This odd little film is--oddly enough--good because it is so badly done. For starters, it concerns some sort of South Seas witchcraft instead of voodoo. And many viewers probably feel bewitched while trying to figure out all the confusing plot devices and glaring gaps in the storyline. One can easily get the impression that minimal direction has allowed the players to conjure their own magic in regard to their individual roles. Some ring as hollow as a dried-out gourd, like those of Boris Karloff and Elisha Cook, Jr., actors who certainly knew how to move the spirit in melodramas. Rhodes Reason, on the other hand, puts yeoman effort into his boat-captain portrayal, struggling at times to make schmaltzy lines sound serious. Beverly Tyler, as Karloff's all-business assistant, lays it on thick as a prissy prig, high-mindedly brushing off the attentions of Reason and Jean Engstrom, who, as elegant decorator Miss Winters, delivers a subtle but nonetheless obvious portrayal of a lesbian. In such a lightweight, run-of-the-mill script, Engstrom's character probably could have emerged as merely a sophisticate trying to glamorize Tyler's dowdy Sarah Adams and rebuff Reason's rough-hewn Matthew Gunn. But Engstrom intricately weaves a fascinating, on-the-QT characterization that steals every scene she is in. Both women have to contend with predatory phallic-looking plants as well as the macho ministrations of Reason. And there are threats posed by hexing island natives and their oddly Anglo chief. All in all, a fun flick to be marooned in for an hour or so!

Phillip Knight(Boris Karloff)makes a living writing books that debunk superstitions, curses and the such. He is hired by a mega-rich industrialist to prove that an island in the Pacific is safe enough to build a future resort in spite of mysterious disappearances. You can bet that real estate prices plummet after the discovery of carnivorous plants and roaming zombies.Really nothing to see that is horribly frightening. Your imagination is suppose to do that for you; although the score by Les Baxter is superb in the category of creepiness. Actually not a bad movie; Karloff himself stoic and bit mysterious...and he's the good guy. Familiar B-movie stalwarts fill the rest of the cast: Elisha Cook Jr., Rhodes Reason, Beverly Tyler, Joan Engstrom and Herbert Patterson.

Scientist Phillip Knight(the always marvelous Boris Karloff, even in this) who debunks myths and superstitions as folly for the weak-minded, is sent by a major hotel industrialist to a specific island to see what has turned a man(Glenn Dixon)into a living zombie who appears healthy, but shows nothing on his face. Knight's secretary, Sarah(the simply stunning Beverly Tyler, who just looks fantastic from the moment she appears on screen to the close)and "designer" Claire Winter(Jean Engstrom)come along with Knight along with the industrialist's right hand man Barney(Murvyn Vye). Matthew Gunn(Rhodes Reason)is the skipper who will boat them to the mysterious island and Martin(Elisha Cook, Jr..who might..gasp..just die again in yet another movie)who stands to benefit financially from the success of a resort area if one is created on the supposed voodoo island. Upon once getting to the island, they encounter carnivorous plants(!), a voodoo cult who are shown often poking their heads slightly out of the forest leaves, and, gulp, possible death.It's corny, there's just no way around it, but fans of cheesy B-movie chillers might bask in it's lameness. The killer plants look like rubber inter-tubes, the hokey romance development between Sarah and Gunn is filled with horribly limp dialogue that might make you snicker, and could very well have the worst performance of Elisha Cook, Jr's career. His death scene towards the end is hilarious instead of frightening..the supposed impact of that scene elicits guffaws instead of fear. Karloff shows why he was such a wonderful actor and presence on screen when he can even make the flimsiest dialogue leap somewhat. He's damn good even when facing a dead body wrapped in killer leaves and stiff "Native Chief" Friedrich von Ledebur who looks bored out of his skull. The stench from this stinker can be smelled a mile away, but somehow Karloff still comes out of this unscathed. Known by many to feature an open lesbian seeking a relationship as Winters tries every way to convey her lust for Sarah.

I'm pretty sure that Boris Karloff wouldn't have been too quick to mention this film when it came to talking about his career, and that's hardly surprising as Voodoo Island is a cheap little adventure flick and there isn't much reason to recommend it to anyone. Perhaps the most disappointing thing about the film is, as others have pointed out, that despite the title; there is very little actual voodoo in the film. There are man-eating plants and big snakes and stuff...but that's not really voodoo now is it? The plot follows a hoax-buster who is sent to an island to investigate reports of voodoo. We are introduced to a whole range of dull characters, and even Karloff looks hideously bored. The special effects are so terrible that Ed Wood would have proud of them, but the rest of us are likely to roll our eyes as we watch Beverly Tyler wrap herself up in a very fake looking snake. The plot doesn't progress, it merely plods along and by the time we get to the actual voodoo tribe, I doubt many people will be left awake. I liked the fact that the film featured a performance from distinctive support actor Elisha Cook, and seeing Karloff is always a highlight - but overall, this is a very lacking film and while I consider myself a big fan of the horror genre in all of its forms; this isn't a favourite of mine. Maybe this film will fill a gap if you're really bored, but otherwise I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to see it.