Creatures the World Forgot (1971) User Reviews

Antelopes the World Forgot

[retrorocketx · 6/10 · 5 December 2008]

"Creatures the World Forgot" is the third and final entry in the Hammer caveman films. It differs from "One Million Years BC" and "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth" in that it is an attempt at realism. There are no dinosaurs in this movie. The setting is firmly grounded in North Africa. Some of the opening shots show rock paintings which appear to be from the Tassili area, circa 4,500 BC.

An attempt to portray a functioning caveman culture is presented. Gone are the bikinis and beach girls of the other two movies...well, almost. For the most part, the costumes seem fairly realistic. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of pretty women to look at, and their costumes seem to fall away frequently. Gone also is the made up language of 'akeeta' and 'necro.' In this movie, its all about grunts and gestures, which work quite well.

Instead of dinosaurs, indigenous North African animals are present. We see oryx, wildebeest, warthog, brown hyena, crested porcupine, ostrich egg canteens, a couple of snakes and a scorpion. At first it might seem strange that no big cats or other top predators are included in the assortment. I think it's because the antelopes have killed off all the lions and leopards. Hey, this is one tough bunch of antelopes! They lurk deep in the brush and charge out at frightening speed to stab and gore and kill. They are truly vicious creatures. And is it just me, or was an oryx actually killed and skinned for the movie?

The plot is unnecessarily convoluted. Two tribes (dark hair and blond hair) meet and exchange brides. The woman from the blond tribe gives birth to twin boys (one blond, one dark). These two brothers hate each other and are constant rivals throughout the movie. At the same time, lightning strikes a tree and a woman gives birth to a girl. The tribe wants to kill this bit of bad luck, but the shaman woman takes her for her own. There is an interesting sub plot as this young girl grows up with a crush on the blond-guy, gets rejected, and finally accepts her destiny as the next shaman of the tribe. It is one of the coolest stories in this movie. After too many plot convolutions, the brothers end up fighting to the death over the blond-guy's leopard skin bikini mate in a scene involving a large snake and cliffs. The young shaman girl decides the outcome...

This movie has a more compelling story compared to "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth," with less emphasis on bikini beach culture and more emphasis on caveman survival culture. As of this date, it is not available on DVD, which is a shame. I like this movie a lot and would buy it on DVD faster than you can say - "killer antelope!"

It's like One Million Years B.C. but with most of the good bits removed.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 27 May 2020]

Their home destroyed by a volcanic eruption, a tribe of dark-haired cave-people cross the land looking for somewhere safe to put down roots. Along the way, they meet a tribe of friendly blonde cave-people, who are happy to share their women. Not one to say 'No' to a hot blonde, Mak (Brian O'Shaughnessy), chief of the dark-haired people, sires two boys: blonde Toomak and dark-haired Rool. On the same day, another baby is born: a dumb girl who is almost sacrificed, but who is saved by the tribe's shamen (Rosalie Crutchley). Toomak and Rool grow up as rivals vying for their father's attention. When Mak is killed by a yak (or some such beast), it is the blonde son who is chosen as his successor, leaving the bitter Rool to try and seize leadership...

Rather than feature cavemen versus dinosaurs, as in One Million Years B.C. and When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth, this final prehistoric offering from Hammer takes a more realistic route -- if Julie Ege as a sexy cavewoman can be called realistic. Unfortunately, without the spectacle of an Allosaurus terrorising humans, or a bikini babe being carried off by a Pterodactyl, and with the dialogue between the cave-people consisting of lots of grunting, the film quickly becomes a bore.

To try and compensate for the plodding nature of his screenplay, director Don Chaffey loads his film with bums (from both sexes) and boobs, with Ege eventually making her entrance as Toomak's mate Nala, but even scantily clad cave-people cannot prevent Creatures the World Forgot from being a slog almost as arduous as that undertaken by Mak and his people. Not very exciting highlights include young Toomak catching a porcupine and a pig, a fight with a cave bear (played by a man in an unconvincing bear costume), a battle with some cannibals, and Ege being attacked by a big snake while Toomak and Rool fight to the death (although Rool is eventually stabbed by the dumb girl, his body falling off a cliff, looking all too much like an immobile shop dummy).

