The Island of Lost Souls begins in fog and frequently obstructs viewers from clearly seeing places characters. Shadows often appear conspicuously on characters or to obscure action in darkness. Briefly describe a moment where you see one or more of these strategies in action and the impact of that moment on you as a viewer.
13 thoughts on “Island of Lost Souls”
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There was an instance when the Edwin was trying to escape along with Lota and while they were being surrounded by the human and creature-like hybrids their shadows were appearing before them in order to build suspense and frighten the audience. Later on in the film as Sayer leaves the comfort and security of his house in order to inspire awe within the hybrid human inventions the camera is zoomed into his face in order to emphasize the shadow and the ill intentions that he has in order to tame the agitation that the creature have.
I personally really enjoyed the intro to this film. I think the fact that the film is in black and white helps add an artistic touch (though, it clearly wasn’t black and white for that reason). The black waters the boat was moving across and the varying degrees of shadow throughout the entire film that inevitably consumed certain details (typically the edges of the screen) added a degree of suspense and unknowing-ness. I also enjoyed the lack of music that was used in this film as I feel like it actually would have been a distraction to the suspense as it seemed very gently built. The shadows hiding details also feels almost foreshadowing of Edward’s discovery that Dr. Moreau is, too, hiding some rather important information.
Two moments struck me as being integral to the establishment of suspense, mystery, and horror in the plot of the movie. In the beginning, the first scenes upon the arrival of Parker and the Doctors to the island, there is a use of shadows and low light to hide the true grotesque nature of the creatures who live on the island. While they are not hidden entirely from sight, they are not revealed in a full display of their animal like qualities (except for the fur). The shadows in addition to the camera distance from the creatures creates an element of mystery and suspense in which you can vaguely identify that they are closely human (upright, corporally), though something is awry. Towards the end of the movie (01:06:15), the big reveal of the extent of their horrors is revealed as they emerge from the shadows and approach the camera (shot from Dr. Moreau’s perspective) – this is the essence of the horror and what is meant to make us jump (which it totally succeeded in doing for myself).
Around the hour mark of the movie when Dr Moreau sends Ouran to kill Donahue the use of shadow is interesting. Moreau emerges into the shadow from the gate and then steps out of it towards where Ouran is cast in shadow.This emergence from darkness seems to be his final straw and is when he uses these beast men purposefully to turn on the captain and each other for breaking the law. It also then shifts to Ouran lurking in the shadows behind Donahue in pursuit, adding to the unease that has been developed throughout the entire film. When he finally catches up to him, Donahue is left in shadow while all of the beast men are lit trying to understand what has happened to cause him to break the law. Moreau also appears again in shadow watching them understand the breaking of the law. This lighting of the beast men and shadowing of Moreau seems to represent a shift in control on the island, with them attempting to break free from Moreau’s dark rule that they have been shackled under. The way the island goes up in flames at the end further pushes this island of finally coming into the light after being hidden, but they were not created to exist in the light and neither is Dr Moreau so it all ends in ruin. The dark experiments Dr Moreau was conducting were supposed to be some of his greatest work, but he had to hide them in the shadows, where he existed as well. This flip of putting the beasts in brighter light at the end helps the viewer to understand what was really at play here and brings the building unease to the forefront of the film.
The theme of “Island of Lost Souls” is based on the boundary between the animal world—wild and uncontrollable—and the human world—controlled and restrictive. The movie especially intends to portray the tug-of-war between them through the lens of horror, as Dr. Moreau creates humanoid creatures through surgical operations on wild animals, having the human world trying to impose itself over the natural world in a terrifying and unsettling way. The use of shadows and lights makes the distinction between these two worlds very obvious throughout the movie. All human characters are always in white suits, making them visible when they are in a scene. On the other hand, Dr. Moreau’s experimental humanoids are covered in dark fur/hair and shown in settings with low lighting (like the ones in the cave when they first arrive), making them harder to spot for the audience. The choice to conceal the presence of these monsters through shadows makes the viewer feel uneasy and uncertain about their true nature, keeping them on their toes about these monsters’ humanity and/or wilderness. Overall, I believe the use of shadows and dark hues around Dr. Moreau’s experiments creates tension, uncertainty, and fear about the risks of humans trying to impose reason, restraint, and control over nature.
From my experience of watching horror movies, most films heavily rely on musical sound effects to evoke fear in the audience. However, it was fascinating that this film did not incorporate any dramatic sound effects. The sound from this film was primarily dialogues and sounds of beasts screaming, which in turn failed to create as much suspense and fear as possible. Instead, the film creates a feeling of fear and uncertainty through dramatic changes in the mood and background of the scenes, and 23:45 – 27:45 is an excellent example of this. Overall, watching this film makes me curious whether the director’s absence of dramatic sound effects was a personal preference or whether this cinematic technique was not known during this period.
In the discussion starting at 58:28 between Dr. Moreau and Montgomery, both figures are cast in varying degrees of shadow. As Montgomery reprimands Dr. Moreau for finally having gone too far (as if he hadn’t already), he is framed in slits of shadow and light. Bars of darkness, almost like the bars of a cell, run across his body, including one running noticeably across his face, and yet he is still visible. Dr. Moreau, on the other hand, is cloaked in almost complete darkness, ensconced in an adjacent alcove. The difference in the amount of shadow covering each character could be seen as in some way reflective of their respective personalities. Montgomery has done horrible things in service of Dr. Moreau, but even he is not completely bad, as we see when he rejects Dr. Moreau’s philosophy, saying prison would be preferable, and helps Parker and Ruth escape. Dr. Moreau, on the other hand, is shrouded entirely in darkness, an image of the blackness that fills him as a person.
