Product Details

• Actors: Peter Cushing, Edward Judd, Carole Gray, Eddie Byrne, Sam Kydd
• Directors: Terence Fisher
• Writers: Al Ramsen, Edward Mann
• Producers: Gerald A. Fernback, Richard Gordon, Tom Blakeley
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: October 1, 1996
• Run Time: 89 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303046487
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #176,942 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

When, oh, when will scientists learn to stop playing with radiation? Island of Terror takes place on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. No phones, no regular transport to and from the mainland, but there is a well-equipped cancer research center where the well intentioned--but foolish!--scientists are irradiating lumps of tissue. The local constable finds a body with no bones in it ("No bones?" "No bones!") and soon a team from London, led by the ever-game Peter Cushing, arrives to investigate. Let's hope that darned generator doesn't give out... Island of Terror isn't going to keep you awake at night, but it is a lot of silly fun. Be warned, though--whatever the evil menace is, it can climb trees! Aaaaiiiieeeeeee! --Ali Davis

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars No bones? We just don't know what we're up against!, September 1, 2001

By 

Jim Player (Rochester, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Island of Terror [VHS] (VHS Tape)

In the late 60's, my mom packed the four of us kids into the station wagon and took us to the drive in theater to see a showing of four horror movies. Island of Terror was the third...and the best! I still remember being afraid to get up to go to the bathroom at night because I was SURE that the silicates were on the hallway ceiling waiting for me!

Of course, this is a low-budget horror flick made by a Hammer rival, but for what it is, it's still pretty darned good. The special effects aren't bad for the period, with unique and interesting creature design, sound effects and blatant rubber bodies... But a decent script, capable actors and the cold damp atmosphere of an Irish island directed by Hammer veteran Terence Fisher result in a memorable fun-filled and sometings even genuinely creepy good time. Cushing and Judd move things along nicely, and the supporting cast of does a nice job of adding local color.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a fine, fun, and fast paced thriller!, February 4, 2000

By 

"messmurr" (Springbrook, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Island of Terror [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I saw this movie as a child and couldn't sleep for a week. It wasn't uncommon to catch this movie during the evening or late show in the late 60s and early 70s. Unfortunately, the versions I'd watched as a child wre often brutally edited by the local television station. I'd searched - since the arrival of videocassettes - for a copy of this movie. When I finally tracked down a copy a few years ago, I was almost reluctant to watch it. I'd enjoyed the feature so much as a child, I was afraid - as an adult - I'd find it silly and contrived. Not at all. I enjoyed it just as much as I had all those years ago. Watching the video provided me with the first opportunity to view the film in its entirety. It was great! The video release also features the original trailer. Island Of Terror is a tale set on a remote Irish isle in which experimentation into a cure for cancer results in a deadly new organism which feeds on bone. Peter Cushing and Edward Judd deliver believable performances and the writing is better - certainly no worse - than similar movies of its era. I have read criticism of the special effects. Indeed, they pale in comparison to effects we see today, but considering when the feature was made, I think they hold up well. In a shocking scene, one of the "Silicates" grabs Cushing by the wrist and Judd must choose between the limb and his friend's life. The result is bloody and spectacular. Okay - I will concede that the sound of a straw rattling in a milkshake cup when the creatures are "sucking" the bones from their latest victim is cheesy, but that's a minor flaw. This is a fun and fast paced thriller and while the special effects may not always be spectacular, the acting and storyline make this a terrific film.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In the same style as the Quatermass films, June 6, 2006

By 

Tuco (Phoenix, Az USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Island of Terror [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Neat little monster flick even if it did miss the Fifties by a few years. Good locations and color photography (filmed in 1:85 ratio) adds to the effect and the monsters are adequate for a film of this type.

Beware that the UK DVD release has the 'hand amputation/blood squirting scene' completely edited out, but I do hear that the German DVD release has the scene still fully intact.

All in all, a fun fifties style 'monster on the loose/trapped on an island' story with a tinge of British flavor which always adds some intelligence to these type of sci-fi flicks.