my senses! So on that note, Terror Is a Man is worth a look for fans of old-fashioned Drive-In fare.
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lost-in-limbo28 March 2006Fitzgerald is the only survivor of a shipwreck and he finds himself washed up on an luscious Pacific island, which is inhabited by a close-minded doctor, his unsatisfied wife and edgy assistant. That night they found Fitzgerald, the doctor's experimental subject; a panther got loose and killed some natives. But they manage to get hold of it again. Not too long Fitzgerald learns what the doctor is trying to do, but he questions the ethical nature of his experiments. When Fitzgerald comes face to face with Dr. Girard's test subject it's something his eyes can't believe.
Like other users have already mentioned, this cheap b-grade flick is influenced by H.G. Wells novel "The Island of Doctor Moreau." You might call it a poor man's version of the story. But to my surprise this feature was incredibly well-made and mildly effective, it's just too bad that the print of the film is all scratched up and jumpy in parts. The low-budget production is well set-up with fine execution in the direction, thunderously high-strung score and solid camera-work in achieving a very heavy mood in the jarringly, grim atmosphere. The isolated island (which was filmed in the Philippines) and the doctor's house (especially his laboratory) have a dauntingly, unsteady feel. Slow-building terror is squeezed tight by a snail-like opening hour involving many stoppages and meandering about. The third-act though, is where things really get going with some nice doses of suspense and plenty of interesting moments occurring with the mystery of the doctor's work coming out of the dark. These sparks are few and far between, but the sub-due plot is strong enough to carry the film, even though it does have its wishy-washy details and understated ending. The routine script is filled with a lot of mumbo jumbo, maybe a little too much of it and a bit forced. Thrown in are ponderous theories about evolution and morality about interfering with nature's course and so on. Also the dramatic interplay between the characters have a variety of frictions that plays on their slowly decaying mentality. Though, the token romance link between Fitzgerald and Frances Girard was unconvincing and it felt overly padded for me. The performances were exceptional enough, with some buoyant acting at times. Francis Lederer, as Dr. Girard, Richard Derr as Fitzgerald and Oscar Keesee Jr. as Perrera were terrific in their roles. The beautiful Greta Thyssen as Frances Girard; I was 50/50 on, sometimes she was rather leaden, but still she has an awe that's hard dismiss. The make-up effects for our feline (and there's only one) was way above-average, even though it was kept in bandages and looking more like a mummy. But when we see glimpses of its face it was rather well-done up, though I found the creature's growling unintentionally amusing.
There's nothing great or particularly unfamiliar about it, but with what they had to work with, it's commendably done.
Side-note: I'm just glad that I didn't have to sit through the warning bell gimmick, which would destroy the whole purpose in you wanting suspense and surprises from this film. The idea just escapes me, especially since you'll know what you're getting yourself into. -
Eegah Guy29 March 2001This is the film that practically started the influx of Filipino exploitation that exploded in the 70s. It's a slow but mediocre version of THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU with a cat creature experiment that gets loose and kills a few secondary characters among scientific jabber about the experiment being for the benefit of mankind rather than personal vanity. This is lackluster stuff and is too Americanized. The Blood Island trilogy and women's prison flicks that would come ten years later is the kind of delirious entertainment that Filipino exploitation is remembered for. Worth a look but hardly memorable.
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oscar-355 January 2009Well done, watchable, interesting..Tiny Flaws. A well done suspenseful film from Eddie Romero and his Phillipine film's background. Much more interesting take on H. G. Wells classic novel The Island of Dr. Moreau than the M. Brando or B. Lancaster starred recent films. It was the first of four "Blood Island" series from Mr. Romero. A sole survivor of a shipwrecked freighter washes ashore onto a strange isolated island. Near death, Dr Charles Girland a scientist researching the secret of evolution between man and beast; heals the shipwreck victim. Evolution Untamed. The doctor transformed a local panther into a human being much to the fear of the natives and his beautiful lonely wife. The tortured beast escapes and attacks many people on the island only to finally find the doctor and get final justice from him. Great casting, acting, production values; but the end of the film leaves too much unanswered after the doctor gets killed by the panther-man. Strange unsatisfying ending, but better than expected effort.