Oh well, at least the scenery is nice.

Disney fans N.B.: Mak presents the newborn Toomak to his tribe in a scene remarkably similar to that of Rafiki holding up Simba in The Lion King. Moreover, Nala is the name of both Toomak's woman and Simba's love interest. Coincidence? Who knows?

Somewhat Entertaining

[Rainey-Dawn · 5/10 · 14 April 2021]

I didn't expect much of anything when I started the film. In fact I expected to hate it and fast-forward through most of it but I didn't. I was actually entertained to a degree by this one - which surprised me. It's not a good film but it was entertaining enough to watch on an otherwise boring morning.

5/10.

Well the writer had an easy job

[malcolmgsw · 3/10 · 5 December 2020]

With no dialogue to write,however this makes it difficult to watch as it is difficult to understand what is happening.Hammer must have spared all expense,given the cheesy special effects at the beginning. This film was actually aired on the Horror Channel ,which in some ways is rather appropriate. Better off sticking with Dracula

The Hammer movie the world forgot

[Wizard-8 · 12 November 2017]

It was perhaps inevitable that the Hammer studio, after the great international success of "One Million Years B.C.", would dip into the prehistoric well again five years later. Unfortunately, things this time around aren't that much fun. If you are expecting a lot of special effect dinosaurs or other creatures - especially since the title of the movie suggests that there will be this spectacle - you will be very disappointed. Aside from a few live animals, the only creature on display is a prehistoric bear, which is accomplished by a human actor in a really bad bear costume. As cheap as the movie gets at times, that isn't the real problem. The big problem with the movie is that it's alternately boring and confusing. With no English dialogue (or even voice over narration), it's hard at times to figure out what's going on, and it's directed in a manner that more often than not feels sluggish. The only real merit to be found in the movie are some fairly impressive locations here and there.

Photographically the best of Hammer's prehistoric films, and also the most historically accurate. Despite this, it is painful to sit through.

[barnabyrudge · 2/10 · 6 January 2014]

This is certainly the least popular of Hammer's prehistoric series, the unloved child from a litter of four. The irony is that Creatures The World Forgot makes more effort than any of the others to be vaguely accurate. After all the criticism levelled at the preceding films for their phony history, their laughable depictions of tribal life, along comes a film which tries to present a truer representation of the past… and what happens? It is showered with derision, ignored at the box office and mercilessly ridiculed for failing to provide any dinosaurs! Studios take note - audiences want the fantastic, the sensational… not the mundane. With Don Chaffey back as director (he also did One Million Years B.C.), and the emphasis shifted onto the daily struggles of a Stone Age tribe, one hopes the film might offer a fascinating look at a subject largely underused in cinema. The titular 'Creatures' are not really creatures at all, merely people: primitive, struggling human beings trying to survive against the elements and each other. Sadly, the film is poorly handled – its characters lack development and presence; the music, a jumble of rattles and thudded drum beats, becomes relentless and annoying; and the narrative is tedious for much of the time.

As already noted, the plot is basically just concerned with the day-to- day existence and struggles of primitive man. The Dark Tribe, led by Mak (Brian O'Shaughnessy), traverse the wilderness in search of a new home and eventually come across a fair-haired tribe. As a peace offering, the fair-heads present Mak with one of their women, Noo (Sue Wilson), to take as his wife. Later, Noo gives birth to twin boys – one dark-haired, the other fair. On the same day, another woman in the tribe gives birth to a mute girl. The tribe contemplate sacrificing the disabled child but change their mind when a lightning strike seems to warn against it. Many years later, the twins – blonde Toomak (Ian Bonner) and dark Rool (Robert John) – have grown up, but thoroughly despise each other. In a battle with marauders, Toomak saves the mute girl (Marcia Fox) who shares his birthday, and takes one of the enemy's women, Nala (Julie Ege), as his wife. His father is mortally wounded in the skirmish and elects Toomak to replace him as leader, but Rool opposes this decision and spends the rest of his life attempting to overthrow his brother.

