Woodyanders Shipwreck survivor William (a solid and likable portrayal by Richard Derr) finds himself stranded on an island with mad scientist Dr. Charles Girard (a fine and credible performance by Frances Lederer), who has surgically transformed a panther into a man (Flory Carlos in convincing grotesque make-up).Although done on a modest budget, this picture nonetheless is made with some real finesse so it doesn't look or feel cheap: Directors Gerardo de Leon and Eddie Romero relate the compelling story at a steady pace, do an adept job of crafting a spooky atmosphere with a strong sense of dread, and stage the exciting climax with skill and flair. Paul Harbor's compact script smartly explores the ethical implications of the premise. The sound acting by the capable cast keeps this movie on track, with especially praiseworthy work from the gorgeous Greta Tyssen as Girard's fed-up neglected wife Frances, Oscar Keesee as disloyal and lecherous drunken assistant Walter Berrera, and Lilia Duran as scared local Selene. The crisp black and white cinematography by Emmanuel I. Rojas boasts several neat stylistic flourishes. The spirited shivery score by Gervacio Santos hits the stirring shuddery spot. However, it's the way that the panther man elicits a complex blend of both fear and pity that rates as this film's key artistic triumph. A nice little fright feature.

MartinHafer "Terror is a Man" is a very, very low-budget film but despite this it's still a pretty good version of the classic H.G. Wells story "The Island of Lost Souls". So, despite being made in the Philippines, having a MOSTLY unknown cast and a relatively cheesy creature, the film was deftly made and featured a nice appearance by Francis Lederer as the mad doctor.The film begins with a man in a lifeboat washing up on the shores of a mostly deserted island in the Pacific. He soon learns that only about a half dozen people live there and they all work for a weirdo doctor who is doing weird experiments. What, exactly, this experiment is doesn't become apparent until later, when you learn the crazy guy is trying to 'evolve' creatures into human form. What this really means are 50 or more surgeries that cause excruciating pain for the poor creature--all in the name of 'science'.Unlike the original tale, there is only the one creature and there's a romance tossed in to boot. But, good suspense, acting and a credible explanation for why you don't see much of the creature all work to make a spooky and worthy horror film.By the way, I did have one question that I thought of while watching the film. If the folks have been on this island for two years, how does the Doctor's wife have a perm?!

Cristi_Ciopron TERROR IS A MAN, with Greta Thyssen (--now that's a great name for a porno starlet, if you take my meaning--), directed by Gerry De Leon, is an ancient mystery/ horror flick in the mad scientist sub-genre about a mysterious creature on an island quite far from the Latin—American (Peruvian) shore. The Sci—Fi 'ideas' involved are quite murky; 'Fitzgerald' seems a bit contrary; at first he holds that the beast is human, then that it's not human. What does the turning of a feline into a human has to do with the creating of a superman? The mad scientist talks a lot about improving the man, but as a matter of fact he tries to turn a feline into a human.My faithful readers know that I review here good movies, B movies (--like this one--), old movies (--including silent ones--) and TV series. I recently wrote about a Robertson chiller, DOMINIQUE, and that was an interesting B movie; TERROR IS A MAN begins well but it sinks. A conventionally intriguing plot, a handsome lead, a blonde sexpot; she's an overly delicious classical curvy blonde of the Marilyn type, the lead, 'Fitzgerald', is of the Mature type. But the movie is silly and ridiculous.

tavm Just discovered this Philippine(My parents' native country)-made horror movie here on IMDb as linked from Hulu. Despite the bland romantic trappings between the triangle of Francis Lederer, Richard Derr, and the buxom blonde from Denmark named Greta Thyssen, this was a pretty effective chiller during the last 30 minutes as effectively visualized by Gerardo de Leon with I'm sure help from producer Eddie Romero. There's also some nice work from the natives like Oscar Keesee as the villain, his son Peyton as the innocent boy, and stunning Lilia Duran as the other hired help. And then there's the creature played by Flory Carlos who spends most of the movie wrapped in bandages. His mummy-like performance gets effective treatment due to the music by Ariston Avelino. May be most effective to maybe to those 12 and under who haven't seen anything gory yet. Certainly the "buzzer" that warns of a 15-second "surgery" scene was nothing that shocked my senses! So on that note, Terror Is a Man is worth a look for fans of old-fashioned Drive-In fare.