Lewton started his run at RKO with Cat People which was a smash hit. The subsequent films fared increasingly poorly at the box office. Lewton’s idea had been to take an entirely fresh and original, and subtle, approach to the horror genre. Artistically the idea was a triumph but audiences were not too keen on subtle horror. And while Cat People had received rave reviews critical response to the later Lewton films was decidedly mixed. Critics even more than audiences struggled with the subtlety and psychological complexity of these films.
The nine Lewton horror films gradually built huge cult followings and they’re now worshipped by cinephiles but it is important to bear in mind that only Cat People and The Body Snatcher (the most conventional of the lot) achieved massive success at the time.
RKO had started to become just a little disillusioned. They wanted proper gothic horror settings, not contemporary settings, and they tried to force Lewton into more conventional channels by imposing Boris Karloff on him as the star for the final three films.
Isle of the Dead was a bit of a cheat on Lewton’s part. It does have a period setting but instead of central Europe in the nineteenth century it’s set on an island in the Aegean in 1912, during the First Balkan War. And instead of playing a monster Karloff plays a Greek general. There are supernatural monsters in the movie, or at least the idea of supernatural monsters plays an important role in the plot, but the supernatural definitely does not figure in the movie in the conventional way for which RKO was hoping.
An American war correspondent, Oliver Davis (Marc Cramer), has attached himself the the army of General Nikolas Pherides (Boris Karloff) which has just won a major victory against the Ottoman forces. There is just one tiny fly in the ointment - there have been a couple of cases of septicaemic plague in other Greek army units.
The inspiration for this movie was Arnold Böcklin’s famous painting of the same name. Or rather paintings - the Swiss Symbolist artist produced half a dozen versions between 1880 and 1901.
In the movie the General and Davis visit a tiny nearby island (which looks like the paintings) which is uninhabited and used as a cemetery. They intend to lay a wreath on the grave of the General’s wife.
The island is represented by a matte painting and it’s a fine example of how effective that technique can be. When we reach the island we can’t help wondering if we’re leaving behind the world of science and reason and entering a world of nightmare.
They are in for a surprise. The island is well and truly inhabited. A Swiss archaeologist, Aubrecht (Jason Robards Sr) lives there with his housekeeper, an old peasant woman named Kyra (Helene Thimig). They have a whole tribe of house guests. There’s British diplomat St. Aubyn (Alan Napier), his wife Mary (Katherine Emery), their sweet but timid servant girl Thea (Ellen Drew) and there’s a Cockney tinware salesman named Robbins.
Davis and the General spend the night on the island. In the morning Robbins is dead, and all the symptoms point to septicaemic plague.
The General, quite correctly, declares that the island is now under quarantine. Now all they can do is wait for the wind to change. The plague is spread by insects. When the sirocco starts to blow the hot winds will destroy the insects’ eggs and the plague will be over. There is no way of knowing when the sirocco will arrive. If it doesn’t arrive in time they are all doomed. There is no cure for the plague.
And to add to their troubles old Kyra is convinced that the evil has been brought upon them by a vorvolaka (an undead creature similar in some ways to both a ghoul and a vampire). She believes that Thea is the vorvolaka.
So until the movie is well advanced the horror comes from the fear of the plague and from Kyra’s superstitious beliefs. The General is of peasant stock and was raised in an atmosphere of superstition. When he reached the age of manhood he abandoned such beliefs and become a modern man, a man who believed in science and progress. But can we ever entirely forget the superstitious fears of childhood?
Early on we learn something that foreshadows the real horror content which hits us in the final third of the picture, and what a gut-punch it is when it arrives. I can’t think of anything from this era that can match it, apart from The Seventh Victim which just happens to be a Val Lewton picture directed by Mark Robson.
And in Isle of the Dead Mark Robson doesn’t put a foot wrong. Cinematographer Jack MacKenzie shows us that he knows a thing or two about using light and shadow.
All the cast members are solid but it’s Karloff who has the really meaty role. The General is a good man, but a hard man. He has a stern sense of duty, but also a stern sense of justice. We may find it hard to warm to him but Karloff makes sure we respect him and are fascinated by him.
Isle of the Dead has subtlety and an atmosphere of dread and it has some real chills. Very highly recommended.
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