This film, obviously inspired by H.G. Wells THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, takes a while to get going but does pick up near the end. The acting, production values and cinematography were superior than expectation for a low budget film made in the Philippines although it's difficult to find a good print throughout. There are some intense, suspenseful and disturbing moments in Dr. Girard's underground laboratory.

This is a Philippine lensed remake of the HG Wells Island of Doctor Moreau. This is a good little film that has some thrills and chills but which doesn't hold a candle to the best version of the tale, The Island of Lost Souls. The plot has a man coming to Blood Island (this is actually weirdly related to the later Blood Island films -such as Mad Doctor of Blood Island and Beast of Blood) where a mad doctor is turning animals into people. While not as large scale as Lost Souls, there isn't a whole bestiary really just one guy, the film does have some nice beasties. I think on some level the film has survived because the film has a bell that rings to warn people of sensitive disposition that something terrible is about to happen. Personally I think it's a dumb idea that kills some of the suspense, but at the same time you do remember the film because of the gimmick. Worth a look.

This is the film that practically started the influx of Filipino exploitation that exploded in the 70s. It's a slow but mediocre version of THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU with a cat creature experiment that gets loose and kills a few secondary characters among scientific jabber about the experiment being for the benefit of mankind rather than personal vanity. This is lackluster stuff and is too Americanized. The Blood Island trilogy and women's prison flicks that would come ten years later is the kind of delirious entertainment that Filipino exploitation is remembered for. Worth a look but hardly memorable.

Fitzgerald is the only survivor of a shipwreck and he finds himself washed up on an luscious Pacific island, which is inhabited by a close-minded doctor, his unsatisfied wife and edgy assistant. That night they found Fitzgerald, the doctor's experimental subject; a panther got loose and killed some natives. But they manage to get hold of it again. Not too long Fitzgerald learns what the doctor is trying to do, but he questions the ethical nature of his experiments. When Fitzgerald comes face to face with Dr. Girard's test subject it's something his eyes can't believe.

Like other users have already mentioned, this cheap b-grade flick is influenced by H.G. Wells novel "The Island of Doctor Moreau." You might call it a poor man's version of the story. But to my surprise this feature was incredibly well-made and mildly effective, it's just too bad that the print of the film is all scratched up and jumpy in parts. The low-budget production is well set-up with fine execution in the direction, thunderously high-strung score and solid camera-work in achieving a very heavy mood in the jarringly, grim atmosphere. The isolated island (which was filmed in the Philippines) and the doctor's house (especially his laboratory) have a dauntingly, unsteady feel. Slow-building terror is squeezed tight by a snail-like opening hour involving many stoppages and meandering about. The third-act though, is where things really get going with some nice doses of suspense and plenty of interesting moments occurring with the mystery of the doctor's work coming out of the dark. These sparks are few and far between, but the sub-due plot is strong enough to carry the film, even though it does have its wishy-washy details and understated ending. The routine script is filled with a lot of mumbo jumbo, maybe a little too much of it and a bit forced. Thrown in are ponderous theories about evolution and morality about interfering with nature's course and so on. Also the dramatic interplay between the characters have a variety of frictions that plays on their slowly decaying mentality. Though, the token romance link between Fitzgerald and Frances Girard was unconvincing and it felt overly padded for me. The performances were exceptional enough, with some buoyant acting at times. Francis Lederer, as Dr. Girard, Richard Derr as Fitzgerald and Oscar Keesee Jr. as Perrera were terrific in their roles. The beautiful Greta Thyssen as Frances Girard; I was 50/50 on, sometimes she was rather leaden, but still she has an awe that's hard dismiss. The make-up effects for our feline (and there's only one) was way above-average, even though it was kept in bandages and looking more like a mummy. But when we see glimpses of its face it was rather well-done up, though I found the creature's growling unintentionally amusing.

There's nothing great or particularly unfamiliar about it, but with what they had to work with, it's commendably done.

Side-note: I'm just glad that I didn't have to sit through the warning bell gimmick, which would destroy the whole purpose in you wanting suspense and surprises from this film. The idea just escapes me, especially since you'll know what you're getting yourself into.

I saw this a few times as a young child (thanks, KSTW in Washington!) and it always stayed in my mind and lo and behold, after recently watching it again (thanks, MOVIE MADNESS in Portland!) I must say that it holds up remarkably well; the things that stood out in my childhood memories are still pretty potent; for a film almost a half century old the monster make-up effects and the creature's attacks are surprisingly well handled. The performances, too, surprised me by their contemporary tone, especially good was Francis Lederer as the strangely sympathetic mad scientist. The creature is a well-drawn movie monster; more suffering animal than murdering beast, it always had my sympathy--at least this time around. The images of it skulking about in its mummy-like bandages remain pretty evocative. The one drawback is the films poky pace--i could have done with much less of the domestic dramas around the hut and more of the monster, but that is a small quibble; overall, Terror Is a Man is a forgotten gem.

