Crapshoot Cinema: Voodoo Island (1957)
I don’t even know how to start this. Oh wait, yes I do: Boris Karloff is Voodoo Island’s single redeeming feature. Oh, and Adam West makes his movie debut as Weather Station #4 Radio Operator in a very brief scene.
Other than that, what has this movie got? Not much.
When hotel tycoon Howard Carlton tries to establish a new resort on an island in the south Pacific, his location scout, Mitchell comes back comatose. All he does is sit motionless and stare without blinking. So Howard calls in Phillip Knight, an expert on all things mysterious, and after sussing around a bit, Phillip says there’s no better way to find out what spooked Mitchell than going to the source and taking Mitchell with them.
After a few mishaps, Phillip, Howard, Mitchell, Phillip’s assistant, Sara, designer and resident diva Claire, and Howard’s assistant, Barney are off for the south Pacific, where they’re joined by American guides Matthew and Martin, who warn them that Mitchell was at Voodoo Island, a place most people don’t return from.
This only makes the group more eager to get going, never mind that strange things have already been happening. Their plane goes haywire, they find a voodoo bag with death wish charms on board the boat they take to the island, the boat’s engine conks out, and so on.
The island is no picnic either, with various maneating plants and voodoo dolls appearing right when someone’s about to go nuts, so naturally the group starts dying one by one. Or at least they do until they crack the island’s secret.
Again, Voodoo Island doesn’t sport much in the way of thrills and chills. Instead, we’re treated to a lot of sitting around and speculating about what might happen, not to mention there’s plenty of talk about how women can’t possess both above-average intelligence and beauty at the same time. Groan.
The guys change their minds eventually, but everyone’s too busy wondering if they’ll make it off the island so no one seems to really care. It’s not much of a guessing game, either. We hope some characters will get it. Some, like Martin, are inevitable. Martin is played by Elisha Cook, who always seemed to look either uncomfortable or scared out of his wits, so he has to become a zombie. Boris Karloff makes a game effort at a good acting job, but there’s really nothing for him to do.
Problem is, the movie doesn’t lean nearly enough into the zombie thing, and as anyone who’s seen Birdemic 2 can attest, it doesn’t cost much to lurch around and growl. Then again, it is impressive how these zombies can go so long without blinking. The movie’s other problem is geography. Voodoo isn’t a thing in the south Pacific.
Voodoo Island is a movie that wants to be forgotten, although it’s fun to see Boris Karloff and marvel at the very low-energy horror. Or yawn, as the case may be. After that, it’s nothing but meh.
Voodoo Island is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Not rated.
My grade: C-
Principal Cast: Boris Karloff, Beverly Tyler, Murvyn Vye, Elisha Cook, Rhodes Reason, Jean Engstrom, Friedrich von Ledebur, Glenn Dixon, Owen Cunningham, Herbert Patterson, Gerald Frank, Adam West
Directed by Reginald Le Borg.
Written by Richard H. Landau.
"The movie’s other problem is geography. Voodoo isn’t a thing in the south Pacific." The screenwriters confused the south Pacific with the Caribbean, where voodoo IS a big thing.