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Hitchcoc16 July 2015Apparently there are scientists around who want to turn animals into men. This is the story of one of them. Of course, the signature story is that of "The Island of Dr. Moreau." Here, a man traps black leopards and evolves them (?) into bipeds that have great strength. He is messing where he shouldn't be messing. A castaway comes along and gets in the way (by being moral in one sense but messing with the pretty wife in the other sense). Anyway, there is a nasty sidekick who hits the animal/man with a two by four and catman becomes violent when he sees this guy. Anyway, other than a kind of oppressive jungle setting, there is little new ground here.
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TERROR IS A MAN, with Greta Thyssen (--now that's a great name for a porno starlet, if you take my meaning--), directed by Gerry De Leon, is an ancient mystery/ horror flick in the mad scientist sub-genre about a mysterious creature on an island quite far from the Latin—American (Peruvian) shore. The Sci—Fi 'ideas' involved are quite murky; 'Fitzgerald' seems a bit contrary; at first he holds that the beast is human, then that it's not human. What does the turning of a feline into a human has to do with the creating of a superman? The mad scientist talks a lot about improving the man, but as a matter of fact he tries to turn a feline into a human.
My faithful readers know that I review here good movies, B movies (--like this one--), old movies (--including silent ones--) and TV series. I recently wrote about a Robertson chiller, DOMINIQUE, and that was an interesting B movie; TERROR IS A MAN begins well but it sinks. A conventionally intriguing plot, a handsome lead, a blonde sexpot; she's an overly delicious classical curvy blonde of the Marilyn type, the lead, 'Fitzgerald', is of the Mature type. But the movie is silly and ridiculous. -
The castaway William Fitzgerald (Richard Derr) is rescued in an island by Dr. Charles Girard (Francis Lederer), his lonely wife Frances Girard (Greta Thyssen) and his assistant Walter Perrera (Oscar Keesee Jr.). A couple of days later, Fitzgerald has an affair with Frances and realizes that the unethical and insane Dr. Girard is developing sick experiments and transforming a panther into a man-like creature. Meanwhile, the monster escapes from the laboratory, killing Walter and the servant Celina and seizing and capturing Frances with him. Fitzgerald and Dr. Girard chase the being along the night.
"Terror is a Man" is a watchable rip-off of "The Island of Dr. Moreau", with a monster that behaves like The Creature in "Frankenstein" and with the appearance of The Mummy. The story is silly, but considering that it is a very low-budget and theatrical B-movie, entertains. Unfortunately, the shameful DVD released in Brazil by the distributor Fantasy shows a completely damaged copy, "jumping" many scenes and making parts of the story impossible to be understood. My vote is five.
Title (Brazil): "Criatura Sangrenta" ("Blood Creature") -
Space_Mafune31 August 2002This film, obviously inspired by H.G. Wells THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, takes a while to get going but does pick up near the end. The acting, production values and cinematography were superior than expectation for a low budget film made in the Philippines although it's difficult to find a good print throughout. There are some intense, suspenseful and disturbing moments in Dr. Girard's underground laboratory.
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Rainey-Dawn23 January 2016The beginning of this film is rather boring - not enough action and horror. It took an hour to get really capture my interest - and I usually enjoy this type of film from start to finish. The beginning is OK - it just needed to get to "the good stuff" earlier in the film - it's SLOW - not wait an hour before it got good. The last 25-30 minutes of the movie is a fun horror to watch... I enjoyed it.
I really wanted to like this film better - it looked so good but it was a disappointment to me. Good ending - slow beginning. I'm sorry but the first hour of the film felt like 3 hours to me while the last 30 minutes of it seemed to pass by very fast.
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dbborroughs2 November 2009This is a Philippine lensed remake of the HG Wells Island of Doctor Moreau. This is a good little film that has some thrills and chills but which doesn't hold a candle to the best version of the tale, The Island of Lost Souls. The plot has a man coming to Blood Island (this is actually weirdly related to the later Blood Island films -such as Mad Doctor of Blood Island and Beast of Blood) where a mad doctor is turning animals into people. While not as large scale as Lost Souls, there isn't a whole bestiary really just one guy, the film does have some nice beasties. I think on some level the film has survived because the film has a bell that rings to warn people of sensitive disposition that something terrible is about to happen. Personally I think it's a dumb idea that kills some of the suspense, but at the same time you do remember the film because of the gimmick. Worth a look.
