Dr. Moreau's House of Pain (2004 Video) User Reviews (18)

This is a fairly average addition to the horror genre that could have been better but is still worth a viewing

[kevin_robbins · 5/10 · 23 February 2022]

Dr. Moreau's House of Pain (2004) is a Full Moon Feature I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows a man looking for his brother who stumbles onto a clinic where human and animal DNA is getting mixed to create new creations. Once the young man stumbles into the clinic will he ever be able to get out?

This movie is directed by Charles Band (Puppet Master) and stars John Patrick Jordan (Them), Jessica Lancaster (The Forgotten), Peter Donald Badalamenti II (Bad Boys II), Lorielle New (Farewell, My Love) and Debra Mayer (Blood Dolls).

The storyline and era this takes place in had a lot of potential. The makeup and masks were excellent but the acting wasn't. The opening strip club scene and cat/human creature were gold, even if the cat's sex scenes were just okay. The soundtrack was very good also. There was some good kill scenes and gore sprinkled in throughout the movie.

Overall this is a fairly average addition to the horror genre that could have been better but is still worth a viewing. I would score this a 5/10 and recommend seeing it once.

More cheap crap from Charl s Band.

[poolandrews · 3/10 · 30 January 2010]

Dr. Moreau's House of Pain is set in the 40's where boxer Eric Carson (John Patrick Jordan) is searching for his brother Roy who has mysteriously disappeared, Eric traces Roy last known sighting to a seedy strip bar & is told Roy was last seen with exotic dancer Alliana (Lorielle New) & Eric decides to confront her. However Eric sees Alliana kill a man in an alley & instead decides to follow her along with a newspaper reporters named Mary Anne (Debra Mayer) & Judith (Jessica Lancaster), Alliana drives to a disused sanatorium & while following her Mary Anne is kidnapped by a mutant creature. Eric & Judith try to find Mary Anne but only end up imprisoned themselves by several half human half animal mutants created by the sadistic Dr. Moreau (Jacob Witkin) who has been carrying out gruesome experiments in order to create a perfect half human half animal hybrid & he is always on the look out for fresh victims to experiment on...

Directed by legendary low budget film maker Charles Band this has nothing to do with classic novel by H.G. Wells other than call an evil scientist Dr. Moreau & feature some manimals, overall this is a pretty poor effort in terms of plot but it is quite well made although I am not sure if that's much of a trade-off. The script was obviously based around the fact the production had no money & sets 90% of it in a few rooms & corridors with a very small cast too, the story doesn't grab you & there's no real build up to the revelation of the manimals & if you think about it for any length of time it all falls apart. At just over 70 odd minutes in length it's short but I did think it dragged at times & when your film is only 70 odd minutes long the one thing it shouldn't do is drag. The character's are bland & it's unclear what the ultimate purpose of Dr Moreau's experiments are, the dialogue is average & not enough happens really, the house of pain part of the title also might be rather misleading as this is quite tame.

The manimal make-up effects are quite poor, it's too obvious that the actor's are wearing cheap face mask's especially the half man half pig manimal. There are one or two moments of gore, a fist is punched through someones head, there's a slashed open stomach, a slit throat & some blood splatter but not much else. There isn't even much nudity as only one woman gets her kit off & even she isn't that attractive. The one thing that does stand out here is the colourful photography by Mac Ahlberg who photographed most of Band's better films during his Empire Pictures days, while most of the scene remains dark people's clothes or light sources are bright neon colours which looks quite cool actually at times. There's a nod to Re-Animator (1985) as bright green liquid is syringes are seen & that fire axe on the back of that door which never gets used looks very much like the one used at the end of Re-Animator...

With a supposed budget of about $300,000 effort was obviously put into the look of Dr. Moreau's House of Pain but that sort of effort is sorely lacking in just about every other department & never rises above average. The acting is forgettable, the plodding dialogue doesn't do anyone anyone any favours though.

Dr. Moreau's House of Pain looks alright but the film feels padded at even 70 odd minutes as various little things happen to merely fill the time it seems, it looks quite nice I suppose but that's about the best I can say for it. Watch the original The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977) again instead.

