It's a tropical paradise and a whole lot more. Catch some rays and a bad case of zombie-itis! Take a refreshing swim in the fresh water swamp, home of the woman-eating cobra plants. Camp out in the jungle wilderness surrounded by poisonous snakes and other deadly creatures. Learn how to inflect pain and death on your fellow tourists through the fine art of voodoo. These are just a few travel highlights provided by professional trip planner Boris Karloff, your guide to remote tropical hideaways.

Not one of Karloff's stellar efforts, Voodoo Island (1957) is still an enjoyably tacky horror thriller that just might scare the bejabbers out of a five-year-old child. For one thing, the carnivorous plants seen in the film were exact replicas of known biological species. Of course, they were enlarged several times and created out of rubber, paper and plastic.

Voodoo Island is also a little kinky around the edges. Is it more than a little obvious that anthropologist Claire Winter (Jean Engstrom) appears to have a mighty big crush on fellow safari member, Sara Adams (Beverly Tyler)? Another naughty footnote: the film was released in an alternate European version which featured Jean Engstrom taking a dip in the buff. In the American version, she appears clad in a leotard.

Director: Reginald LeBorg
Producer: Howard W. Koch
Screenplay: Richard Landau
Cinematography: William Margulies
Special Effects: Jack Rabin, Louis De Witt
Music: Les Baxter
Cast: Boris Karloff (Dr. Phillip Knight), Beverly Tyler (Sara Adams), Murvyn Vye (Barney Finch), Elisha Cook, Jr. (Martin Schuyler), Rhodes Reason (Matthew Gunn), Jean Engstrom (Claire Winter).
BW-78m.

by Jeff Stafford