ISLAND OF TERROR (1966)

Director: Terence Fisher Screenplay: Edward Mann, Al Ramsen Starring: Peter Cushing, Edward Judd, Carole Gray Runtime: 89 minutes How could they stop the devouring death...that lived by sucking on living human bones!

Terence Fisher is a director rightly beloved by horror fans. Over the course of his career, he helmed 29 Hammer Horror films and played a pivotal role in reshaping the genre throughout the 1950s and 1960s. While the black-and-white era of the Universal Monsters had its own enduring charm, Fisher helped modernise horror by introducing greater violence and a more lurid, colourful edge. He also directed a handful of non-Hammer genre films, though these are generally less celebrated. The Earth Dies Screaming (1964) and Night of the Big Heat (1967) are both fairly drab affairs, but sandwiched between them is a far more entertaining effort: Island of Terror. The film also went by the alternative titles Night of the Silicates and The Night the Creatures Came. Both wonderfully pulpy names, if you ask us.

When a farmer goes missing on a remote island off the east coast of Ireland, his wife calls the cops. Well, cop. It’s a tiny island and there’s only about two there. The local constable finds the farmer dead in a cave, which is bad enough. But to make matters worse (or more bizarre at least), he’s not got a single bone left in his body. He’s just a pile of skin and floppy flesh. The island’s pathologist has no idea what could have caused this so a noted London pathologist called Dr Stanley (played by Peter Cushing) and Dr West, a bone expert (played by Edward Judd) are helicoptered in to see if they can shed any light on this unexplainable death. Oh and West’s jetsetting girlfriend Toni (Carole Gray) comes along for shits and giggs. They soon discover a secluded laboratory on the island – and inside, a bunch of dead peeps in lab coats. And yep, you’ve guessed it…they’ve got no bones either! Turns out these scientists, in their efforts to cure cancer, may have unleashed a new terrifying life force! These bloody scientists never learn do they?!

As mentioned, although this isn’t quite on par with some of Fisher’s Hammer classics, this is a nice leisurely watch. The kind of thing to watch on a relaxed Sunday afternoon. If you don’t like watching middle-aged academics sitting around drinking tea (or Guinness) talking scientific gibberish in pubs and country houses, then this may bore you a wee bit. At one point, the film offers this gloriously absurd exchange:

Dr. Lawrence Phillips: The potential across the cell membrane must be maintained during irradiation of the nucleus. Is the tri-chem stage complete?

Carson: Yes.

Dr. Lawrence Phillips: And the, uh, vapor-applicator?

Carson: It's been corrected. The histo-connect problem has been solved. There shouldn't be any snags.

I love it!

I also just enjoy the general stuffiness of some of these 50s and 60s sci-fi features. There may be unidentified creatures roaming the island, picking people off and sucking their bones but the main players here are all very resolute and strait-laced about it all. When Peter Cushing first sees the crumpled remains of a victim he says ‘that’s not a very pretty sight’. Likewise, when the missing farmer’s wife reports her concerns, she politely arrives at the local constable’s home apologising for the inconvenience before being comforted with a reassuring pot of tea. That’s the tone you’re dealing with here. This sense of formality and the foggy island setting and the accents (some of them are better than others) just make it feel very quaint and British. About ten minutes of this film is people taking off their coats!

This restrained atmosphere contrasts beautifully with the utterly ridiculous creatures themselves - known as “silicates” - which resemble land-based stingrays fitted with Henry Hoover nozzles. And they move pretty bloody slowly. You’d have to be a moron to get caught out by one of these things. Still, by the climax, when much of the island’s population is trapped inside a village hall surrounded by the creatures, they do manage to feel oddly threatening. Just don’t inspect them too closely or you may spot the wheels used to roll them across the floor.

The cast are good company throughout. It’s difficult to imagine many modern films built around three middle-aged men in heavy overcoats methodically investigating strange happenings on a remote island, but that’s very much the appeal here. Eddie Byrne and Edward Judd both acquit themselves well, though Peter Cushing inevitably steals the show simply through sheer charisma and watchability. Carole Gray is entertaining too and, for the most part, avoids the clichéd “hysterical woman” role - although the finale unfortunately reduces her to a rather panicked damsel in distress.

While the film concludes with a satisfyingly upbeat ending, there’s also a delightful sting in the tail involving events in Japan, hinting at the possibility of a sequel. Thankfully, one was never really necessary. Island of Terror works perfectly as it is: a cosy, eccentric slice of British sci-fi horror.