Lost Soul: The Doomed journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau (2014)

Dir: David Gregory

I first became aware of Richard Stanley sitting in a darkened theatre watching his killer robot film HARDWARE (1990). The use of colour (nod to Argento?), the gritty world, and Lemmy as a riverboat cabbie got to me. The film has issues but what was onscreen intrigued me and I looked forward to Stanley's next film. That next film was DUST DEVIL (1992). Due to studio interference, the film was drastically cut and a lack of faith in the film meant little in the way of marketing or actually being shown in theatres. I didn't see the film until its pan and scan (!) VHS release. It's a bit too deliberately paced for my tastes but features stunning visuals. When I read that Stanley was going to helm a remake of H.G. Well's ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU in the pages of Fangoria, I was excited. Stanley would have the budget and resources to make his vision come to life. Man, was I wrong.

Reading about the debacle that was Stanley's effort in Fangoria I was pissed that actors and producers conspired against him seemingly in an effort to destroy the film. LOST SOUL, a documentary about the filming of ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, takes a more objective tone to the subject than the fan boy me from twenty years ago.

Via interviews with Stanley, actors (curiously David Thewlis and Ron Perlman did not participate), crew, producers, Michael Gingold of Fangoria fame and a very candid Robert Shaye, the president of New Line Cinema, we learn what happened. Stanley was obviously prepared going into production, he shows off a slew of characters sketches, and had a well thought out vision of how the story would be told but as the film grew from low budget to a forty million dollar hot release Stanley began losing control and became reclusive. Starring Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer who both, by just about all accounts, acted like jerks and at times seemingly were trying to sabotage the production, it was too much for Stanley. Shaye was looking for a way to salvage the investment and fired Stanley after a few days of shooting and brought in John Frankenheimer to usurp the role of director. If you have seen ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU you'll know that even veteran director Frankenheimer was unable to reign in the shear stupidity of Brando's acting decisions. The finished product is very disappointing and a waste of the talents of the participants.

LOST SOUL is a fascinating look at a promising prospect that was doomed to fail.

***1/2 out of ****