Day 60: The Island of Lost Souls

Another of my journeys in to the past of horror, this little nugget from 1932 slipped in just under the Hayes code and is kind of salacious. Charles Laughton does an amazing job as Dr. Moreau, mad scientist at large who likes to turn animals into people. Bela Lugosi is unrecognizable as a Dog or Wolf man who recites the Law of Moreau on command. Moreau also threatens all his creations with a visit to the House of Pain, which made me think of Jump Around.

The plot is quite compact as a shipwreck survivor finds his way to Moreau's island, allowing the doctor to see if his Panther woman will get the hots for a man who didn't torture her into creation. Sure enough, she does and she seduces our dimwitted hero as he tries to find a way back to his fiance. There is murder, torture, bestiality, the threat of monkey rape and so much more in this movie.

The creatures look great and the effects are subtle but effective. This is just a really well put together example of early horror.