Island of Terror (1966) / The Projected Man (1966) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - April 4, 1967

I was gestating in my mother's womb when this double-bill featuring what would become one of my all-time favorite monster movies began unspooling across the San Francisco Bay Area.

Bryan Senn, in his comprehensive and entertaining book "Twice the Thrills! Twice the Chills! Horror and Science-Fiction Double Features, 1955 - 1974, describes The Projected Man as "a dull, dull, dull entry in Britain's sci-fi/horror sweepstakes of the 1960s." [Pg. 285] Which makes this particular gap in my genre viewing sound like something that is better left unfilled. Who knows.

Senn does share my fondness for Island of Terror, though. He lavishes praise, calling the film "one of the more entertaining sci-fi/horror hybrids of the 1960s." [Pg. 285] Points out "the film's literate script and intelligent acting" and how director Terence Fisher crafted "some eerie set-pieces - particularly early on when the creatures are kept largely unseen." [Pg. 285] I heartily agree, on all points.

And now I want to watch Island of Terror again...