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kapelusznik1821 August 2014***SPOILERS*** Being the soul survivor of the freighter "Pedro Queen" that sank in a typhoon in the South Pacific William Fitzgerald, Richard Derr, finds himself stranded on the island of Isla De Sangre where he's rescued by the local natives and brought to. Dr. Charles Girard's, Francis Lederer, seaside home to be nursed back to health. It's there that Fitzgerald finds out that the doc's wife the stunningly beautiful blond Frances, the former Miss. Denmark Greta Thyssen,is bored as hell in her obsessed husband's experiments in jump starting the evolution of the species! Who was more turned on and interested in his mad experiments then in her. What Dr. Girard is trying to create is the perfect man and do it by speeding up the evolutionary process by a few months then the usual thousand or millions of years that evolution takes to do it.
There's also Dr. Girard's assistant Walter, Oscar Kesse, who's got his eyes more on Frances then the Doc's experiments. It's the horny Walter who want's to experiment, if you know what I mean, with her more then with the creatures that the Doc is working on. What Dr. Girard is trying to create is what looks like a cat-man in a mummy costume that will, in his deranged mind, advance the human race some thousands of years into the future in both intelligence and creativity! What a nut job!
***SPOILERS*** As it turns out it's the hero of the movie William Fitzgerald who sees through Dr. Girard's insanity who secretly plans to escape from the island and take Frances along with him who had since fallen heads over heels in love with him. It's when the cat-man escapes and kills a number of people, including Walter, on the island Dr. Girard thinking that he's his friend and won't hurt him, here kitty kitty kitty, ends up getting clawed and thrown to his death by it who's by now sick and tired, now being a free man or cat, of being experimented on by him.***MAJOR SPOILER*** Now free to leave the island Fitzgerald and Frances are shocked to find out that the only boat to escape left on the island was commandeered by the cat-man himself despite having been shot a number of times. At the conclusion of the film we see cat-man sailing into the sunset leaving the two behind to meet the fate that awaits them! -
raegan_butcher18 May 2006I saw this a few times as a young child (thanks, KSTW in Washington!) and it always stayed in my mind and lo and behold, after recently watching it again (thanks, MOVIE MADNESS in Portland!) I must say that it holds up remarkably well; the things that stood out in my childhood memories are still pretty potent; for a film almost a half century old the monster make-up effects and the creature's attacks are surprisingly well handled. The performances, too, surprised me by their contemporary tone, especially good was Francis Lederer as the strangely sympathetic mad scientist. The creature is a well-drawn movie monster; more suffering animal than murdering beast, it always had my sympathy--at least this time around. The images of it skulking about in its mummy-like bandages remain pretty evocative. The one drawback is the films poky pace--i could have done with much less of the domestic dramas around the hut and more of the monster, but that is a small quibble; overall, Terror Is a Man is a forgotten gem.
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JHC325 December 1999The lone survivor of the sinking of the "Pedro Queen," William Fitzgerald (Derr) washes ashore on a remote Pacific island one thousand miles off the coast of Peru. He is taken in by Dr. Girard (Lederer) and his wife, Frances (Thyssen). Fitzgerald soon learns that the doctor is conducting unusual medical experiments the island, assisted by his wife, who is a nurse, and a few servants. Shortly after Fitzgerald's arrival, he learns that a "panther" is loose on the island and has even killed people. He is puzzled when he learns that the native villagers have fled the island, allegedly because they fear what the doctor might be doing. The mystery deepens when Fitzgerald starts investigating the mystery of the doctor and the creature he is working on.