Catwoman in heat

[Dr. Gore · 30 June 2004]

*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*

This one was love at first sight. I saw some sort of humanoid pig creature holding a knife on the front of the video box. He made me look closer. The title took it over the top. There was no way I was going to miss a potential classic piece of B-cinema called "Dr. Moreau's House of Pain". This party had to happen. So I rented it.

A guy and two girls decide to tail a wild blonde. They're after a big story or something. Anyway, they all end up at the "House of Pain". It seems the good doctor has been experimenting with animal and people parts to make "Manimals". He's pleased to find some fresh meat thrown his way. He's already created Pigboy, Dogface and Catwoman. Pigboy and Dogface are the muscle and Catwoman is the sex bomb. He throws the guy to his horny pussycat and wants the ladies to help placate his other beasts.

Catwoman, (Loriele New), makes this party happen. She is dedicated to B-movie perfection. While the other women shamelessly kept their clothes on, Loriele got down to business. She was either naked or lounging around in her underwear throughout the entire movie. I'm not exaggerating. She was a wild woman. Grrrr...Loved it.

"Dr Moreau's House of Pain" is a pretty decent B-flick. Everybody ends up at the House of Pain and the blood and guts start flowing. I enjoyed myself.

Even worse than the Marlon Brando version

[JoeB131 · 2/10 · 12 October 2023]

So this movie is about a boxer who teams up with two women to find his missing brother, only to wonder into the eponymous Doctor's lair. Except in this case, the monsters have taken the doctor hostage and are forcing him to try to "cure" them of being monsters.

The makeup effects are good, but it's let down by a weak story and Band's insistence in putting nude scenes into a movie that probably didn't need them. Seriously, Chuck, just direct some porn films, everyone will be happier.

The problem with this movie is that it borrows the concept from the HG Wells classic. But the Wells version didn't turn men into animals, it turned animals into people.

The setting is in the 1940's, but they didn't have the money to do an actual period piece, so you get modern actors imitating bad film noir.

i'd rather eat poo

[mkruis1 · 1/10 · 6 April 2007]

worst movie i ever saw. period. i am not kidding around here. i bought the movie used because i figured a movie with a pig-man on the cover had to be hilariously bad. me and some friends tried watching it but everything about the movie was so terrible we had to turn it off. the acting was poor at best. the characters were morons. (who would have sex with a pig man and expect it to keep a promise of freedom?) the monsters were inconsistent, in one shot it would be covered in slime-garbage and the next it would be dry. i actually had to force myself at a later time to watch the whole thing just to see how bad it was. i actually felt sick after watching this movie which has never before or since happened. this DVD became a thing we would trick people into getting it among me and my friends, i hid it in a big stuffed animal, sewed it back up and gave the stuffed animal to a friend. after awhile he discovered what i had done when i began to hint at it. he tried to get a family member to wrap it up and give it to me for xmas but my brother discovered the plot due to carelessness of my mother so my friend drove past another friends house and threw it on his lawn. it got back to my first friend somehow and he threw it in the trash, right were this movie belongs.

Did I see the same movie?

[boristheblade7 · 1/10 · 6 April 2007]

I cannot imagine how any sane human being could enjoy this film. Its insane crappiness induces vomiting. A man with giant knees would make more sense than the monsters in this film. Don't get me wrong, I like my share of cheesy movies, but this one was just too awful even for me. I watched this movie hoping for a fun and amusing horror flick. What I received was one of the worst moments in my life. At one point during the movie I convinced myself that if the movie did not end in less than 10 minutes, i would jam a fork in my eye. I urge anyone who finds this film on a store shelf to buy it, break it into 1000 tiny pieces, and scatter them across the ocean. If not for me, do it for the children.

A dog of a movie

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 1 February 2019]

DR MOREAU'S HOUSE OF PAIN is another slice of indescribably awful nonsense from director Charles Band. It's posited as a loose sequel to THE ISLAND OF DR MOREAU, with our mad scientist reduced to carrying out experiments in a dingy basement. The attention to period detail is laughable, the "horror" content is limited to overactors running around in awful latex masks, and the slapdash sex and gore added to the mix displays zero creativity. It's a dog, in other words.

