Description

A twisted treasure from Hollywood’s pre-Code horror heyday, Island of Lost Souls is a cautionary tale of science run amok, adapted from H. G. Wells’s novel The Island of Dr. Moreau. In one of his first major movie roles, Charles Laughton is a mad doctor conducting ghastly genetic experiments on a remote island in the South Seas, much to the fear and disgust of the shipwrecked sailor (Richard Arlen) who finds himself trapped there. This touchstone of movie terror, directed by Erle C. Kenton, features expressionistic photography by Karl Struss, groundbreaking makeup effects that have inspired generations of monster-movie artists, and the legendary Bela Lugosi in one of his most gruesome roles.

Special Features

• New digital restoration of the uncut theatrical version (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
• Audio commentary featuring film historian Gregory Mank, author of Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff and Hollywood’s Maddest Doctors
• New conversation between filmmaker John Landis, Oscar-winning makeup artist Rick Baker, and genre expert Bob Burns
• New interviews with horror film historian David J. Skal; filmmaker Richard Stanley, the original director of the ill-fated
• 1996 adaptation; and Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh of the band Devo
• The Beginning Was the End: The Complete Truth About De-evolution, a short 1976 film by Devo, featuring the songs “Secret Agent Man” and “Jocko Homo”
• Stills gallery
• Theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by writer Christine Smallwood