aka ISLE OF THE SNAKE PEOPLE
A college freshman from a remedial writing class apparently wrote the opening narration to this movie: "During many centuries in various parts of the world, various diabolical rites and ceremonies have been practiced in homage to various sinister gods who were believed to have many supernatural powers." This is a repetitious and long-winded way of saying, "This movie is about voodoo." On Korbai, an isolated Caribbean island, we witness one of the above ceremonies: a tall figure in black wearing dark goggles, a dwarf in a top hat and dark glasses, and a dissolute-looking man in a dingy white jacket preside over a ritual to bring a recently-buried young woman back from the dead by killing a chicken and spreading its blood over her opened grave. Of course, there is some sexy dancing courtesy Kalea (Tongolele, pictured) and native writhing going on as well, and sure enough, the dead woman soon brushes off the dirt and rises from the ground, ready to be a zombie worker in the cane fields of the elderly Von Molder (Boris Karloff). In Wicker Man fashion, the zealous police captain Labesch has arrived on the island to put a stop to the rumored voodoo activity, and he finds the current head of the police force, Lt. Wilhelm, a bit on the lazy playboy side, ignoring the rumors and suggesting that Labesch should just live and let live. Another island newcomer is Annabella, niece to Von Molder, who has come to get her uncle's help in establishing her "Anti-Saloon League." What no one knows is that, not only does the respectable Von Molder use zombie labor, but he also serves as the feared voodoo priest Damballah (the creepy guy in the goggles). Technically, this should be a spoiler since he's not unmasked until the end, but it's obvious from the get-go—and all the film credit sites on the Internet list Karloff in both roles. There’s also (get ready) a gang of cannibal women roaming the night, dances during which women put the heads of live snakes in their mouths, an erotic and somewhat necrophiliac dream in which a woman is about to make love to herself (I think…), a human sacrifice in order to conjure up the dreaded voodoo lord Baron Samedi, and experiments in telekinesis which seem to have no connection at all to the main plot.
This movie is a mess—it's one of a notorious bunch of low-budget Mexican horror films that Boris Karloff filmed during the last year of his life. The films were made by a Mexican company and filmed in Mexico, but because Karloff was ailing, he apparently shot his scenes in California. But though Karloff may not have been in prime physical shape, he's still the best thing in the movie. Actually, the film could have been interesting—the story and characters have potential, but the slapdash production values make it hard to sit through. Mexican actress Julissa is bland as the niece and Rafael Bertrand is acceptable as the new cop (though like most everyone else, he is badly dubbed). Carlos East (pictured at left) as Wilhelm has an appealing lackadaisical near-decadent feel to him, but not so decadent so that he can't change and eventually be a love interest to the tee-totaling niece. Single-named actor Santanón is appropriately creepy as the dwarf who appears to actually behead a chicken on camera; Quinton Bulnes is fine as Klinsor, the guy in the white jacket who tries, against orders, to bed the zombie woman; best of all is exotic dancer Tongolele (pictured at top) as the sexy voodoo priestess who doubles as Karloff's sexy housekeeper. She takes her part seriously, and, as Eve Harrington says about the Marilyn Monroe character in ALL ABOUT EVE, "She looks like she might burn down a plantation." Actually, it's not fire but explosives that lead to the destructive climax. Despite spending much of the first half-hour thinking about bailing, I enjoyed this in a bad-movie way, though I don't think I'd recommend it to all. I've been afraid to see the other Mexican films he was in, but after getting through this one, I might try to track the others down. [DVD]
A college freshman from a remedial writing class apparently wrote the opening narration to this movie: "During many centuries in various parts of the world, various diabolical rites and ceremonies have been practiced in homage to various sinister gods who were believed to have many supernatural powers." This is a repetitious and long-winded way of saying, "This movie is about voodoo." On Korbai, an isolated Caribbean island, we witness one of the above ceremonies: a tall figure in black wearing dark goggles, a dwarf in a top hat and dark glasses, and a dissolute-looking man in a dingy white jacket preside over a ritual to bring a recently-buried young woman back from the dead by killing a chicken and spreading its blood over her opened grave. Of course, there is some sexy dancing courtesy Kalea (Tongolele, pictured) and native writhing going on as well, and sure enough, the dead woman soon brushes off the dirt and rises from the ground, ready to be a zombie worker in the cane fields of the elderly Von Molder (Boris Karloff). In Wicker Man fashion, the zealous police captain Labesch has arrived on the island to put a stop to the rumored voodoo activity, and he finds the current head of the police force, Lt. Wilhelm, a bit on the lazy playboy side, ignoring the rumors and suggesting that Labesch should just live and let live. Another island newcomer is Annabella, niece to Von Molder, who has come to get her uncle's help in establishing her "Anti-Saloon League." What no one knows is that, not only does the respectable Von Molder use zombie labor, but he also serves as the feared voodoo priest Damballah (the creepy guy in the goggles). Technically, this should be a spoiler since he's not unmasked until the end, but it's obvious from the get-go—and all the film credit sites on the Internet list Karloff in both roles. There’s also (get ready) a gang of cannibal women roaming the night, dances during which women put the heads of live snakes in their mouths, an erotic and somewhat necrophiliac dream in which a woman is about to make love to herself (I think…), a human sacrifice in order to conjure up the dreaded voodoo lord Baron Samedi, and experiments in telekinesis which seem to have no connection at all to the main plot. 
This movie is a mess—it's one of a notorious bunch of low-budget Mexican horror films that Boris Karloff filmed during the last year of his life. The films were made by a Mexican company and filmed in Mexico, but because Karloff was ailing, he apparently shot his scenes in California. But though Karloff may not have been in prime physical shape, he's still the best thing in the movie. Actually, the film could have been interesting—the story and characters have potential, but the slapdash production values make it hard to sit through. Mexican actress Julissa is bland as the niece and Rafael Bertrand is acceptable as the new cop (though like most everyone else, he is badly dubbed). Carlos East (pictured at left) as Wilhelm has an appealing lackadaisical near-decadent feel to him, but not so decadent so that he can't change and eventually be a love interest to the tee-totaling niece. Single-named actor Santanón is appropriately creepy as the dwarf who appears to actually behead a chicken on camera; Quinton Bulnes is fine as Klinsor, the guy in the white jacket who tries, against orders, to bed the zombie woman; best of all is exotic dancer Tongolele (pictured at top) as the sexy voodoo priestess who doubles as Karloff's sexy housekeeper. She takes her part seriously, and, as Eve Harrington says about the Marilyn Monroe character in ALL ABOUT EVE, "She looks like she might burn down a plantation." Actually, it's not fire but explosives that lead to the destructive climax. Despite spending much of the first half-hour thinking about bailing, I enjoyed this in a bad-movie way, though I don't think I'd recommend it to all. I've been afraid to see the other Mexican films he was in, but after getting through this one, I might try to track the others down. [DVD]
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