The lone survivor of the sinking of the "Pedro Queen," William Fitzgerald (Derr) washes ashore on a remote Pacific island one thousand miles off the coast of Peru. He is taken in by Dr. Girard (Lederer) and his wife, Frances (Thyssen). Fitzgerald soon learns that the doctor is conducting unusual medical experiments the island, assisted by his wife, who is a nurse, and a few servants. Shortly after Fitzgerald's arrival, he learns that a "panther" is loose on the island and has even killed people. He is puzzled when he learns that the native villagers have fled the island, allegedly because they fear what the doctor might be doing. The mystery deepens when Fitzgerald starts investigating the mystery of the doctor and the creature he is working on.

"Terror is a Man" is an uncredited adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel "The Island of Doctor Moreau." Whereas the classic 1932 version "Island of Lost Souls" and the 1977 version "The Island of Dr. Moreau" both feature large numbers of "manimals," this film has only one. By excising these creatures, the film loses the interesting cultural aspects of the manimal society and lacks, among other things, the key character known as the Sayer of the Law. The creature in this one is the tormented victim of doctor and is abused by the servant Walter (Oscar Keesee). Despite the differences between this version and the two better known adaptations mentioned above, this film is reasonably well made though somewhat slow-paced. Dedicated horror film fans should probably give this one a chance.

"Terror Is a Man" (1959) is perhaps more well known for its status as the first Filipino horror film, rather than for its own fine merits. That's a real shame, as it turns out to be an extremely well done take on H.G. Wells' "The Island of Dr. Moreau," but with unique slants all its own. Here, the marooned sailor is played by the likable Richard Derr (who sci-fi fans may remember from 1951's "When Worlds Collide") and the not-so-mad surgeon/scientist by Francis Lederer. The doctor has a hotty wife in this version of the story, and she is played by Greta Thyssen (Miss Denmark, 1954), shown to good advantage in negligee and bathing suit in several steamy scenes. (She really does put the "thigh" in "Thyssen," lemme tell you!) In addition to uniformly fine, no-nonsense acting, the film boasts beautiful B&W photography (nicely presented on this clean and crisp-looking DVD), eerie and suspenseful music, stylish direction, and a unique-looking monster that is unfortunately (and literally) kept under wraps until the denouement. The film gives us some interesting speculations on just what makes a man a man, and is really quite intelligent and restrained throughout. A warning bell alerts the audience to a shocking scene (a close-up of a surgical incision) that should gross out only the most squeamish of viewers. My only problem with this DVD, really, was the fluctuating sound quality. But that should not deter viewers from checking out this most interesting horror tale. It's a winner.

Just discovered this Philippine(My parents' native country)-made horror movie here on IMDb as linked from Hulu. Despite the bland romantic trappings between the triangle of Francis Lederer, Richard Derr, and the buxom blonde from Denmark named Greta Thyssen, this was a pretty effective chiller during the last 30 minutes as effectively visualized by Gerardo de Leon with I'm sure help from producer Eddie Romero. There's also some nice work from the natives like Oscar Keesee as the villain, his son Peyton as the innocent boy, and stunning Lilia Duran as the other hired help. And then there's the creature played by Flory Carlos who spends most of the movie wrapped in bandages. His mummy-like performance gets effective treatment due to the music by Ariston Avelino. May be most effective to maybe to those 12 and under who haven't seen anything gory yet. Certainly the "buzzer" that warns of a 15-second "surgery" scene was nothing that shocked my senses! So on that note, Terror Is a Man is worth a look for fans of old-fashioned Drive-In fare.

Blood Creature is one of those old drive in type movies which is actually its a pretty good film. Francis Lederer and Richard Derr is in the movie and so is Greta Thyssen who was in a few of the Three Stooges shorts in the Joe Besser era. She actually has very big part in the film. This movie, Blood Creature has some very good acting in it and the storms were cools. The creature itself was neat looking which really looked like a humanoid panther mummy! If you have seen The 1996 version of The Island of Dr. Moreau you will notice some scenes that was in that movie are very similar in this movie! Really Blood Creature is decent little old film that has many great moments and especially if you are a a Three Stooges fan its interesting to see Greta Thyssen in a role where she is scared and screaming! For horror and Island of Dr. Moreau fans don't miss this one!

