Voodoo Island (1957) – Review

If you’re expecting a thrilling, spine-tingling adventure packed with dark magic and voodoo curses, Voodoo Island might leave you as lifeless as the zombies it barely features. This low-budget island horror film promises supernatural terror but mostly delivers sluggish jungle trekking, bad special effects, and a serious lack of, well…voodoo.

For this entry, you will find no adventure, no horror-filled tale of voodoo curses, terrifying zombies, or dark magic. Voodoo Island will politely take your expectations, crumple them up and toss them into a man-eating plant. Because what you actually get is a sluggish jungle expedition in what might be cinema’s most unconvincing supernatural horror. We begin with Phillip Knight (Boris Karloff), a professional debunker of supernatural hoaxes. This man has probably seen it all and now looks like he’s running on nothing but irritation and a mild disdain for the script. He’s been hired by a wealthy hotel tycoon named Howard Carlton (Owen Cunningham), who wants to build a luxury resort on a mysterious South Pacific Island. The problem? The last group of surveyors who went there didn’t return in the best of shape—one of them came back completely catatonic. Now, if you or I had heard that, we might rethink our travel plans, but Carlton just sees dollar signs and sends another group to check things out.

Knight assembles a small team to accompany him to the island, including:

• Sarah Adams (Jean Engstrom) – Knight’s assistant and the only one with an ounce of common sense.
• Barney Finch (Murvyn Vye) – Carlton’s business associate who is concerned about the financial implications of the supposed curse. He exists solely to be greedy and dismissive.
• Claire Winter (Beverly Tyler) – The resort’s designer, who is brought along for no other reason than to look scared and become a victim.
• Doctor Wilding (Herbert Patterson) – He’s brought along to keep an eye on the final “member” of the team, Mitchell.
• Mitchell (Glenn Dixon) – The zombified surveyor of the previous expedition who Knight wants along to find out if his catatonic state is a hoax, voodoo or something else.

“Is he suffering from voodooism or boredom?”

After a brief stopover at a weather station, they make their way to a nearby resort owned by Martin Schuler (Elisha Cook Jr), who provides them with the boat they’ll need to reach “Voodoo Island.” It’s captained by Matthew Gunn (Rhodes Reason) whose sole job seems to be hitting on the ladies and attempting to play the hero. He’s very bad at both. It’s made abundantly clear that the locals are 100% NOT ON BOARD with this little excursion – a cursed bag is left on the deck of their boat that indicates that they will all die – but of course, everyone ignores this because they know they’re in a ’50s horror movie.   As soon as they start out on their little trip, things go from “mildly concerning” to “we should have stayed on the boat.” Strange things start happening—some of them hear eerie noises, or feel like they’re being watched, but worst of all… killer plants make an appearance. Yes, this film’s version of terror includes carnivorous vines that look like something your grandma might use as a Halloween decoration on the front lawn. They lunge at people with the speed and agility of a tired sloth, but somehow, they manage to take out a member of the group.

“Goodbye, Claire, we barely knew you.”

It’s at this point that Sarah Adams begins to rethink her career choices as the ominous vibes of the island starts get to her, and she begins to wonder if being a cold analytical researcher is going to keep her safe, or if embracing the warm arms of Gunn would be a better alternative, even though he’s a bit of a sexist asshat.  At this point, the group has spent a good chunk of the film’s runtime wandering through the jungle, arguing about whether the island is cursed or not. Knight remains annoyingly skeptical while Finch demands they return to the boat, but Knight warns the group that if they retrace their steps, the local voodoo practitioners will descend on them with lethal intent. Which sounds totally logical. So, instead of turning back, they press forward, practically daring the island to ruin them.

And Finch does end up a little ruined.

Eventually, the final penny drops and our plucky adventurers are captured by the locals and it’s here that we learn island’s backstory from the Native Chief (Friedrich von Ledebur), that fifty years ago his people had fled to this island to escape the encroachment of the white man’s world, relying on the island’s killer plants and their own voodoo practices to remove or kill unwanted visitors. Knight promises that if let go, he will ensure that no one ever returns to this island. Unfortunately, Schuyler sees this as reneging on the promises of riches he’d receive if this island had been turned into a resort, and he loudly states his position in front of the Chief. Needless to say, this insanely stupid declaration results in his death – voodoo magic sends him falling off a bridge into the water below – and then our remaining “heroes” are let go. To say this conclusion is a tad anticlimactic would be a vast understatement.

“As a resort, I give this place one star.”

Stray Observations:

• This is the film debut of Adam West, he plays the scintillating character of Weather Station #4 Radio Operator. I guess you have to start somewhere.
• It should be noted that Voodoo is associated with the Caribbean, not the South Pacific. But hey, why let facts like proper location and culture get in the way of telling a story?
• The lush, dangerous jungle feels about as real as a theme park attraction, and you wouldn’t be surprised if a guy in a Mickey Mouse suit wandered through the background.
• We don’t arrive at “Voodoo Island” until about the film’s halfway point, which is not ideal when the title of the movie is Voodoo Island.
• Rhodes Reason would later take an expedition to another dangerous island, Farou Island in King Kong vs. Godzilla, where he’d have a little better luck with the ladies.
• The script ever so subtly hints that Claire is a lesbian; she hits on Sarah and rebuffs Gunn’s advances. Sadly, she is killed before Sarah is given a chance to choose between two suitors.
• The voodoo dolls in this movie veer between cute and cuddly Cabbage Patch Dolls to the more needle-friendly version.

These would be a hit at the resort gift shop.

One of the film’s biggest flaws is its pacing, considering a movie about voodoo curses, reanimated bodies, and jungle dangers. Voodoo Island moves at a snail’s pace, filled with long, talky stretches that sap any energy the premise might have had. The supposed threats—whether supernatural or natural—are disappointingly tame, and the film never fully embraces the pulpy potential of its setup. Despite the title, there’s almost no actual voodoo—just vague mentions of curses and some brief glimpses of unsettling island inhabitants and those dolls. Then there’s the obviously limited budget, which leaves us with cheap-looking jungle sets and one of the least convincing “man-eating plants” in movie history.

Audrey II, this is not.

Karloff, usually a commanding screen presence, seems oddly detached as if he knows the material isn’t up to par and as for the supporting cast, they are largely forgettable, save for a few overacted moments that provide unintentional amusement. That said, Voodoo Island isn’t a total loss. There’s a mild sense of adventure, some amusingly dated dialogue, and a few so-bad-they’re-good moments that could make this worth a watch for die-hard fans of classic B-movie horror. The eerie tropical setting—while not particularly well utilized—at least provides a unique backdrop. 

“Set a course for adventure, your mind on a new romance.”

In conclusion, Voodoo Island is neither spooky enough to be a good horror film nor entertaining enough to be a fun adventure. Even Karloff devotees may struggle to stay engaged. The true curse of Voodoo Island isn’t supernatural—it’s the curse of boredom.