"Terror is a Man" is an uncredited adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel "The Island of Doctor Moreau." Whereas the classic 1932 version "Island of Lost Souls" and the 1977 version "The Island of Dr. Moreau" both feature large numbers of "manimals," this film has only one. By excising these creatures, the film loses the interesting cultural aspects of the manimal society and lacks, among other things, the key character known as the Sayer of the Law. The creature in this one is the tormented victim of doctor and is abused by the servant Walter (Oscar Keesee). Despite the differences between this version and the two better known adaptations mentioned above, this film is reasonably well made though somewhat slow-paced. Dedicated horror film fans should probably give this one a chance. -
1959's "Terror Is a Man" was the very first Filipino horror title issued in the US (eventually rereleased as "Blood Creature," the word blood seemingly an obsession with that country's efforts), and set on Isla de Sangre, some 9 years before John Ashley would make Blood Island famous with the trilogy "Brides of Blood," "Mad Doctor of Blood Island," and "Beast of Blood." Directors Gerry De Leon and Eddie Romero were also involved in titles like "The Blood Drinkers," "Blood of the Vampires," "Beast of the Yellow Night," "The Woman Hunt," "The Twilight People," and "Beyond Atlantis." As an early example of Philippine terror, it's generally more atmospheric in black and white, and benefits from the final screen performance of Francis Lederer ("The Return of Dracula"), who plays the mad scientist Charles Girard not as a raving lunatic but an even tempered surgeon who believes in what he's doing on Blood Island, here located roughly 100 miles off the coast of Peru. Though clearly inspired by the H.G. Wells novel "The Island of Dr. Moreau" there is only one creation, a panther being slowly transformed into a man, periodically escaping to ravage the local village until everyone paddles away leaving only the inhabitants of the Girard home to fend for themselves. Greta Thyssen ("Journey to the Seventh Planet") plays the doctor's nurse/wife, Richard Derr the lone survivor of a shipwreck, basically present as a crutch for the lonely wife, offering no resistance to the experiment until the very end. Like the later titles the makeup is quite good though mostly kept in shadow, the creature bandaged like a walking mummy with its facial characteristics still that of a panther. Were it not lacking in incident it might have been a classic but the slack pacing offsets good work from its small cast, the posters comparing it to both "Frankenstein" and "Dracula" (copied fairly closely for Hammer's "The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb"). There was a William Castle-type gimmick on its original release, a warning bell sounding before its most shocking scenes, though on television it only goes off once for a single surgical incision, hardly in the same league as "Eyes Without a Face."
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Mikel323 June 2011This film can best be described as slow moving and depressing. On the plus side It does have decent acting, quirky characters and a curvaceous 1950s blonde.
The story itself is about a skilled surgeon living on a lonely tropical Island. One of those deserted islands that some how manage to have a huge fortress like house built on them. He lives there with just his wife (the blonde), an assistant, and a few natives for servants (a young woman and her little brother). The other natives have left the island due to the doctors experiments, others have been killed. One day the lone survivor of a shipwreck washes up on their shore. He is told they have no contact with civilization. A ship comes only four times a year to deliver supplies. He will need to wait another two months for the ship. Since he is trapped there he eventually becomes the love interest for the wife. Her husband, the doctor, is to busy with his experiments to give her the attentions she craves. It seems that the Doc received his degree from the Dr. Moreau School of Mad Medicine. He has found a way to transform an animal into a creature resembling a man. In this case he has chosen an unfortunate panther for the subject of his experiments. Of course he makes it clear he's doing this not for his own sick reasons but, "for the benefit of all mankind". Yes, that standard mad Dr. excuse pops up once again. Evidently there are not enough of us humans on this earth arriving the old fashion way, this guy want's to turn animals into men too. Basically it's a rip off of H.G. Wells' 'The Island of Dr. Moreau'. here with just one animal being transformed, a slightly different story and a blonde adulteress wife. My guess is the story had just enough changes so the producers could not to be sued but the H.G. Wells estate.
There is one 'William Castle like' fun gimmick in the film. At the beginning a warning from the management appears saying that one scene is so frightening that a bell will ring to warn the squeamish when to close there eyes. About three quarters of the way into the film I had forgotten this and heard a sound like an old phone ringing. I thought a phone was ringing in the movie and wondered why nobody answered it. A phone on a deserted island with no way to contact the outside world ? Then I realized this must be the warning signal ! I waited for the scary scene I was warned of. After about two minutes, I realized that a short close up of a surgical incision being made must have been what the warning was for. I hardly even noticed the scene ! In today's world you would see ten times worse on just about any crime show autopsy scene like on NCIS. How times have changed and how jaded we have become to this sort of thing since the innocence of the 1950s.
