Mario Bava's "Hercules in the Haunted World" is about what you'd expect from a sword-and-sandal movie directed by a man famous for his work in the horror genre, but unfortunately, not much more than that.
The flick handles its story well for about the first half, and even does a good enough job of disguising the lack of acting chops on display from its body builder star, Reg Park (Schwarzenegger's inspiration). However in the second half where we have some double crosses and other shenanigans I felt like I could see Park at sea in the story - or was that just me? Bava doesn't tell stories particularly well, and this was no exception.
Bava's real forte was visuals, and "Haunted World" doesn't disappoint in that regard. It's dark, moody, and stunning to look at. Of course, it's not scary, and there is a hilarious apparition of a "rock monster" which looks more like a tree monster, but whatever. And then there's Christopher Lee, whose voice was inexplicably dubbed for the English version. That's right, the man with one of the coolest voices in show business had it taken away. What's up with that?
The plot, although it hardly matters since these movies are basically all the same in that regard, is about Hercules going to Hades with his friends to find a cure for a Princess's madness. He doesn't know that the root cause is the evil king played by Lee.
If you are looking for a darker themed peplum, or are just interested in seeing what Bava did aside from horror, "Hercules and the Haunted World" is the movie for you.
The flick handles its story well for about the first half, and even does a good enough job of disguising the lack of acting chops on display from its body builder star, Reg Park (Schwarzenegger's inspiration). However in the second half where we have some double crosses and other shenanigans I felt like I could see Park at sea in the story - or was that just me? Bava doesn't tell stories particularly well, and this was no exception.
Bava's real forte was visuals, and "Haunted World" doesn't disappoint in that regard. It's dark, moody, and stunning to look at. Of course, it's not scary, and there is a hilarious apparition of a "rock monster" which looks more like a tree monster, but whatever. And then there's Christopher Lee, whose voice was inexplicably dubbed for the English version. That's right, the man with one of the coolest voices in show business had it taken away. What's up with that?
The plot, although it hardly matters since these movies are basically all the same in that regard, is about Hercules going to Hades with his friends to find a cure for a Princess's madness. He doesn't know that the root cause is the evil king played by Lee.
If you are looking for a darker themed peplum, or are just interested in seeing what Bava did aside from horror, "Hercules and the Haunted World" is the movie for you.