Home entertainment for couch potatoes

The Island of Dr. Moreau
Cast: Marlon Brando, Val Kilmer, David Thewlis, Fairuza Balk

Based on a novel of the same name by H.G. Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau is about a Nobel prize-winning geneticist who attempts to create a better human race by fusing animal and human genes.

A part of the After Dark collection, The Island ... is meant to be a horror story. However, despite gory sequences, for which it's rated 18, even children will not be overly scared. But Brando and Kilmer fans will surely take this in their stride.

The story begins when the plane carrying Edward Douglas (Thewlis) to Jakarta on a UN mission crashes in the sea. The only survivor, he ends up on a beautiful island that Dr. Moreau (Brando) has made his home. The scientist has been here for 17 years after being driven out from the US by activists who despised his obsession with animal research.

Surprisingly, Dr. Montgomery (Kilmer), who escorts Douglas to his boss' residence, doesn't come across as a good host. Locked in a room that appears more like a prison cell, Douglas manages to escape and begins to explore the surroundings.

He discovers that except for Moreau, his daughter Aissa (Balk) and Montgomery, the other residents of the island are half human and half animal. Fearing for his life, he tries to escape with Aissa leading the way. But it's not only Montgomery he's got to reckon with: the suppressed hybrids are running amok.

Rating: 18.