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.

"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?!

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.