The only department where Creatures The World Forgot has the edge over the other films is the cinematography. As captured by Vincent Cox, the Namibian and South African backdrops are breathtakingly beautiful, every inch the undisturbed playground of prehistoric man. Even the film's harshest critic would admit it has a very accomplished look about it, especially in the long shots which incorporate these spectacular backgrounds. The problem is that much of the action in front of these lovely backdrops isn't up to scratch. Very little in the film actually works – it's all very plodding, desperately short of excitement. Sure, the costumes have somehow become even skimpier than in earlier entries, yet still the film fails to generate the requisite sex appeal. Even the lovely Julie Ege, formerly a Miss Norway and Miss Universe contestant, looks drab here beneath a mop of scraggly black hair. Her co-stars, both male and female, are similarly painful on the eye. All in all, Creatures The World Forgot marks a dispiriting end to Hammer's prehistoric cycle. Its status as the least loved of the series is, I think, fairly justified.

A Difficult Film to Follow

[Uriah43 · 3/10 · 10 February 2019]

This film begins in prehistoric times with a small hunting party killing a gazelle and bringing it back to their tribe located in nearby caves. Not long after their return, however, a volcano erupts which subsequently kills a number of the people to include the leader of the tribe. So having lost their chieftain a new leader emerges and together everybody follows him out into the wilderness. It's during this time that they come upon another tribe and after spending some time with them they proceed on their way with a few members of the new tribe joining them. As it so happens one of the new members is a blonde female who was given to the chieftain to wed and as time passes she gives birth to twin sons-one of them dark haired and the other blonde. Unfortunately, the difficult childbirth proves too much for her and she dies immediately afterward. Strangely enough, at this same time another female of the tribe also gives birth to a young female child who turns out to be dumb. Figuring that this new baby is therefore defective the decision is made by the chieftain to have her killed. Fortunately for her, the shaman of the tribe intervenes and adopts her instead. From that point on the two sons become extreme rivals vying for their father's attention and looking to become the next chieftain while the blonde female trains as an apprentice of the shaman. From that point on it's these three people who will figure prominently in the tribe's success or failure. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a difficult film for me to follow for several reasons. For starters, except for certain grunts and gestures, there is no language used in this film and that created some difficulty figuring out what was going on at times. Likewise, this decision also hampered the character development as well. That being said, while this might have been a decent movie otherwise, the damage resulting from this poorly conceived decision was just too noticeable and for that reason I have rated this film accordingly. Below average.

Incredible! A fruit of anthropological studies in the Seventies.

[sam_3 · 2/10 · 9 April 2001]

This film has got so much in it. Prehistoric society, adventure, romance, true brotherhood, violence, sex, religion; all depicted abundantly..without a single word uttered!!! And how come it sucks so bad? This film will make you rethink the origin of humanity. If this were the product of anthropology, you would rather defy Darwinian theory and Hegelian synthesis all together. You cannot bear to watch this even with your brain shut down. And now you are thinking, "I've got to see this." I warned you. I take no responsibility whatsoever should you regret spending over an hour staring at this piece of art. Well, I did warn you. This should be forgotten and buried for ever.

Great time had by all who starred in it.

[kellybranson · 5/10 · 2 August 2001]

This is a great little film, Shot in Africa 32 years ago it brings back great memories for its star and my personal friend Tony Bonner........ who cares if they don't speak! Do they really have to?????????? Looking like that!!!!!

Good entertainment for fans of prehistoric cinema.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 18 November 2018]

Hammer follows up their earlier Stone Age features "One Million Years B.C." and "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth" with another epic about primitive man. As written by veteran Hammer producer & writer (and sometime director) Michael Carreras, it's not STRONG on story but is relatively easy to understand and take. There is nothing in the way of dialogue as we typically understand it; all the cave dudes and gals speak in grunts only.

Basically, the story can be simplified as thus: a power struggle between a "fair" caveman (Tony Bonner, "Quigley Down Under") and a "dark" one (Robin John), as they fight for control of a tribe. Assorted other tribesmen and women are played by the likes of Brian O'Shaughnessy ("The Gods Must Be Crazy"), Sue Wilson, Rosalie Crutchley ("The Haunting" '63), and Marcia Fox ("Old Dracula").