Around minute 20 is the moment that the audience is first introduced to Lota. In this scene there are lots of shadows cast behind Dr Moreau. These shadows continue to build up the tension from the previous few minutes where the audience is seeing a ton of animal/human like figures in the jungle. As Dr Moreau is explaining to a Lota, who is still off screen, that she must behave and not discuss certain elements of the island, like the House of Pain, the shadows of the cages move around him and eventually the left side of the screen becomes darker as the back of Lota’s head is moved into the frame. This use of darkness and shadow to keep Lota’s face hidden makes the audience question what this character is going to look like. For the previous few minutes, many animal looking humans have been shown and this intentional choice to keep Lota’s face in the dark leaves the audience in anticipation of the reveal of this new character’s features. This use of shadow and darkness is key to the audience being surprised by Lota looking completely normal. It makes the audience wonder why she is on the island and what her purpose there could be since she doesn’t resemble any of the other experiments.
At around 16:34, there are a few moments where the mysterious people of the island come out of the jungle, just enough for parts of their bodies and faces to be seen. These people look similar to some of the others seen on the ship, where they may have fur or other attributes of animals such as the pointed, furry ear of a dog. Dr. Moreau is seen using his long whip to scare the people away. These aggressive, animalistic people are the opposite of Dr. Moreau, who is skilled with the whip, well dressed, well spoken, and well educated. Hiding these people away so that they barely can be seen in the light adds to the mystery of the island and Dr. Moreau’s character. Dr. Moreau clearly has some power over these people, commanding them with the whip and taking ownership of each space he is seen moving through. These figures barely come out of the jungle before Dr. Moreau casually whips at them, suggesting that they are curious but also live in fear of Dr. Moreau, though the viewer does not understand why. Hiding these people away emphasizes his command and status on the island (thought at this moment in the film it is unknown why he has it) in addition to contributing to a sense of mystery. It leaves the viewer wondering who these people are, why they are hiding in the brush, and why Dr. Moreau is able to have some control over them.
One of the two scenes that i found that used shadows well were 58:30 and 54:30. At 54:30 we see that Ruth Thomas gets her first sign that the natives have some interest in her whether it be for curiosity, murderous intent, or possibly even sexual intent considering she’s the only women seen on the unmarked island. The native is seen holding onto the bars with the intent of going after Ms. Thomas, but the shadows caused by the cage that surrounded them to protect them from the natives seemed to cause a shadow hiding the natives’ true intentions, that is until the closeup of the natives’ face is shown and left on screen for some seconds which left a sort of unsettling eerie experience as the viewer. Later we understand that his intentions weren’t pure, and this scene was foreshadowing to that same native breaking into Ms. Thomas room.
At 58:30 we can’t see Dr.Monroes face having known that the natives were starting to misbehave, while I’m a little unsure of what the authors intentions could have been it definitely left me confused on who’s side he was on, and it made me question his true intentions.
The scene where Dr. Moreau and Edward Parker arrive at the Island of Lost Souls effectively uses fog and shadows to create an atmosphere of both mystery and danger. As the two protagonists arrive on the island, the fog appears thick and pervasive. More specifically, it completely conceals the island’s landscape – leaving its details up to the viewers’ imagination, as well as conveying a sense of isolation and potential risk. The fog also makes the boat’s arrival seem disorienting, further contributing to a feeling of great unease. Immediately after, the camera shifts perspectives to reveal three backlit figures in a cave – all of which bend over and watch as the boat approaches the island. Although their faces are hidden, it is clear through their movements that the individuals are not entirely human. The uncertainty surrounding the island and its residents also contributes to a growing sense of fear. In addition, the silhouettes of the three individuals and the darkness of the cave directly contrast with the light coming from the open sea; while this emphasizes the ominous presence of the figures, it also foreshadows the unsettling events that eventually occur on the island. It was interesting to watch Dr. Moreau and Parker walk away from the light into the darkness of the cave – this moment creates worry for the viewer as they transition from a place of familiarity into a world of complete uncertainty.
I agree with you that this film uses dark shadows to create an atmosphere of uncertainty. For me, there were different emotions associated with this uncertainty. The opening scene you described with the cave and the fog made me feel more curious and confused about Dr. Moreau and the place he was leading Mr. Parker to. However, around 26:30, this technique of using shadows and darkness to create uncertainty made me feel a lot more scared rather than curious. This was because there was a turning point prior to this moment that made the setting suddenly feel dangerous. For instance, at first, Mr. Parker was casually smoking a cigar and almost acting as a tourist at this unfamiliar place. But then, Mr. Parker gets a glimpse of Dr. Moreau’s awful work and is suddenly running for his life. So, this scene feels a lot more intense and I am scared for Mr. Parker and Lota, which makes the concealment from the dark shadows feel a lot more frightening because you can’t clearly see what’s going on and who they might run into during their attempted escape, whether that be the “natives”, Dr. Moreau, or someone else.
I thought a lot about the use of shadows in this film as well. With the Burke text in mind, I thought it was fascinating that the film made no effort to hide the “monsters” of the film, which were the animals-turned-humans, who appeared in broad daylight within the first ten minutes. Burke writes that it takes a level of obscurity and vagueness to make something terrifying; that to paint a clear picture of that which is meant to be terrifying will achieve a lesser effect than only keeping it partially in shadows. The fact that the creatures are so visible on screen from the beginning of the film proves that the creatures are not really the scary thing– rather, Dr. Moreau, whose face and body is consistently shrouded in shadow, is the monster that should be feared.