This forgettable Italian potboiler is titled rather misleadingly to make us believe that this could be a horror film. The presence of the star-billed horror icon Boris Karloff only further cements this notion. But the sad reality is that this is a very plodding crime film as opposed to cheesetastic horror schlock. Set on an island just off the Italian mainland, it follows a policeman who is dispatched there to root out a gang of drug peddlers who operate in the vicinity. Once he arrives there a young child is kidnapped by the gangsters adding a further dimension to the criminality at play.Starting with the positives, this one does have an attractive location and it is interesting to see an early example of Italian genre cinema. So it does have some distinctive elements which set it apart from a lot of other similar types of movies from the period. However, it does have to be said that this one is resolutely lacking in excitement at all levels. This really shouldn't be so, given the set-up but to say that the potential in the material is never maximised is unfortunately no understatement. While it is nice to see Karloff, in truth he doesn't really add a lot to this one either. The most interesting character was the dog to be perfectly honest. In summary, this one is pretty much a misfire and mainly only has historical interest I would say.

So, what were Italian crime movies like before they realised that they had to put Maurizio Merli in there, with the funky music and the slapping about of the dames and the violence and what not? Like this I guess, which starts of like the most boring film in the world and then actually manages to turn things around and be entertaining. Honestly. First time I tried to watch this I switched it off after the first half hour. Second time I fell asleep. Third times a charm! In Naples, some guy from the treasuary is sent to Capri to find out whose smuggling drugs in the area. Is it the sexy night club singer? Or that guy who keeps following him about? How about Boris Karloff? Probably, right? After rather a lot of talking, things pick up when the agent's daughter gets kidnapped by Karloff. Why you would bring your family on an assignment is beyond me, but that's what happened.Also, this guy was undercover but could be seen at any time boarding a ship full of armed cops but then they didn't realise that was him later when he turned up claiming to be from a gang in Genoa? I'm guessing the drug runners were sampling their product a bit too often.Things pick up further when a dog outsmarts Boris and finds the kid, some double crosses are thrown in for good measure and there's even a very slow car chase. Not bad for an ancient Euro crime film, could have done with a funky soundtrack and Massimo Vanni though.Capri doesn't appear to have changed in the slightest in the time between this film being made and me visiting there in 2001. Even Boris Karloff was still there!

The title is very misleading if you are in a quick search for a horror flick; and especially when you see it starring Boris Karloff. This appears to be a low budget project made in Italy. Mr. Karloff appears on screen maybe less than ten minutes of the 87 minute running time. Film is very grainy and English translation out of sync. An idyllic island is not the vacation spot off the coast of Italy it claims to be. Actually it is a hot spot for drug running. A government agent is sent to find the actual location of where the drugs are being transported and possibly infiltrate the ring responsible. Karloff, the drug lord, so to speak is referred to as 'The Island Monster'. The list of players include: Franca Marzi, Renato Vicario, Clara Gamberini and Giullo Battiferri.

"An undercover government agent arrives on an Italian island in order to investigate a drug-smuggling ring. The agent quickly establishes some contacts on the island and appears to be well along in the case when a complication arrives. His wife and daughter visit him, thus destroying his cover, and the head of the ring, a kind older man with a dark secret, kidnaps his daughter," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis."The Island Monster" has a drug-smuggling Boris Karloff (as Don Gaetano) and his gang kidnapping the daughter of leading man Renato Vicario (as Mario Andreani). Franca Marzi (as Gloria D'Auro) provides ample feminine distraction, which Mr. Vicario has promised his wife he'll avoid, romantically. The film's horrendously dubbed-in-English version is, at least, outstanding in that respect.* Il mostro dell'isola (1954) Roberto Bianchi Montero ~ Renato Vicario, Franca Marzi, Boris Karloff