The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)

I have no idea what reminded me of the existence of the 1996 adaptation of HG Wells' novel The Island of Dr. Moreau; I was interested enough to hear about it back at the time of release, but it received a poor critical reception and even today, the IMDB seems to agree. It isn't even one of those titles I've always meant to get around to viewing, I just happened to remember it yesterday and decided I wanted to take a look before I forgot about it again.

I'm only vaguely familiar with the original story about a shipwrecked man who finds himself on an island populated by human/animal hybrids created by a mad doctor; in the film, however, our protagonist is UN envoy Edward Douglas (David Thewlis), rescued after a plane crash by friendly but mysterious neurologist Montgomery (Val Kilmer), who takes him back to the island where he works but cautions him to remain within the large central house. This movie, however, as with many others, would be a remarkably short one were it not for people doing stupid shit in the name of curiosity, and so of course Douglas escapes and finds out about Dr. Moreau (Marlon Brando) and his beautiful daughter, Aissa (Fairuza Balk). Douglas is less than delighted by this discovery (apart from Aissa, because beautiful women are welcome everywhere), and before long, things are going tits-up in spectacular style.

If all this sounds obstructively cynical, I'm maybe not being entirely fair. The timing of this one suggests it was designed to cash in on the buzz generated by Jurassic Park, with which it shares certain common themes. The Island of Dr. Moreau, however, is no Jurassic Park, and not just because of the dodgy special effects. It's also a far more thoughtful affair, though, as befits an adaptation of an HG Wells novel when compared to an adaptation of one by Michael Crichton, and one which does at least seem to aspire to something higher?

Does it succeed? Occasionally. The dialogue is certainly a cut above the running and screaming offered by the damned dinosaur movie, raising real ethical and philosophical questions and steering clear of pointing fingers and black and white morality. Moreau is insane, certainly, but he was once a Nobel Laureate and seems genuinely well-intentioned, if deluded; the beast people, meanwhile, are presented neither as monsters nor victims, but flawed individuals with their own motivations.

Unfortunately, the film lets itself down in a few areas, with Thewlis embarrassingly miscast in the everyman role - bluntly put, he lacks the necessary likeability to make us root for him. Brando and Kilmer, meanwhile, chew the scenery with gusto in a way that sometimes works but often doesn't, while the only cast member to emerge relatively unsullied is Balk, who has a natural charisma and plays Aissa with well-judged restraint. Tactfully put, the effects are, ah, era-appropriate, but only just, while the opening titles suggest a straight-to-video title from a full decade earlier.

Would I recommend The Island of Dr. Moreau? I think my answer would have to be a cautious yes; it's a far better and more meaningful movie than the DVD cover implies, but those without a taste or at least a tolerance for the trappings of schlock horror will likely find it quite hard to access.