The Island of Dr. Moreau

PG-13

1996

1 hr. 35 min.

Sci-Fi

List

22%

36 Reviews

Tomatometer

20%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

An English U.N. negotiator (David Thewlis) becomes stranded in the tropics with a mad scientist (Marlon Brando) who makes half-human beasts.

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Critics Consensus

Timid and unfocused in its storytelling, The Island Of Dr. Moreau is more lackluster misfire than morbid curiosity.

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Alec B

Embarrassing for just about everyone involved (except maybe Stan Winston). Brando's trolling performance is legitimately jaw dropping. You just cannot believe they let him do all of this nonsense.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/29/24

Full Review

Marc D

This movie is very bad

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/24

Full Review

Gareth v

Bad, really bad. Where do you start? Bad acting, lazy writing and insipid directing, pretty much sums it up in a nutshell.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/02/24

Full Review

Rami A

Even if it's awful, you can still giggle at how ridiculous everything is.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/11/24

Full Review

Red T

Bizarre is the best way to describe this. Just every single shot is filled with bizarre actions, horrifically bad looking makeup troll satan creatures that remind you of Spawn. It's not hyberbole to say 90% of the film has a bizarre crazy scene action in it that makes it impossible to take anything seriously. The acting is just as atrocious. The main character is forgettable and we lose focus on him in the second half. Brando, Kilmer, and all the creatures give performances that can best be described as bizarre and out of place like Dennis Hopper in Super Mario Bros. Val Kilmer is so miscast especially. The editing and music is terrible as well. The african drums soundtrack is so out of place. The ending becomes borderline incoherent and it feels like this movie becomes unhinged in the final 20-30 minutes or so. We never really get explanation as to what the new creature who takes control of the island what his plan is, why they kill Moreuaus daughter, and the plot twist comes out of nowhere with Edward being the missing link. It feels like stuff just happens at the end. I'm not sure if this is trying to be horror, fantasy, or a thriller. And this all makes for atrocious pacing as well as this can't get out of its own way. No suspense, unintentional laughter every other scene, borderline unwatchable bizarre images, and flying off the rails at the end. Stay away from this at all cost.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/21/23

Full Review

Taylor L

On an island full of mutated animal hybrids, it's former sex symbol Marlon Brando covered in sunscreen that looks the grossest. I was actually reminded to watch this thanks to the Val documentary, and that's not without good reason - the story of the production of this film is more interesting than the film itself. It's a notorious trainwreck of a movie, with its original director fired mid-production, miserable on-location shooting, titanic egos crashing into one another, and a pervasive sense of confusion haunting the entire project, which was substantial enough to filter through to the audiences in the theatre. Thanks to Brando's forceful personality and Frankenheimer's desire to make the film his own once he took it over, there were apparently constant rewrites, and both Brando and Kilmer just seemed to do whatever they wanted on set, including while the camera was rolling. Brando had an ice bucket hat that his character likes to use to cool down, and Kilmer pops up with a computer chip on his head at one point. The movie is so strange that it wraps back around to having value, with iconic actors apparently deliberately sabotaging the production in ways you won't see anywhere else. Still underwhelming and certainly a bad film with erratic themes, but it's bad in unusual ways that make it worth watching just to understand. The only person that brought their unironic A-game to this movie was iconic makeup/special effects designer Stan Winston; the animation is dodgy as hell but the facial prosthetics are legitimately good. (1.5/5)

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/06/23

Full Review

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John Frankenheimer

Director

Marlon Brando

Dr. Moreau

Val Kilmer

Montgomery

David Thewlis

Edward Douglas

Fairuza Balk

Aissa

Ron Perlman

Sayor of the Law

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

John Frankenheimer is credited as director, but given the scrambled, multiple agendas at play here, he seems to function more like a bemused traffic cop.

Jun 14, 2022

Full Review

David Ansen

Newsweek

Brando's performance is enormous fun, but it's not just a joke. He's hilarious and gently mesmerizing at once, and director John Frankenheimer savvily adjusts the tone of his movie to fit Brando's daft brilliance.

Feb 27, 2018

Full Review

Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

Roughly akin to watching a slow-motion train wreck in which the flames spread into the brush and become an out-of-control wildfire. What the hell happened?

Aug 16, 2016

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Not even the most devoted Frankenheimer enthusiast will find a coherent outcome, no matter how layered it may be with admirable degrees of pure oddity and (arguably intentional) hokum.

Rated: 1.5/4

Aug 30, 2022

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Thanks to special creature and makeup effects by Stan Winston, the various deformed fiends take center stage, showcasing diverting designs and a decent production value.

Rated: 4/10

Sep 14, 2020

Full Review

Walter Chaw

Film Freak Central

It's not to say there's not a lot wrong with the film, but rather to suggest that the chief criticisms of it being strange and "a mess" aren't among them.

Rated: 2.5/4

Aug 19, 2012

Full Review

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Synopsis

An English U.N. negotiator (David Thewlis) becomes stranded in the tropics with a mad scientist (Marlon Brando) who makes half-human beasts.

Director: John Frankenheimer
Executive Producer: Tim Zinnemann, Claire Rudnick Polstein
Screenwriter: Richard Stanley, Ron Hutchinson
Production Co: New Line Cinema
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 28, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $27.7M
Sound Mix: Stereo, Surround

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