I spent most of the movie rooting for the poor panther to get his revenge and not really caring about the rest of the characters. I almost dosed off a few times waiting for the predictable ending. My advice is to skip this one and use the time instead to watch the classic 1932 'Island of Lost Souls'. -
ryan-1007512 June 2020A stranded boat is found by Dr. Charles Girard (Francis Lederer) which has the unconscious American man William Fitzgerald (Richard Derr). Soon after his recovery Fitzgerald is now the guest of the Doctor and his wife Frances (Greta Thyssen) which he gets a growing interest in. The Doctor is working on transforming a panther into a human-like creature in this very 50s-styled story. Of course things go awry and the beast is killing people.
This horror film that was filmed in the Philippines is I think well directed by Gerardo de Leon and acted by the three main leads. Ended up seeing I believe a remastered version on Prime and it has some beautiful clarity. But, it has some problems such as the build-up to the film is quite slow and talky. In addition the effects just aren't up to the level they need to be. The third act works the best, but does not make up for earlier shortcomings with the film.
Do love the warning at the beginning of the film though when you are told to close your eyes when you hear a bell ring. You can then reopen them after the second bell rings due to graphic content. Followed by four sequels. -
davidcarniglia25 April 2019Got to like the admittedly derivative premise. Actually, the concept of a mad scientist working on a monster in an isolated setting isn't unique to Dr. Moreau. It's the basic plot of many horror movies/stories. Islands and their natives are suitably interchangeable with castles and villagers. No sooner are we introduced to the island than we get a peek at the monster. Also, the shipwrecked inquisitive 'outsider' Fitzgerald (Richard Derr) kick-starts the plot.
A key feature of this sort of movie is the scientist's role; is he merely evil, deranged, or some creepy combination? This guy, Dr. Girard (Francis Lederer), is neither. He's an apparently decent guy who gets in over his head (ok, obsessed) with ye olde de luxe science kit, enabling him to "alter certain functions" of an unlucky panther. Fitzgerald soon sneaks a look at the lab; finding Girard and his wife Frances (Greta Thyssen) giving the panther-man a tune-up. Another mad scientist movie plot device is employed here: the 'outsider' trying to get the unwilling/frightened scientist's helper/spouse to turn the tables. Then there's the 'loose-cannon' underling guy Walter (Oscar Perrera) who's stuck with Girard, but feels marginalized and is somewhat envious and disdainful. He's got his own angle on Frances.
It's kind of odd that Fitzgerald accepts all of this Dr. Frankenstein stuff for almost the entire movie, as though Girard were talking about tadpoles or fossils. Fitzgerald even knows that villagers have been killed by the monster. He seems much more interested in Frances than anything else. There's almost enough here for an actual romantic melodrama; but none of the seduction subplot really adds to the main plot. It's not long before Girard is showing off the monster to Fitzgerald, to the point of enlisting his assistance. That makes all the major characters compromised. We see that Walter is the 'real' bad guy: he's not just hustling Frances and bad-mouthing the others, but makes the cardinal sin of getting the monster mad at him. Of course, he can't hold a candle to the monster's Frankenstein-ish blend of strength and innocence; so he holds a torch to it.
That sequence begins with yet another device of the genre: beauty protected by the beast. Now, pretty much scraping the bottom of the Pandora's Box of cliches, we get some world domination junk from Girard--the 'race of superior men' deal; "not for myself, for...humanity." Although most of the sci-fi and mad scientist genre elements blend in pretty well, it's straining suspension of disbelief too far to credit an ambition of more than local significance. Referring back to the 'historical' mythic vampire, their habitat is specific--to the extent of packing a little local sod to keep things homey while abroad. There is the more modern trend, though, for the monsters/creatures to invest every nook and cranny of earth (I.e., Invasion Of The Body Snatchers). Here, there's just one mutant/monster, but he does get wanderlust.
The monster itself isn't too badly done; but he has less visual impact than he could have, since he's usually in pre-op or post-op bandages. More of a mummy than anything else. I thought the ending worked--the panther-man wants to escape with Frances, failing that, he actually does escape. That's different. Complicit with the monster's still-intact naive reputation (murders notwithstanding), the kid on the beach actually helps him into the boat. I kind of hoped Walter would get it and not Girard--makes you wonder then who's going to 'get' the suddenly-widowed Frances.
