I hated The Island of Dr. Moreau when it was released in 1996. The make up was top notch (done by Stan Winston Studios), but the rest of the movie made me feel like I was being trolled even before that was a thing.Now I know why i hated the movie. Lost Soul tells the tale about how Richard Stanley (Hardware, Dust Devil) got New Line Cinema to pony up $35 million to make his adaptation of the H.G. Welles novel of the same name into a movie. And, this wouldn't be a documentary of this sort without it, Stanley gets fired. The movie is made by John Frankenheimer and the rest is history.
The problem that this movie fails to overcome is the fact that anyone watching this movie already knows the ins and outs of this story. There is nothing new presented here and the movie feels like a rehash job. I like that someone made this movie, especially for anyone who isn't familiar with this story, but I wanted something that I haven't heard before.
I can't hate this movie though. I liked it enough to recommend to others, but not to film buffs. The movie is well made and put together nicely, but after seeing "Electric Boogaloo: The Untold Story of Cannon Films" I felt that the movie could have benefited from a little more pizazz.
It is a shame that Stanley hasn't really made much since being fired from Moreau. He has done some stuff, but he has stayed away from film making for the most part. He definitely has talent and an eye for visuals. I hope to see something new from him someday.
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