Back to trending
Island of Lost Souls

Island of Lost Souls

Science Fiction · Horror · 1932

An obsessed scientist conducts profane experiments in evolution, eventually establishing himself as the self-styled demigod to a race of mutated, half-human abominations.

Movie details

Island of Lost Souls

“TERROR! Stalked the Brush-Choked Island...Where Men Who Were Animals Sought the Girl Who Was All-Human!”

1932 Science Fiction · Horror 1h 11m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.9 / 10

Community rating

An obsessed scientist conducts profane experiments in evolution, eventually establishing himself as the self-styled demigod to a race of mutated, half-human abominations.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Island of Lost Souls?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Tarantula

Tarantula

Sci-fi · 1955

A rogue scientist near a small desert town arouses the suspicion of the town's doctor when his lab assistant is found dead from a case of acromegaly, which took only four days to develop. As the doctor investigates, aided by the scientist's new female assistant, they discover that something is devouring local cattle and humans in increasingly large quantities.

The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man

Horror · 1933

After experimenting on himself and becoming invisible, scientist Jack Griffin, now aggressive due to the drug's effects, seeks a way to reverse the experiment at any cost.

Silver Bullet

Silver Bullet

Horror · 1985

The small city of Tarker's Mills is startled by a series of sadistic murders. The population fears the work of a maniac, but sightings of a mysterious, hairy creature soon spread. People lock themselves up at night, but there's one boy who's still outside…

The Creeping Flesh

The Creeping Flesh

Horror · 1973

A Victorian scientist returns to London with his paleontological bag-of-bones discovery from Papua New Guinea. Unfortunately, when exposed to water, flesh returns to the bones, unleashing a malevolent entity on the scientist's family and friends.

The Horror of Frankenstein

The Horror of Frankenstein

Horror · 1970

Brilliant but arrogant scientist Victor Frankenstein builds a man from spare body parts, only for the monster to come alive and wreak havoc.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Sci-fi · 1956

A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.

The Satan Bug

The Satan Bug

Sci-fi · 1965

A US government germ warfare lab has had an accident. The first theory is that one of the germs has been released and killed several scientists. The big fear is that a more virulent strain, named The Satan Bug because all life can be killed off by it should it escape, may have been stolen.

Creature from the Black Lagoon

Creature from the Black Lagoon

Adventure · 1954

When scientists exploring the Amazon River stumble on a “missing link” connecting humans and fish, they plan to capture it for later study. But the Creature has plans of his own, and has set his sights on the lead scientist's beautiful fiancée, Kay.

This Island Earth

This Island Earth

Sci-fi · 1955

Aliens have landed and are hiding on Earth, but need Earth’s scientists to help them fight an inter-planetary war.

I Am Mother

I Am Mother

Sci-fi · 2019

A teenage girl is raised underground by a robot "Mother", designed to repopulate the earth following an extinction event. But their unique bond is threatened when an inexplicable stranger arrives with alarming news.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Erle C. Kenton

Written by

Waldemar Young · Philip Wylie

Charles Laughton

Charles Laughton

Dr. Moreau

Richard Arlen

Richard Arlen

Edward Parker

Leila Hyams

Leila Hyams

Ruth Thomas

Bela Lugosi

Bela Lugosi

The Sayer of the Law

Kathleen Burke

Kathleen Burke

Lota the Panther Woman

Arthur Hohl

Arthur Hohl

Montgomery

Stanley Fields

Stanley Fields

Capt. Davies

Court is in session

Put Island of Lost Souls on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.