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It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Outstanding film dealing with people confronting death and their fear of death. The movie opens with the viewer experiencing what the professional solder must face: death by execution, pestilence, and war. Then we find a group of disparate people living on an island cemetery trying to avoid the war only to find themselves suddenly quarantined with the plague. This exposes fears that go beyond death to premature burial and vampirism. The casting and the acting were marvelous. For all but Karloff, this was probably their finest moment in film. The mood goes from melancholy to resignation to horror. No there are no scary monsters or overly introspective dialog. Just an expertly directed and produced melodrama. Highly recommended especially to anybody questioning if it is possible to make a great film on a limited budget.

"General Nikolas Pherides" (Boris Karloff) is a commander of a Greek army in 1912 during the First Balkan War. Immediately after a battle he decides to visit his wife's grave on a nearby island and takes with him a war correspondent by the name of "Oliver Davis" (Marc Cramer). When they get there they find some people living in a nearby house and decide to spend the night with them. Unfortunately, in the morning they discover that one of the people has died during the night of the plague. Not wanting his soldiers to be exposed to this deadly contagion, General Pherides issues an order than nobody will leave the island until the plague has run its course. At the same time he is informed that the island also contains a Greek creature similar to a vampire and known as a "vorvolaka". At first he dismisses the suggestion as nothing more than superstitious nonsense but as time passes he eventually begins to accept it. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie I will just say that, although this film had some slow parts here and there, it still remained moderately interesting until the very end--at which time it actually got quite horrific. As usual, Boris Karloff performed in an excellent manner as did the beautiful Ellen Drew (as "Thea") and the aforementioned Marc Cramer. In summation, this turned out to be a decent horror film and I recommend it for those who might enjoy a movie of this type. Slightly above average.

During the Balkan war of 1912, Greek General Pherides (Boris Karloff) and American reporter Oliver Davis (Marc Cramer) visit the island where the General's wife is buried and are shocked to discover her crypt desecrated. Seeking answers, they go to the home of retired archaeologist Dr. Aubrecht (Jason Robards, Sr.) and find him with a houseful of guests. After staying the night, one of the guests is found dead of what is believed to be the plague and the house is quarantined. Aubrecht's superstitious housekeeper (Helen Thimig) has another explanation for the death, however. She believes it to be the work of a vampiric creature called the vorvolaka. She says the vorvolaka is one of the houseguests (Ellen Drew) and that they are all doomed. At first the General laughs at the idea but as more people die he begins to believe that the vorvolaka is real and it is his duty to protect the others from death at her hands. Add to this a woman (Katherine Emery) deathly afraid of premature burial and you have a powder keg of claustrophobic tensions and superstitious fears.The eighth of producer Val Lewton's nine psychological horror classics from the 1940s. Considered by many to be one of the lesser Lewton films, Isle of the Dead is perhaps my favorite of them all. It's a truly underrated film that typifies the Lewtonian approach to horror. The hauntingly shadowy atmosphere, the eerily ambiguous plot, fine acting, excellent writing, and moody direction are all trademarks of the Lewton horror films. Obviously I'm not alone in my admiration for this classic. Martin Scorsese placed it on his list of the 11 scariest horror films of all time. It's a truly great film that should be more widely appreciated. It's one of Boris Karloff's greatest performances and is a must-see for any of his fans.

Not quite as great as The Body Snatcher but Isle of the Dead is still highly recommended. The film does have a tendency to plod- the setting up could have been trimmed a bit- and Jason Robards Snr. is annoying. Boris Karloff is outstanding, dominating the screen with great power, creepy demeanour and command, even in bad films(like his end of career Mexican films) he was nearly always one of the redeeming qualities and sometimes the only good asset. Katherine Emery is similarly splendid, in fact excepting Robards the acting in Isle of the Dead is very good. The production values are effectively claustrophobic and still look beautiful, while the music has the right amount of eeriness. Isle of the Dead has such a great atmosphere too, full of creepiness and dread. The script is convincingly psychological, especially with Karloff's character and shows and explores its themes and ideas intelligently. The story is always interesting and very atmospheric and the direction is assuredly handled. In conclusion, really well-done. 9/10 Bethany Cox