Voodoo Island/The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1957)

Voodoo IslandMaster of the macabre Boris Karloff delivers a rare non-monster performance as the leader of an investigation of mysterious disappearances on a South Pacific island that is the proposed site of an exclusive resort. But after a few encounters with carnivorous plants and zombies he realizes that this might not be the ideal place for a vacation and that his team will be lucky to make it off the island alive!The Four Skulls Of Jonathan DrakeThe sins of the fathers rest heavily on the heads of the sons literally in this fun-filled frightfest that ll keep you "awake and screaming through many a traumatic night" (Variety)! Faced with an age-old family curse that beheaded their forefathers two brothers attempt to unravel the family plot even as sinister forces attempt to put them into it!System Requirements:Running Time: 148 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: NR UPC: 027616920737 Manufacturer No: 1008029 Product Description

Wow! What a bargain!

First of all, this is NOT a 2-disc set like it states in the data relating to this film, so don't be expecting that -- both movies are on one disc (one movie on each side) which is fine with me since they are both of very high quality.

If you're a cult film junkie like myself, you'll find that both of these films are a superb treat, "Voodoo Island" being slightly the better of the two. I'll address that one first:

This is a very well-shot B&W film with Boris Karloff radiating at its very center, only in this movie he does NOT play a monster. It was this film that showed me what a very fine actor Karloff really was. He plays a fairly genteel, but rugged, TV show personality who's investigating why a guy turned into a zombie on Voodoo Island, in the South Pacific (actually, shot in Hawaii). A developer wants to build a resort hotel there and he employs the hard-hitting Karloff to clear the way.

You'll see some other familiar cult film faces in this fine movie -- Elisha Cook, Jr., who played the strange little guy (homeowner) in the 1958 version of "House on Haunted Hill", (another awesome movie!), also does an equally fine job in this film. You'll similarly enjoy the man-eating (well... woman-eating) plants on Voodoo Island -- in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way, they're to die for!

And the grande coup for me was when, to my joy, I discovered that Les Baxter ("The Pit and the Pendulum," "Tales of Terror," and "The Raven", all AIP films), did the filmscore for this one. It's one of my very favorites, being of the atmospheric late 50s/early 60s-type of "atmospheric jungle score." Compare this mood music to to that in the great 1959 Frank Sinatra WW II (color) film, "Never so Few", (filmscore by the great Hugo Friedhofer).

I found that the clarity of the shots and locations in this one were just absolutely superb. There are a couple of goofy script spots in the film (e.g., the redundant calling on the radio at one point in the film), but this wasn't enough of a distraction to impact the larger story. There is a definite sense of nostalgia about this film, from the music to the old Douglas aircraft in which the principals fly into the islands -- most Baby Boomers will pick up on it.

The final super bonus is that this one was digitized from a 35 mm print, if you're interested in such minutia, and this IS a nice clear print. Wow! I LOVE watching this flick on my 32" flatscreen wide screen TV. It's just great!

As for "The Four Skulls of Johnathan Drake", I found this to be as much of a mystery (which helps to make it great) as it is a horror film and I liked it a great deal. Again the sets and locations were super (well, at least, fun) and, for me at least, this one doesn't ever drag at all. It also helps that this is another "voodoo jungle film"...sort of. I REALLY like jungle films, especially black magic ones, and while you don't get a sense of "jungle" here, you still get the ominous Hivaro Indian slinking around with his mouth sewn shut.

As far as the cast, with Paul Cavanaugh and Henry Daniell (playing a spectacular chief evil-doer, Dr. Zurich) included here, who could possibly ask for more? They're both incredible in this film. It's a very good 1959 B&W flick that I enjoy viewing over and over. December 17, 2007

really Bad

I watched this movie because Boris Karloff is in it but it is a really bad movie. The scrip & the actors. June 19, 2007

Four Skulls gets Five stars

Henry Daniels,who played numerous villians during his long career,among which was the nefarious Professor Moriarity against Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes in this film plays the creepy Dr.Zurich,an undead scientist attempting to fulfill a 100 plus year old curse against the Drake family...Don't get me wrong,this film does have a few plotline holes,and as compared with today's horror films it is rather tame,but it also has it's creepy elements,which alone should be enough to warrant your interest... January 12, 2007

The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake

I always loved horror since I was 8 years old. I saw this movie on TV back in the 50's when it was released and growing up I never saw it again. So when it was out in DVD well you know the rest!

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to send my response. February 21, 2006

Voodoo-Do-Do Voodaa-Da-Da...

As much as I love Boris Karloff, VOODOO ISLAND is a complete dog-log of a movie! Boris plays a TV host who debunks all things supernatural. He's hired by a zillionaire hotel magnate to go to an island and find out what happened to four men who went there. Only one of them returned, and he's zombified! So, Boris and five others set out for VOODOO ISLAND in the south pacific (!). Sounds like a terrific set-up right? Forget it! Our adventurers spend fully half of the movie's running time just trying to get to the island! Along the way, they meet a young Adam "Batman" West as a radio operator. Finally, they arrive on the island, where they spend loads of time talking and wandering around. A few man-eating plants attack, including some aquatic flora that reminded me of the ridiculous monsters in ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES. Nope, Boris can't save this one! One cool scene shows a little girl being eaten by a plant monster. Alas, this is the only such scene. THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE is actually pretty good. The Drake family men have been dying at age 60 ever since an ancestor slaughtered a tribe in south america. Jonathan's brother has just died, winding up as a headless corpse! Now Jonathan knows he is next on the list. Enter Dr. Zurich (Henry "The Body Snatcher" Daniell) as the local anthropologist / voodoo witchdoctor, bent on shrinking Jonathon's head down to the size of grapefruit! His head-hunting servant is a highlight, with his mouth sewn shut and shoes made of human skin! FOUR SKULLS is a frightful fiesta for the fear freak! It is worth the price of this double feature... November 3, 2005

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