Island Of Terror (1966) Dir: Terence Fisher

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As I have become more familiar with the entertaining filmography of the iconic Hammer Productions, I have had the opportunity to enjoy a number of classic horrors from a period of cinema that I am a little less well-versed in. It has also introduced me to the wonderful direction of Terence Fisher; the man behind a great many of these classic Hammer horrors, including this strange little creature feature from 1966.

I have discovered a really enjoyable trend with these Hammer horrors, in that they all seem to have the most wonderful set design. No matter what the quality of the rest of the film is like, they never disappoint with the sets. The practical effects were a very mixed bag. I loved how the cadavers turned out, but the creature designs were very silly. The idea behind them was sound enough, but it was so hard to take them seriously. I feel like they could have been scary, or at least closer to it, if they were designed a little differently.

The film would also have benefited from delaying the reveal of the creatures until closer to the end of the film. Having them appear on-screen, and in such prevalent fashion, was a mistake - it took a lot of the tension and seriousness out of the film, although, I will admit, the campiness did still make it entertaining. The first half of the story was very interesting, and the suspense built nicely, up until the aforementioned reveal, in any case. I would say that it was a little frustrating that the characters spent a lot of time discussing what had just been happening, or what they were about to do, because it slowed down the film significantly.

Peter Cushing, who had starred in every classic Hammer horror I had seen to this point, once again featured heavily, and was once again the best actor on-screen. He brought his constant sense of class and character to the screen in abundance, and elevated the picture hugely with his professional and believable acting. I have come to appreciate the man's ability so much more than I already did since I have begun to watch these films. He is a legend of the industry.

In regards to the rest of the cast, Edward Judd stood out the most to me, and quite comfortably so. He was a really solid choice to work alongside Cushing, and the two shared a good degree of chemistry together. Carole Gray and Eddie Byrne also deserved mentions for their memorable supporting roles, as did the pair of Sam Kydd and Niall MacGinnis, albeit to a notably smaller degree.

Overall, much like with 1959's 'The Mummy' I found myself a little divided on my feelings for this film. As much as it has aged poorly, at least as far as its special effects go, I still enjoyed plenty of aspects of it, including the absurd level of campiness it had. It no doubt benefited from the performance of its consumate lead actor, whose unyielding commitment to every role he played elevated the films he appeared in substantially. With that said, this was definitely the weakest Hammer horror I had seen to this point.