Rish Outfield's reviews
After enjoying the original attempt at filming H.G. Wells' story, entitled Island of Lost Souls, I immediately went out and got this one. I wanted to see what could be done with the basic story with fifty years of advancements and a lot more money. Unfortunately, this was a mediocre film–surprisingly mediocre. The skeleton of the piece remained the same, but a lot of the details changed, as did any attempts to tell a traditional story in narrative form. This film tried to say a few important and lofty things, and ended up saying nothing.
Does Brando count as a former celebrity? Maybe not. In seeing his stylized performance (oddly reminiscent of that in Apocalypse Now) and understanding none of it, I begin to wonder if Brando indeed wasn't acting, but has lost his mind altogether. Or maybe he's just really, really good at playing a babbling, poetic, sedated, philosophizing madman.
Throughout the film, I kept finding myself asking WHY? Why were there so many long stretches of philosophical but pointless dialogue that really didn't progress the story, only frustrated it? Why didn't the film just come out and say something, instead of leading us through a miasma of disjointed and inexplicable images? Why did Charles Laughton's Dr. Moreau have so much more to say with so fewer words that Marlon Brando's did?
The creatures were brutal and savage, but some were also noble (why, again), only to change without reason into monstrous ones. The violence was toned down, and at least one subplot was obviously lost due to the money-hungry insistence on a PG-13, though that couldn't have saved this film. It was edited in such a way (and it could be the fault of the script, which would make it the fault of the producer for filming it that way) that EVERYONE's behaviour was illogical, not just the animals or the Doctor. I kept wondering, why did they behave the way they did? Why were their actions so illogical? If it had just been the animal-people, that would have been one thing, but everyone, even the hero (David Thewlis) had unexplained stretches of dementia and wackiness.
Stan Winston's monsters were cool as usual, but there were just so many of them, and only a couple had any personality. Ron Pearlman played the incredible-looking Speaker of the Law, one of the film's two interesting characters (the other being the Hyena Man, who made little sense), but he was wasted. At the end, when he proclaims, "Sometimes four legs is better," I wanted to agree, and knew the line was supposed to resonate with truth and irony, but the hour and a half that preceded it was so muddled and pointless that I had to sigh in recognition that the line really meant nothing. Also, Fairuza Balk wasn't so bad, really, and her character was also interesting.
But it's Fairuza Balk, and I have taken a solemn vow to never praise or support her. Sorry, Auntie Gretchin.
The 1930's version–though simpler and less intellectual–was more satisfying, and a better film.
Best Scare: Well . . . just a howling sound we hear at one point.
I'd Recommend It To: I don't know, I can't recommend it, it's just too disjointed, too vague, and too unfulfilling.
Note: This one wasn't really even Horror (though monsters abounded), more Sci-Fi/Action/Drama/Horror. But I choose to review it anyhow. Hey, when it comes to this webpage, I am a god.
Or at least a seraph.