Worst movie ever

[Mrpopo-1 · 1/10 · 25 November 2007]

you know a movie is bad when the beginning credits are made using Windows Movie Maker software. The make up was horrible the acting was worse. My girlfriend bought it used so i wasn't too upset besides i like watching semi-bad horror movies so that i can have a little laugh, but this movie was so bad that it became frustrating. I think the movie was supposed to take place in the 30's but for some reason you really cant even tell. They should make murderers and rapist watch this movie everyday in prison as a punishment. Well at least they have stores that let you trade movies. Im just surprised that they would even give me store credit for this crap.

10 stars?????? No!! Negative 10 stars. And that is still too many!

[alex_l_johnston · 1/10 · 19 April 2007]

What would even compel some of you to think that this movie deserves A star let alone 10?!?!??! Did you actually watch this movie?!?!?!?! The "MANIMALS (a scrape for an idea in my opinion)" want to reproduce with the girl and take over the world?!?!?!?! The kids were dumb enough to go into the mansion when of course they were blatantly told not to?!?! Even the person who got mutilated on a table only for the table to be completely void of blood and guts not even two full frames later!?!?!? PLEASE, this movie sucks so badly I had to be reminded that I actually watched it. The MANIMALS?!?!?!? MANIMALS!?!?! YOU WERE "MOVED" BY THIS?!?!? Please tell me that is a joke, the only reason I cried is because I had no choice in turning it off and burning this movie in a fireplace immediately. DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE!!! You'd have more enjoyment playing with a brick.

Quality low-budget horror.

[joelgriggs · 8/10 · 8 December 2007]

Brisk/credible script, the small cast give good performances and the prosthetics and photography work well too. I picked this up for a £1, so expectations weren't exactly sky-high and the Full Moon logo can sometimes spell 'AVOID', - I was very pleasantly surprised. Earl Kenton did a great job with the script, and recognised the budget limitations his story would work within. He has created a small, dark and believable realm. All the actors, (particularly Jacob Witkin and Lorielle New) give very watchable interpretations and transcend the usual standard of performance you expect from this type of film. 'House of Pain' reminded me of two other great films - Stuart Gordon's classic 'Dagon', and the recent remake of 'She Creature'. Good stuff.

Nice Surprise.

[rube2424 · 7/10 · 29 August 2004]

Director Charles Band has pulled off a terrific bit of sleight of hand in Dr. Moreau's House of Pain. Yes there are Pig People, guts and gore, lots of nudity etc., etc., but what makes this little film special is that Band has made a terrific homage to the film noir films of the forties. Color, (did he use technicolor? the color is perfect), costumes, hair styles and dialogue are all out of 1947, and the actors play their parts as though they were Alan Ladd, Gail Russell and Lizabeth Scott! The premise is silly in this the what, fourth go-round of a Dr.Moreau film, but the execution, (no pun intended), is really top notch and on a par with much more expensive films.

Congrats Charles Band and all who worked on this film. Not to sound too 1940's, but you all did a "swell" job!

A very well made, interesting movie...

[blairmonster · 17 August 2009]

If your goal is to rent something bad and critique it then go find a TROMA film and have at it! If, on the other hand you like being pleasantly surprised at what can be done on a low budget then this film is an excellent example.

Charles Band is- an inconsistent director. Some of the films he's done are crap but others are Brilliant and explain his high status in the industry. Dr. Moraeu's House of Pancakes is a very watchable very enjoyable film with better than average Make-up fx and NO CG! not any to speak of anyway. The Make-up effects while conceived by old favorite John Buechler are fleshy and visceral and more than competently done by Veteran Bruce Barlow considering the budget and shooting schedule. Sets and art direction are key to what make this such a fun watchable movie and Mac Ahlberg's lighting and photography bring this to the caliber of many of it's bigger budgeted rivals. Judge for yourself!