Well done, watchable, interesting..Tiny Flaws. A well done suspenseful film from Eddie Romero and his Phillipine film's background. Much more interesting take on H. G. Wells classic novel The Island of Dr. Moreau than the M. Brando or B. Lancaster starred recent films. It was the first of four "Blood Island" series from Mr. Romero. A sole survivor of a shipwrecked freighter washes ashore onto a strange isolated island. Near death, Dr Charles Girland a scientist researching the secret of evolution between man and beast; heals the shipwreck victim. Evolution Untamed. The doctor transformed a local panther into a human being much to the fear of the natives and his beautiful lonely wife. The tortured beast escapes and attacks many people on the island only to finally find the doctor and get final justice from him. Great casting, acting, production values; but the end of the film leaves too much unanswered after the doctor gets killed by the panther-man. Strange unsatisfying ending, but better than expected effort.

"Terror is a Man" is a very, very low-budget film but despite this it's still a pretty good version of the classic H.G. Wells story "The Island of Lost Souls". So, despite being made in the Philippines, having a MOSTLY unknown cast and a relatively cheesy creature, the film was deftly made and featured a nice appearance by Francis Lederer as the mad doctor.

The film begins with a man in a lifeboat washing up on the shores of a mostly deserted island in the Pacific. He soon learns that only about a half dozen people live there and they all work for a weirdo doctor who is doing weird experiments. What, exactly, this experiment is doesn't become apparent until later, when you learn the crazy guy is trying to 'evolve' creatures into human form. What this really means are 50 or more surgeries that cause excruciating pain for the poor creature--all in the name of 'science'.

Unlike the original tale, there is only the one creature and there's a romance tossed in to boot. But, good suspense, acting and a credible explanation for why you don't see much of the creature all work to make a spooky and worthy horror film.

By the way, I did have one question that I thought of while watching the film. If the folks have been on this island for two years, how does the Doctor's wife have a perm?!

TERROR IS A MAN, with Greta Thyssen (--now that's a great name for a porno starlet, if you take my meaning--), directed by Gerry De Leon, is an ancient mystery/ horror flick in the mad scientist sub-genre about a mysterious creature on an island quite far from the Latin—American (Peruvian) shore. The Sci—Fi 'ideas' involved are quite murky; 'Fitzgerald' seems a bit contrary; at first he holds that the beast is human, then that it's not human. What does the turning of a feline into a human has to do with the creating of a superman? The mad scientist talks a lot about improving the man, but as a matter of fact he tries to turn a feline into a human.

My faithful readers know that I review here good movies, B movies (--like this one--), old movies (--including silent ones--) and TV series. I recently wrote about a Robertson chiller, DOMINIQUE, and that was an interesting B movie; TERROR IS A MAN begins well but it sinks. A conventionally intriguing plot, a handsome lead, a blonde sexpot; she's an overly delicious classical curvy blonde of the Marilyn type, the lead, 'Fitzgerald', is of the Mature type. But the movie is silly and ridiculous.

The beginning of this film is rather boring - not enough action and horror. It took an hour to get really capture my interest - and I usually enjoy this type of film from start to finish. The beginning is OK - it just needed to get to "the good stuff" earlier in the film - it's SLOW - not wait an hour before it got good. The last 25-30 minutes of the movie is a fun horror to watch... I enjoyed it.

I really wanted to like this film better - it looked so good but it was a disappointment to me. Good ending - slow beginning. I'm sorry but the first hour of the film felt like 3 hours to me while the last 30 minutes of it seemed to pass by very fast.

4/10

Apparently there are scientists around who want to turn animals into men. This is the story of one of them. Of course, the signature story is that of "The Island of Dr. Moreau." Here, a man traps black leopards and evolves them (?) into bipeds that have great strength. He is messing where he shouldn't be messing. A castaway comes along and gets in the way (by being moral in one sense but messing with the pretty wife in the other sense). Anyway, there is a nasty sidekick who hits the animal/man with a two by four and catman becomes violent when he sees this guy. Anyway, other than a kind of oppressive jungle setting, there is little new ground here.

***SPOILERS*** Being the soul survivor of the freighter "Pedro Queen" that sank in a typhoon in the South Pacific William Fitzgerald, Richard Derr, finds himself stranded on the island of Isla De Sangre where he's rescued by the local natives and brought to. Dr. Charles Girard's, Francis Lederer, seaside home to be nursed back to health. It's there that Fitzgerald finds out that the doc's wife the stunningly beautiful blond Frances, the former Miss. Denmark Greta Thyssen,is bored as hell in her obsessed husband's experiments in jump starting the evolution of the species! Who was more turned on and interested in his mad experiments then in her. What Dr. Girard is trying to create is the perfect man and do it by speeding up the evolutionary process by a few months then the usual thousand or millions of years that evolution takes to do it.

