Island of Dr. Moreau, The (1996)
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Chimera; Transgenics; Vivisection
A mad geneticist and gun-wielding human-animal hybrids make Dr. Moreau's island a truly horrifying place.
The Island of Dr. Moreau opens on Edward Douglas (David Thewlis), a U.N. peace negotiator, who is hovering near death in the ocean after a plane crash. He is rescued by Montgomery (Val Kilmer), who invites Edward to accompany him as he returns to his island. Once Edward arrives, however, he realizes that the island is not the idyllic paradise it appears, as it is populated by creatures both animal and human in appearance. Montgomery is assistant to the brilliant Dr. Moreau (Marlon Brando), who has retreated from society in order to conduct experiments in which humans genes are fused into animal DNA. His goal is to refine the human species by eradicating destructive elements of the human psyche, which he deems an effect of genetic composition rather than environmental effects. The humans on the island soon find that the genetically-altered creatures are not easily controlled, as warring natural instincts lead to a dangerous regression into the animalistic state. Soon the humans must fight for their lives as the creatures manifest the most vicious attributes of either species, no longer obeying the laws instituted by Moreau to maintain control of the island.
Frankenheimer’s film incorporates recent advances in genetic research unavailable to Wells when he wrote the novel. The film implies that the natural aggressiveness of animals is dangerous when genetically combined with human capabilities; the creatures, for instance, are now able to hunt the humans with machine guns. It indicates that certain basic instincts, like violence and self-preservation, are shared by both animals and humans, which explains the continual threat of the creatures’ regression into aggressiveness. In fact, it is the creatures’ abilities to question the ethicality of the pain chips inserted under their skin, rather than natural tendencies towards violence, that finally prompts their murderous rage. The question looming over the action is whether Moreau has an ethical responsibility to control the creatures he has created, since their human capacity for reason and emotion elevates them above mere brutes. The resolution of the film, in which Edward leaves the creatures to revert to their natural forms without interference, ultimately reinforces the implicit critique of cross-speciation already raised with the ethical dilemmas of animal experimentation and the subsequent violence that erupts on the island.
Evaluation: Although the film boast well-respected actors, this adaptation is almost comical even when meant to serious or frightening. As a tool for debates about ethics or genetic engineering, this film fails because viewers will be deterred by the awful screenplay and performances.
– Natalie Champ