Terror Is A Man satisfies in a primordial sense, like reading a cereal box with your midnight snack. 5/10. -
H. G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau gets the unofficial z-grade Filipino treatment, the miniscule budget stretching to one creature: a cat-man (Flory Carlos) clad in bandages, his furry face only fleetingly seen in the final reel.
The film opens as shipwreck survivor William Fitzgerald (Richard Derr) is washed up on Blood Island, a thousand miles off the coast of Peru. He is nursed back to health by Dr. Charles Girard (Francis Lederer), a scientist who has been conducting experiments designed to give evolution a helping hand, his cat-man creature the result of two years work. Although he has successfully transformed a panther into a man, Girard has been unable to isolate and remove the instinct to kill, which is a big problem since the creature is prone to escaping. Meanwhile, Fitzgerald takes a fancy to the doctor's sexy blonde wife Frances (Greta Thyssen) and thinks that they would both be better off if they left the island pronto.
According to the opening scrawl, Terror Is A Man contains scenes so shocking that a warning bell has been included to tell the squeamish and the faint-hearted when to close their eyes; I don't recall hearing any bell, nor did I see anything that would warrant me diverting my gaze. What the warning should have said was that there are scenes so slow, uneventful and derivative that there is the distinct possibility of the viewer falling asleep.
Things do admittedly pick up a bit in the final act, with the creature going on the rampage, killing pretty native islander Selene (Lilia Duran), but carrying off Frances (cat-men prefer blondes, it would seem), hotly pursued by Girard and Fitzgerald. The ending sees the creation turning on his master, the cat-man throwing Girard off a cliff (the unconvincing dummy used will no doubt cause a few giggles).
4/10. -
"Terror is a Man" is a very, very low-budget film but despite this it's still a pretty good version of the classic H.G. Wells story "The Island of Lost Souls". So, despite being made in the Philippines, having a MOSTLY unknown cast and a relatively cheesy creature, the film was deftly made and featured a nice appearance by Francis Lederer as the mad doctor.
The film begins with a man in a lifeboat washing up on the shores of a mostly deserted island in the Pacific. He soon learns that only about a half dozen people live there and they all work for a weirdo doctor who is doing weird experiments. What, exactly, this experiment is doesn't become apparent until later, when you learn the crazy guy is trying to 'evolve' creatures into human form. What this really means are 50 or more surgeries that cause excruciating pain for the poor creature--all in the name of 'science'.
Unlike the original tale, there is only the one creature and there's a romance tossed in to boot. But, good suspense, acting and a credible explanation for why you don't see much of the creature all work to make a spooky and worthy horror film.
By the way, I did have one question that I thought of while watching the film. If the folks have been on this island for two years, how does the Doctor's wife have a perm?! -
whpratt19 February 2009This is a story about a scientist who lives on a remote island with his attractive wife and they thought this island would be a paradise for the both of them and it was for about two years.
The doctor had made some experiments on a human being and transformed this creature into a wild animal who obeyed him and his wife. However, a ship wrecked stranger appears on the island and he becomes quite involved with the doctor and also his sexy wife.
After a few months the village people all decide to leave this island because of so many deaths which are happening. The blonde wife asks the stranger to leave the island with her after he tells her he is in love with her.
Entertaining film, but rather boring considering it was on a B Budget. -
boblipton24 April 2019It's yet another version of H.G. Wells' THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU, shot as a Phillippine-American co-production. Francis Lederer is the mad doctor who is trying to evolve animals faster than nature can; Greta Thyssen is his hot blonde wife, because when a mad scientist marries, it's always a hot chick, so that the rugged hero, here Richard Derr, can tempt her. That is, I suppose, because people don't care what happens to animals unless it involves gene-splicing, but the hot wife considering cheating on her husband with a hunky stranger.... yowza!