There's also Dr. Girard's assistant Walter, Oscar Kesse, who's got his eyes more on Frances then the Doc's experiments. It's the horny Walter who want's to experiment, if you know what I mean, with her more then with the creatures that the Doc is working on. What Dr. Girard is trying to create is what looks like a cat-man in a mummy costume that will, in his deranged mind, advance the human race some thousands of years into the future in both intelligence and creativity! What a nut job!

***SPOILERS*** As it turns out it's the hero of the movie William Fitzgerald who sees through Dr. Girard's insanity who secretly plans to escape from the island and take Frances along with him who had since fallen heads over heels in love with him. It's when the cat-man escapes and kills a number of people, including Walter, on the island Dr. Girard thinking that he's his friend and won't hurt him, here kitty kitty kitty, ends up getting clawed and thrown to his death by it who's by now sick and tired, now being a free man or cat, of being experimented on by him.***MAJOR SPOILER*** Now free to leave the island Fitzgerald and Frances are shocked to find out that the only boat to escape left on the island was commandeered by the cat-man himself despite having been shot a number of times. At the conclusion of the film we see cat-man sailing into the sunset leaving the two behind to meet the fate that awaits them!

The castaway William Fitzgerald (Richard Derr) is rescued in an island by Dr. Charles Girard (Francis Lederer), his lonely wife Frances Girard (Greta Thyssen) and his assistant Walter Perrera (Oscar Keesee Jr.). A couple of days later, Fitzgerald has an affair with Frances and realizes that the unethical and insane Dr. Girard is developing sick experiments and transforming a panther into a man-like creature. Meanwhile, the monster escapes from the laboratory, killing Walter and the servant Celina and seizing and capturing Frances with him. Fitzgerald and Dr. Girard chase the being along the night.

"Terror is a Man" is a watchable rip-off of "The Island of Dr. Moreau", with a monster that behaves like The Creature in "Frankenstein" and with the appearance of The Mummy. The story is silly, but considering that it is a very low-budget and theatrical B-movie, entertains. Unfortunately, the shameful DVD released in Brazil by the distributor Fantasy shows a completely damaged copy, "jumping" many scenes and making parts of the story impossible to be understood. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Criatura Sangrenta" ("Blood Creature")

The high impact scenes -- the cat creature breaking loose after being tortured by the Igor-like assistant and being set ablaze; the creature strapped to a gurney, tortuously attempting to learn the word "man" and the climactic action -- more than make up for the dreary domestic drama.

This movie scared the hell out of me when I was nine and it can still work some real magic. The sympathy you feel for the panther man is evoked with real skill.

It's so sad that this film's legacy became the awful Dr. Lorca and John Ashley Blood Island movies.

Richard Derr plays William Fitzgerald, a shipwreck survivor whose boat washes up on the beach of an isolated Pacific island. There he is made welcome by Dr. Charles Girard (Francis Lederer) and the doctors' sexy young wife Frances (Greta Thyssen). However, all is not right on this island paradise. The natives have recently fled because of the project on which Girard works: turning a panther into a human. Occasionally this beast (Flory Carlos) gets loose and goes on a rampage.

This unofficial adaptation of H.G. Wells' "The Island of Dr. Moreau", scripted by Paul Harber, also incorporates bits of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein". It gives us a mad scientist who definitely does not come off as that mad. He's played in a relatively even handed manner by the excellent, sharp featured Lederer. As we can see, Girard is actually pleased to have some more company on the island and is eager to show off his work in the hopes that Fitzgerald can appreciate what he's doing.

That doesn't happen, of course. Fitzgerald is appropriately mortified - yet fascinated, in spite of himself - at the prospect of this character attempting to play God. Frances is certainly unhappy, and yearns to get away. She sees Fitzgerald as a sort of savior.

The creature is played in an endearing Frankensteins' Monster sort of way. While it is creepy, it's also natural that we take some pity on it. After all, it didn't ask to be this way. The makeup effects are surprisingly good; we only see bits of it at first, with the creature resembling The Mummy, but when the bandages fall clear, we do get a good look at this combination of feline and man.

This was an early effort for Filipino exploitation & genre legends Edgar F. (Eddie) Romero and Gerardo (Gerry) De Leon, who also gave us the "Blood Island" series about a decade later. They give "Terror Is a Man" (renamed "The Blood Creature" for the North American market) plenty of wonderful atmosphere, shooting it in a stark black & white. It takes on the tones of a nightmare, and would play very well on a television set in the wee hours of the morning.