THIS IS NOT A MAD HOUSE

[nogodnomasters · 8/10 · 24 April 2019]

The film unofficially follows a sequence to THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU. Boxer Eric "Kid" Carson (John Patrick Jordan) along with two female tabloid reporters are looking for his missing brother Roy. The trail takes them to an abandoned sanitarium where they are taken captive by strange experimental creatures who also keep their doctor (Jacob Witkin) captive.

The film is cheesy. It takes place in the early fifties or so and was done gumshoe style with interesting backdrop lighting. Plot wasn't that great. Not a film for everyone.

Guide: F-bomb, sex, FF nudity ( Lorielle New)

A return to glory?

[jluis1984 · 7/10 · 23 January 2006]

Director Charles Band has walked a long way on the hard road of independent horror film-making. He has given us as many good movies as he has done awful ones, but the only thing sure in his work is that he is completely dedicated to the genre he loves.

With that said I must start saying that I was not expecting much of this movie, not only because of Band's uneven record, the main problem Full Moon has had in the last years has been the unbelievably low budget they use. I was expecting something really awful considering that the movie was loosely based in the really SFX-demanding novel "Island of Dr. Moreau" by H.G. Wells. I was really wrong.

Set around the 30s (the exact date is never given), the plot follows Eric Carson (John Patrick Jordan), a low profile boxer who is looking for his missing brother. In his quest he is joined by his brother's lover Judith(Jessica Lancaster) and their friend Mary Anne (Debra Mayer), who is a reporter always searching for the next exclusive. While following a clue in a bar, they get involved with a stripper named Alliana (Loriele New) who lures them to an abandoned Asylum. They will find Dr. Moreau (Jacob Witkin) and his collection of the creatures he calls "Manimals".

The most amazing feature of the film is the way it handled the budget to make the film REALLY look like it's set in the 30s. Band outdid himself this time as he really cared about things like scenery, music and props. He even recreated the look of film noir. The lighting and editing of the film is superb. I dare to say that it is among the best movies Band has directed, technically speaking.

The Make-Up for the Manimals and the overall SFX are a bit bad, but the story makes up for it; the script is surprisingly good and the characters are quite developed which is a good change from typical B-Movies.

The acting is above average, and while John Patrick Jordan struggles at times, the rest of the cast makes a good job, particularly Peter D. Badalamenti II as rebel Manimal Gallagher. Lorielle New as the sexy Alliene has good scenes, and shows plenty of nudity, for those interested.

Overall it was a good movie that was hurt hard by its lack of budget, nevertheless Charles Band proves that when he wants it, he still can make a good movie once or twice. 7/10. Nice Surprise indeed.

Breasts and beasts

[smellthecult-com-1 · 6/10 · 24 January 2010]

You know, I had a dream a while back in which I opined the paucity of movies featuring bare breasts and half human, half pig hybrids. "Why oh why oh why," I cried, "Can we not see more breasts and pig men?" Well, fear not my fellow brutarians, Dr Moreau is here to answer all of our prayers.

Directed by Charles Band, he of low budget horror legend status, unhealthy obsessed by killer doll movies (Blood Dolls, Puppet Master, Dollman vs. Demonic Toys) here he takes a stab at the film noir genre, bringing us a tale of human / animal experimentation in Prohibition era America.

All the noir trappings are there: smoky streets, illuminated only by atmospheric streetlamps, wiseguys in brimmed hats, broads in fur coats and shawls with cigarette holders stuck between their well rouged lips, and automobiles relevant to the period and, it must be stressed, for a low budget movie he does a remarkable job of 'placing' the movie.

Whilst the plot is a fairly silly one, involving a young man searching for his brother who went to Dr. Moreau for treatment and was transformed into half man, half big cat, the trappings surrounding it work very well.

Whilst hardly Orwellian, the script is nevertheless effective enough, and the acting more than passable.

So, if you, like me, find yourself yearning for those hybrids anytime soon, you could do worse than check this out

what were they thinking?