Although the 'monster' here is a transmuted panther, who winds up looking like a buff furry in mummy wrappings, isn't given much screen time, but there is an air of humanism in the story, a sense that animals should be treated better, and that's a good thing. Also, the photography is excellent, barring a mismatched day-for-night sequence near the end. Credit Emmanuel I. Rojas, who worked in a lot of Phillippine co-productions from 1951 through his death at age 57 in 1968. -
scsu197514 November 2022Surprisingly decent version of "The Island of Dr. Moreau," less Moreau, plus a gorgeous blonde.
Richard Derr washes up on an island (much like his career did), where Francis Lederer is doing strange experiments, aided by his luscious wife, Danish beauty Greta Thyssen. Say, ever notice that the scientist's wife never looks like Minerva Urecal? Anyway, Lederer is trying to turn a panther into a man - so I guess that would make it a "manther," which is how someone with a lisp would say "manster" - but that's another film. Derr wastes little time sticking his nose into Lederer's business and putting the moves on Thyssen. She rebuffs him, saying "I'm not lonely.
I'm frightened." Trust me folks, she will cave. Eventually, the manther escapes, causes some mayhem, and the end credits come on.
If you can put up with the non-action for the first half of the movie, it does get better. Lederer is good, and is not your typical mad scientist. In fact, he shows compassion for his creation. Derr is okay, but you can see why he never became a household name. Thyssen is pretty good in some scenes, less so in others. She does have some talent, but then again, I wasn't tuned in to see her act. -
ferbs546 December 2007"Terror Is a Man" (1959) is perhaps more well known for its status as the first Filipino horror film, rather than for its own fine merits. That's a real shame, as it turns out to be an extremely well done take on H.G. Wells' "The Island of Dr. Moreau," but with unique slants all its own. Here, the marooned sailor is played by the likable Richard Derr (who sci-fi fans may remember from 1951's "When Worlds Collide") and the not-so-mad surgeon/scientist by Francis Lederer. The doctor has a hotty wife in this version of the story, and she is played by Greta Thyssen (Miss Denmark, 1954), shown to good advantage in negligee and bathing suit in several steamy scenes. (She really does put the "thigh" in "Thyssen," lemme tell you!) In addition to uniformly fine, no-nonsense acting, the film boasts beautiful B&W photography (nicely presented on this clean and crisp-looking DVD), eerie and suspenseful music, stylish direction, and a unique-looking monster that is unfortunately (and literally) kept under wraps until the denouement. The film gives us some interesting speculations on just what makes a man a man, and is really quite intelligent and restrained throughout. A warning bell alerts the audience to a shocking scene (a close-up of a surgical incision) that should gross out only the most squeamish of viewers. My only problem with this DVD, really, was the fluctuating sound quality. But that should not deter viewers from checking out this most interesting horror tale. It's a winner.
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Terror Is A Man (1959) seems to have been influenced by H.G. Wells novel,"The Island of Doctor Moreau." Unlike the latter story, in "Terror is a Man" there is only one single victim of scientific experimentation. We therefore don't have a sense of any kind of society being developed among a collection of new beings. We are left with a creature who is a victim we can feel sympathy for but one that appears to behave like the creatures we are familiar with in "Frankenstein" and "The Mummy."
The fine direction, camera work, music score and black and white photography combine to create an eerie and suspenseful mood and oppressive atmosphere. This serves to prevent the film from becoming too dull as the creature is kept lurking in the background for much of the running time.
The script contains some interesting debates and discussions between Girard and Fitzgerald about the doctor's project and its implications.
The stand-out performance would have to go to Francis Lederer who plays the role of scientist Charles Girard. He is not your usual stereotypical mad-scientist but instead he comes across as a calm, reasonable and even-tempered surgeon who believes in what he's doing. -
JoeB1316 February 2024So this is an adaptation of The Island of Dr. Moreau, so loose that they had to change the names of the characters. So your typical, not violating someone else's copyright mad scientist is trying to advance evolution through surgery. Unlike the other versions, the doctor only can afford one abomination of nature instead of dozens.
Also doesn't have a love story with a panther girl shoe-horned in. Instead, it has an affair with the mad scientist's unhappy wife.
Where the movie really falls down is the monster, as they hid it until the last possible minute, and it just doesn't look that impressive. Unlike the classic 1933 version or the off the rails 1996 version (Which is so bad it's good), the scientist is just boring.