The acting is generally good, especially from Lederer. Oscar Keesee (as the thuggish assistant to the antagonist), Lilia Duran (as lovely local Selene), and Peyton Keesee (as the young boy Tiago) co-star.

"Terror Is a Man" is well worth seeking out, particularly if you love Filipino cinema.

Eight out of 10.

Shipwreck survivor William (a solid and likable portrayal by Richard Derr) finds himself stranded on an island with mad scientist Dr. Charles Girard (a fine and credible performance by Frances Lederer), who has surgically transformed a panther into a man (Flory Carlos in convincing grotesque make-up).

Although done on a modest budget, this picture nonetheless is made with some real finesse so it doesn't look or feel cheap: Directors Gerardo de Leon and Eddie Romero relate the compelling story at a steady pace, do an adept job of crafting a spooky atmosphere with a strong sense of dread, and stage the exciting climax with skill and flair. Paul Harbor's compact script smartly explores the ethical implications of the premise. The sound acting by the capable cast keeps this movie on track, with especially praiseworthy work from the gorgeous Greta Tyssen as Girard's fed-up neglected wife Frances, Oscar Keesee as disloyal and lecherous drunken assistant Walter Berrera, and Lilia Duran as scared local Selene. The crisp black and white cinematography by Emmanuel I. Rojas boasts several neat stylistic flourishes. The spirited shivery score by Gervacio Santos hits the stirring shuddery spot. However, it's the way that the panther man elicits a complex blend of both fear and pity that rates as this film's key artistic triumph. A nice little fright feature.

This film can best be described as slow moving and depressing. On the plus side It does have decent acting, quirky characters and a curvaceous 1950s blonde.

The story itself is about a skilled surgeon living on a lonely tropical Island. One of those deserted islands that some how manage to have a huge fortress like house built on them. He lives there with just his wife (the blonde), an assistant, and a few natives for servants (a young woman and her little brother). The other natives have left the island due to the doctors experiments, others have been killed. One day the lone survivor of a shipwreck washes up on their shore. He is told they have no contact with civilization. A ship comes only four times a year to deliver supplies. He will need to wait another two months for the ship. Since he is trapped there he eventually becomes the love interest for the wife. Her husband, the doctor, is to busy with his experiments to give her the attentions she craves. It seems that the Doc received his degree from the Dr. Moreau School of Mad Medicine. He has found a way to transform an animal into a creature resembling a man. In this case he has chosen an unfortunate panther for the subject of his experiments. Of course he makes it clear he's doing this not for his own sick reasons but, "for the benefit of all mankind". Yes, that standard mad Dr. excuse pops up once again. Evidently there are not enough of us humans on this earth arriving the old fashion way, this guy want's to turn animals into men too. Basically it's a rip off of H.G. Wells' 'The Island of Dr. Moreau'. here with just one animal being transformed, a slightly different story and a blonde adulteress wife. My guess is the story had just enough changes so the producers could not to be sued but the H.G. Wells estate.

There is one 'William Castle like' fun gimmick in the film. At the beginning a warning from the management appears saying that one scene is so frightening that a bell will ring to warn the squeamish when to close there eyes. About three quarters of the way into the film I had forgotten this and heard a sound like an old phone ringing. I thought a phone was ringing in the movie and wondered why nobody answered it. A phone on a deserted island with no way to contact the outside world ? Then I realized this must be the warning signal ! I waited for the scary scene I was warned of. After about two minutes, I realized that a short close up of a surgical incision being made must have been what the warning was for. I hardly even noticed the scene ! In today's world you would see ten times worse on just about any crime show autopsy scene like on NCIS. How times have changed and how jaded we have become to this sort of thing since the innocence of the 1950s.

I spent most of the movie rooting for the poor panther to get his revenge and not really caring about the rest of the characters. I almost dosed off a few times waiting for the predictable ending. My advice is to skip this one and use the time instead to watch the classic 1932 'Island of Lost Souls'.

This is a story about a scientist who lives on a remote island with his attractive wife and they thought this island would be a paradise for the both of them and it was for about two years.

The doctor had made some experiments on a human being and transformed this creature into a wild animal who obeyed him and his wife. However, a ship wrecked stranger appears on the island and he becomes quite involved with the doctor and also his sexy wife.

After a few months the village people all decide to leave this island because of so many deaths which are happening. The blonde wife asks the stranger to leave the island with her after he tells her he is in love with her.

Entertaining film, but rather boring considering it was on a B Budget.