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Island Of Terror [DVD]

Peter Cushing , Edward Judd , Terence Fischer    Suitable for 15 years and over   DVD
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Actors: Peter Cushing, Edward Judd, Carole Gray, Eddie Byrne, Sam Kydd
  • Directors: Terence Fischer
  • Producers: Tom Blakeley
  • Format: PAL
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Simply Home Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: 17 Jan 2005
  • Run Time: 89 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0006ZXMWM
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 97,708 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)

Reviews

Product Description

Peter Cushing stars in this sci-fi thriller directed by Terence Fisher about a cancer research experiment that goes very wrong. An island is taken over by mutant shell-like creatures that suck out the bones of their prey before killing them.


Customer Reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
One of Terence Fisher's lesser-known movies, Island of Terror (1966) was made for Planet Film Productions, a short-lived 1960s' rival to Hammer. Starring Peter Cushing and Edward Judd as scientists investigating a spate of grisly deaths on an isolated Irish island, the film owes more to Nigel Kneale's Quatermass serials and the BBC's Doctor Who than it does to the gothic flamboyance of Fisher's best horror films. A well-plotted and exciting movie, featuring some primitive but gruesome special effects and plenty of wry humour, it also has nice supporting roles for unappreciated British character actors like Niall MacGinnis and Sam Kydd.
This DVD edition of Island of Terror is a pleasant surprise in terms of extras, featuring a theatrical trailer and an in-depth booklet that discusses the making of the movie and the history of the company behind it. It also includes an interview with Christopher Lee (who isn't in the film, by the way), in which he is nominally supposed to be discussing the movies he made with Terence Fisher. Whilst not a total waste of time, the interview does make for a frustrating, slightly embarrassing experience, as Lee continually wanders from the subjects that film writer Marcus Hearn asks him about. For instance, when asked about the Hammer Dracula movies he made with Fisher, Lee dismisses them with a few words and then starts to talk about Jess Franco's atrocious, Spanish-made El Conde Dracula instead, a film he inexplicably prefers. Not for the first time, Lee inadvertently proves that many fans and film writers have a far better knowledge and appreciation of his best work than he does.
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars The Silicates Strike 4 Mar 2005
By Zuran VINE™ VOICE
Format:DVD
Island of Terror is an amusing, if rather shoddy film, about a remote island being threatened by a bunch of bone-sucking creatures caused in error by scientists trying to find a cure for cancer. It's a companion piece to Night of the Big Heat, made by the same company and also available from DD Video. The monsters, called Silicates, resemble bagpipes with a long hose and move at about half a mile an hour. To be frank, they are pretty stupid looking creations and it is noticable how when they fall on bit players, the poor actors have to glasp the creatures to their chests to prevent them falling off.

The colour of DD Video print is a bit faded and there are some splices - although acceptable enough it is clear that this has not been remastered and we are probably seeing the same version that has played on TV several times. The print on view is the UK theatrical release - the American VHS apparently has additional gore footage showing Cushing's severed stump when his hand gets chopped off by an axe.

The extras are a 24 page booklet, which is quite informative about the production, and an 20m interview with Christopher Lee (who doesn't appear in the film). Lee keeps being prompted by the interviewer to talk about director Terence Fisher but frequently rambles off-message and talks about himself instead.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Undeappreciated gem. 16 Aug 2009
By Dave
Format:DVD
Made by obscure British company 'Planet Productions' this great little flick features a grotesque set of creatures to terrorize a high-class cast.

True the 'Silicates' are rather funny looking, like huge rubber cow pats with a vacuum cleaner attachments that they use to grab their victims with, and suffer from the old zombie problem of moving very slowly, but they make for a wonderful sight gliding along in search of food and the manner of death they deal out is so horrible that damaging humour is kept at bay.

There are some great attack sequences as various cast members are digested with nicely disgusting slurping sounds by the creatures whom during one sequence even drop out of the trees! They are a bizarre and wonderfully entertaining creation.

The cast is in top form with Cushing in particular giving us a delightful turn as the pathologist with a welcome streak of gentle humour. It's a role that only Cushing could play with this amount of laid back ease and he is a joy to watch.
Edward Judd is nicely stoic and handles his scenes with Cushing well, showing he was a much-underused actor.

Add to all this a lean and never wasted running time, a suitably manic and funky soundtrack composition plus a typically cynical '60s epilogue and you have a film that should be much more widely known and available.
All hail this DVD release.

In these days where the UK only makes small scale independent, and normally U.S influenced horror films this movie reminds us that Britain once produced some unique and delightfully entertaining genre pieces.

Great fun!

NOTE: The DVD is the uncut UK print and does not feature the (only partially effective) on screen insert of a hand being cut off added for export.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Very good planet production
Planet were rivals to hammer in the 1960's but they didn't last any longer than that, this is a very good film and very similar to another planet production, night of the big... Read more
Published 14 months ago by PD
4.0 out of 5 stars Why do I love this Stuff ?
I have watched this film several times, don't really know why, each time though I have enjoyed it.It's very silly, the silicates are laughable, especially when one drops from a... Read more
Published 15 months ago by T. BARNES
4.0 out of 5 stars Island Of Terror - There's some strange goings on going on on this...
Directed by horror legend Terence Fisher and starring Peter Cushing and Edward Judd, this is a nice little tale of Sci-Fi hokum. Read more
Published on 12 Oct 2009 by Victor
3.0 out of 5 stars Problems with the DVD
I would like to reassure everyone that this a good yarn with all the usual Hammer stars as I've seen it on TV. I wish I could get it on DVD...........

But..... Read more
Published on 24 Sep 2009 by Nigel Short
5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have classic
I don't know how many times I've watched this movie since I recorded it on VHS many years ago. And every time, to me, it is as fresh as the first. Read more
Published on 15 Mar 2009 by Francisco P. Neto
5.0 out of 5 stars If only Peter Cushing could have been on the Special Features
Christopher Lee is excellent as usual,
but he wasn't in this particular film -
Marcus would have been better off tracking down one of the other actors in the movie to... Read more
Published on 25 Nov 2008 by Hammer1
3.0 out of 5 stars cheap but effective sci fi / horror flick.
similar to "night of the big heat" minus the rather annoying romantic subplot.

"island of terror" is certainly the superior film of the two; indeed,it works its way to... Read more
Published on 11 Jun 2006 by Mr. A. E. Ward Davies
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