[andrewpgillies · 11 November 2011]

As I said to the person I watched this film with at 3 am on the Horror Channel, 'I hope the one guy getting his jollies to this film is enjoying it, because there has clearly been some money thrown at this film!'

I am amazed that enough people who were competent to make a medium budget movie thought that this film was a good idea.

I can't believe that actual legal tender was thrown at something that, surely, only about 100 people worldwide would find erotic.

Of all of the films of the 1940's, I don't think that there could have been a worse choice for porno adaptation, this era of filmmaking is ripe for pornographic-plundering;

Assablanca? That could work.

A Beef Encounter, the plot just writes itself!

A version of The Stranger where Orson Welles sits on his hand for half an hour prior to visiting Rosie Palm and her five lovely daughters? A bit niche, but surely it has broader appeal than this?

Honestly, if I had $300,000 riding on people being turned on by my adaptation of a movie, you can be damn sure that I wouldn't gamble on people being turned on by cheap looking manimals, and (SPOILER ALERT) a lady with the worst fake breasts I have ever seen!

I give it 3 points for being so incredibly stupid that it becomes good!

A generally fun if somewhat flawed adaptation of the story

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 7/10 · 2 October 2022]

Searching for a hot story, a reporter joins a boxer and his girlfriend in searching for a missing friend of theirs and eventually stumbles upon a mysterious doctor harvesting victims for experiments in human/animal hybrids and must try to stop the doctor before they're the next victims.

Overall, this one was much better than expected. What works really well here is the interesting setup which works well enough on its own but has much more to like due to the period setting. That means the start of this one with the reporter looking for the big break and stumbling into the story by following the stranger from the nightclub becomes more intriguing once they find the strange mansion hideout. Offering enough twists through its inclusion of sleazier storytelling but keeping enough points from the classic story from how they stumble into the creatures, this becomes a decent starting point. This setup provides the kind of cheesy creature confrontations not just with the creations but with the doctor. The means of their capture at the mansion and subjection to the preparations that take place focus heavily on the sight and presence of the creatures keeping them in check while trying to figure out the doctors' plans. As this goes on, the finale where the escapes and double-crosses take place which leads to a lot of fun and bloody brawling involving the humans and the mutants left alive which has the advantage not only of the graphic outcomes but the effects work all giving this a cheesy vibe. These features are what manage to make this one enjoyable while there are some issues with this one. The main issue here is the films' penchant for speechifying over graphic creature carnage which causes several side factors to emerge. Not only does that approach keep the energy down and the kills barely noticeable for long stretches of time, but it also means that there are a lot of technical issues with the surgery glossed over so that it never really makes sense how they are preferred or how everything went down in that location undetected. As well, there's also the fact that this leaves us with long, uninterrupted looks at the animal masks being used which really aren't that convincing. These factors are what hold this one back.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Full Nudity, and Sex Scenes.

Pretty Bad Adaptation

[Michael_Elliott · 16 January 2017]

Dr. Moreau's House of Pain (2004)

* (out of 4)

Eric Carson (John Patrick Jordan) goes looking for his brother who has gone missing after visiting Dr. Moreau (Jacob Witkin). Pretty soon he sees the horrible creations caused by the doctor as well as getting lucky with the sexy panther woman (Lorielle New).

DR. MOREAU'S HOUSE OF PAIN is pretty much what you'd expect out of a low-budget movie from Charles Band. If you're familiar with Band's work then you should know what to expect here. You've basically got a very low-budget movie that is "borrowing" from countless other films. Obviously this one here is a take-off on the H.W. Wells but one shouldn't be expecting anything like previous versions of the story.

The film's small budget seems to have had most of the money spent on the actual look of the film. It's quite colorful and I must admit that it looked rather good. The biggest problem with the film is its overall tone, which is just bad and not all that entertaining. Even worse are some of the special effects and the creatures just aren't all that believable. Even worse is that you really just don't care about the lead character, his brother or any of his problems.

I will say that the one saving grace was the performance by New. Obviously she's a very beautiful woman and her nude scenes are a welcome but I thought she was also good in the role.