Isle of the Dead (1945)

85% of critics liked it
(13 reviews)
54% of users liked it
(1,675 ratings)

Inspired by Swiss artist Arnold Böcklin's famous painting, this seminal horror film marked the first of three collaborations between RKO producer Val Lewton and British genre star Boris Karloff. Set during the 1912 Balkan Wars, Isle of the Death featured Karloff as Greek general Pherides who, along… More Inspired by Swiss artist Arnold Böcklin's famous painting, this seminal horror film marked the first of three collaborations between RKO producer Val Lewton and British genre star Boris Karloff. Set during the 1912 Balkan Wars, Isle of the Death featured Karloff as Greek general Pherides who, along with an American journalist (Marc Cramer), visits the gravesite of his late wife on a deserted island. They find the grave desecrated and a group of travelers held hostage by the superstitious beliefs of Kyra (Helene Thimig). One by one, the inhabitants of the island are felled by what Dr. Drossos (Ernest Dorian aka Ernst Deutsch) terms the plague, but what Kyra insists is the work of Thea (Ellen Drew), a young nurse she believes to be a "varvoloka," an ancient Greek vampire. Thea's patient, Mrs. St. Aubun (Katherine Emery), suffers from death-like trances and, sure enough, during one of her spells, she is pronounced dead by Swiss archeologist Albrecht (Jason Robards Sr. and is interred alive. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 12 min.
Directed By: Mark Robson
Genres: Drama, Horror, Musical & Performing Arts, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Sep 1, 1945 Wide
On DVD: Oct 31, 2006

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
It's better handled and directed than most though thriller fans will still find its lack of action a drag.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
quite bad
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
Mark Robson's direction here reduces a country's political/spiritual unrest to pronouncements by pinned-down actors about "uneasy conscience" and "fool's courage"
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Claustrophobic and nightmarishly atmospheric.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Its poetical finale comes a little too late to save it from its general dullness.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies
One of the few truly scary films of the 1940s.
, Time Out
The film comes magnificently alive with the burial sequence, and with the zombie-like, white-robed woman roaming through shadowy galleries and shuttered rooms.
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Zombies and Karloff...chills and thrills.
, Film4
Full of expertly handled shocks.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
One of the better post-Tourneur Lewton films
James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
"memorably moody"

Read all 11 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bob S

Confused. Some nice plot kernels and plenty of great Lewton atmospherics but ... no. Too much going on here.
Tim S

This one came as a complete surprise to me. Here I was expecting a schlock horror film and what do I get? A very suspenseful and thought-provoking thriller. Fantastic I say! Like most thrillers, it takes it a bit to get going, but if you perservere with a bit of patience,… More
This one came as a complete surprise to me. Here I was expecting a schlock horror film and what do I get? A very suspenseful and thought-provoking thriller. Fantastic I say! Like most thrillers, it takes it a bit to get going, but if you perservere with a bit of patience, you'll discover your heart racing while the suspense is wound up slowly over the course of the film. You can cut the tension with a knife when the creeps start creeping in, and surprisingly, none of them from Karloff himself really. I just can't get over how effective this film was. You're bound to find this in a cheap bin at a local K-Mart or Big Lots! (which is where I found it), but it's definitely worth more than its purchase price. Pick this one up and give it a chance if you spot it.
AJ V

Vampires, plague, zombies, murder? What is this movie about? And why is it so boring? Karloff is good as usual, but the story isn't up to par.
Michael G

Isle of the Dead is another great movie in the Val Lewton stable of low budget but obscenely effective suspense/horror movies. It beautifully straddles paranoia, superstition and science in that trademarked Lewton wonderful world of shadows. Boris Karloff is great as a mistrusting… More
Isle of the Dead is another great movie in the Val Lewton stable of low budget but obscenely effective suspense/horror movies. It beautifully straddles paranoia, superstition and science in that trademarked Lewton wonderful world of shadows. Boris Karloff is great as a mistrusting general stuck on a Greek island to avoid a plague outbreak amonst his soldiers. The introduction of others on the island plays out almost like an Agatha Christie mystery without the conventions. The cast is great and the last 10 minutes are some of the creepiest I've seen in recent memory. Katherine Emery running around the darkness was magnificently horrifying.
Cindy I

Another eerie entry from the Val Lewton camp. This one stars Boris Karloff as a Greek general who takes it upon himself to police a group of people on a cemetery island after the plague breaks out among them. At the same time, he is fighting others, as well as his own, beliefs in the… More
Another eerie entry from the Val Lewton camp. This one stars Boris Karloff as a Greek general who takes it upon himself to police a group of people on a cemetery island after the plague breaks out among them. At the same time, he is fighting others, as well as his own, beliefs in the old ways, including one which may implicate one of the group as an evil entity. Some spooky moments, but didn't stick with me like Cat People.
Anthony L

Not Robson, Lewton or even Karloff?s best but a fine film all the same. As always, the title is a little misleading but the story was truly original for its time!