Karloff as obsessed Greek soldier
Val Lewton is the producer responsible for such horror classics as “Cat People,” “The Body Snatcher,” and “I Walked With a Zombie.” His films relied upon foreboding atmosphere rather than monsters to elicit scares. Made during the 1940s, Lewton’s films were RKO’s answer to Universal which, up until then, had cornered the market with cinematic horror.<br /><br />“Isle of the Dead,” one of two films Boris Karloff made for Lewton in 1945, takes place during the Balkan War of 1912. General Pherides (Karloff) rows to a small Greek island to visit the grave of his wife. Oliver Davis (Marc Cramer), an American newspaper reporter, accompanies him, and they accept lodgings in the household of antiques collector Albrecht (Jason Robards, Sr.). But they soon discover that plague has infested the island. One by one, members of the household die of the horrible disease. Kyra (Helene Thimig), a superstitious old crone, believes Thea (Ellen Drew), an attractive young Greek woman, is responsible for the deaths because she is a vorvoloka, a kind of vampire. One woman, Mrs. St. Aubyn (Katherine Emery) succumbs to a cataleptic trance. Believing her to be dead, the others entomb her in a coffin.<br /><br />An intriguing piece of psychological horror, the film follows Pherides as he becomes unravelled by fear of his own making. Director Mark Robson’s pace is leisurely and the film is highly atmospheric, particularly in its final, climactic scene, when tension builds increasingly as horror greater than the plague befalls the individuals on the island.<br /><br />An early scene sets the mood. The general and the reporter walk across a battlefield strewn with war debris and human skeletons. They pass a large cart filled with bodies on its way to a burial place for the casualties of war. The general is philosophical about death. Moments earlier, he handed a gun to an officer under his command who had made tactical and strategic miscalculations. Shortly afterward, we hear an off-screen gunshot. The officer has taken his own life, the only way to uphold his honor. Death is the theme that runs throughout the film.<br /><br />The vorvoloka, in Lewton’s mind, is an entity to be feared more for its legendary reputation than its physical manifestation. We never know whether Kyra’s superstitions hold some truth and whether innocent-looking Thea truly is the cause of the deaths that suddenly occur. Because the boat the general arrived in has been destroyed, there is no escape from the island.<br /><br />Karloff always elevates the films he’s in, whatever the quality of the script. His Pherides is a tortured man whose visit to the island causes him to spiral downward as he becomes obsessed with the idea that Thea is indeed a vorvoloka and determined to destroy her. The term “vampire” is never used, and the film never makes clear whether this creature is a superstitious legend or a reality. The uncertainty makes for considerable suspense.<br /><br />Entirely studio-filmed, “Isle of the Dead” has some nice simulated outdoor scenes on the balcony of the Albrecht house, the woods surrounding the house, the battlefield, and especially a staircase and dark passageway with shadows that may or may not be of a supernatural being.<br /><br />Bonus materials on the unrated Warner Archive Blu-ray disc include an audio commentary and the original theatrical trailer with Spanish subtitles.<br /><br />“Isle of the Dead” is highly atmospheric. If you have the patience for a fairly slow pace, you’ll be rewarded by a gripping finale which truly gets under the skin. Karloff is always fun to watch in these kinds of films and adds badly needed star power to the second-tier cast. Vampire film aficionados might feel let down and impatient with the film’s subtleties.
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 {"Genre": "Horror", "Format": "NTSC, Subtitled", "Contributor": "Katherine Emery, Mark Robson, Boris Karloff, Ellen Drew, Ernst Deutsch, Jason Robards Sr., Marc Cramer, Alan Napier, Helen ThimigKatherine Emery, Mark Robson, Boris Karloff, Ellen Drew, Ernst Deutsch, Jason Robards Sr., Marc Cramer, Alan Napier, Helen Thimig  See more", "Language": "English", "Runtime": "1 hour and 12 minutes", "MPAA rating": "NR (Not Rated)", "Product Dimensions": "5.31 x 6.77 x 0.59 inches; 2.12 Ounces", "Director": "Mark Robson", "Media Format": "NTSC, Subtitled", "Run time": "1 hour and 12 minutes", "Release date": "March 30, 2021", "Actors": "Boris Karloff, Ellen Drew, Marc Cramer, Katherine Emery, Helen Thimig", "Studio": "Warner Archives", "Country of Origin": "USA", "Number of discs": "1"}

Here is a brief synopsis of the title : Once you visit the Isle of the Dead, there's no hope of returning to the land of the living. A small island off the coast of Greece holds a secret so dreadful that once you step onto its soil you must remain there forever. General Pherides (master of horror Boris Karloff) is one such a visitor. Going to the island to honor the grave of his late wife, Pherides discovers that it's held in the grip of a terrifying plague -- a sickness that enters the victim's mind and drives them insane! Pherides leads the fight against the plague, but then falls prey to it himself. In his delirium, he believes that a woman named Thea (Ellen Drew) is a vrykolaka -- a vampire responsible for the deaths. Insanity runs rampant, and grave robbery, premature burial and ghastly vampires are the unspeakable horrors that await on the Isle of the Dead..