The performances are generally amusing. Bonner and John are fun as the macho opponents, as is Crutchley in what basically amounts to a "Stone Age witch doctor" role. The guys often take centre stage, although it's Norwegian sexpot Julie Ege ("The Seven Brothers Meet Dracula") that's top billed. She and Fox make for very fine eye candy, but they're never as in the foreground as the advertising would have you believe.

Accompanied by atmospheric music by Mario Nascimbene, who also did the score for those other pictures, the movie is attractively shot by Vincent G. Cox on various Namibia and South Africa locations (with some studio work as well). Much of its "creatures" are animals living today, with the exception of a goofy man-in-a-costume thing seen in a cave sequence.

While this isn't as effective overall as Hammers' previous forays into the genre, it still makes for some agreeable entertainment. It IS fairly realistic, however: at no point do humans share the screen with dinosaurs.

Six out of 10.

Hammer's prehistoric epic, but there are no dinosaurs and it's not very good

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 29 May 2016]

Hammer's third foray into prehistoric adventure (following ONE MILLION YEARS BC and WHEN DINOSAURS RULE THE EARTH) is a dismal, low-rent affair, lacking in any artistic flair and any imagination. This time, the budget excluded any Harryhausen-produced dinosaurs (come to think of it, even the papier mache perils of THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT might have come in handy), instead concentrating on the exploitation features of nudity and barbarism.

Much of the fun to be had watching this film is the novelty value (although the film isn't original) of watching a bunch of hairy men and women running around, grunting and fighting indiscriminately. Not a single word is spoken during the course of the film, so events are depicted entirely through visual means of communication. This soon becomes tiring and boring to watch, as it takes about half an hour of set-up for the plot to really begin.

It's a muddled affair, concerning a pair of twin brothers who are caught up in destiny and other mumbo-jumbo courtesy of an annoyingly camp shaman who hangs around for the entire length of the film (all other characters from the beginning of the film have either died or moved on by this point), waving a bloody whip and making me wish I was there to beat the living daylights out of him. Not much of the film makes sense, and the plot is minimalistic to say the least. Mostly, it's concerned with people running around and hitting each other with sticks. Like an early version of TV game show GLADIATORS, if you will.

The acting is sub-par all round, with not even a name star making a guest appearance. The best they can do with is Julie Ege (THE MUTATIONS), left to supply the glamour interest, although she doesn't have a big role and pervy viewers will be disappointed that she doesn't shed her fur bikini either (although lots of other girls do, their faces conveniently obscured by hair - I wonder why?). All of the men in the film look exactly the same, with long brown hair and bushy brown beards, with the exception of the aforementioned shaman and the hero, a guy with blond hair (dyed) for a change. He is played by a young-looking Richard Branson.

The special effects are used sparingly, something which we ought to count ourselves lucky for, as what brief back projection work there is, is simply appallingly bad. There is some gore (controversial for the time, tame for today's standards), mostly consisting of blood-covered people, although a standout scene involves a man's nose being bitten off by another man. To make up for the effects, there is some nice scenery work (it was filmed on location in South Africa, so expect miles of desert and sand), although it has to be said, that by the end we're sick of it.

The perils in this film are hilariously bad. One bear is blatantly a man in a suit, and makes no attempt to be anything else. A tribe of squat, scary, Neanderthal men look more like they need a bath than being terrifying, while the climax involves a group of grey-painted guys with giant stone masks encircling their heads. Scary? No way. Absurd? Definitely. The fright value is somewhat diminished when one of the polystyrene masks slips forward and you see the flash of blond hair underneath. So did I like this film? Not really. It's so bad it's just, well...bad. However I will award it an extra mark because at least Hammer were trying something different instead of their usual Gothic horrors. Also, it might be worth watching for novelty value alone, but I wouldn't bank on it.

Highly Underrated!

[yolt13 · 8/10 · 11 January 2003]

CREATURES is a blast! It eschews the stop-motion dinosaurs of ONE MILLION YEARS BC and WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH and concentrates on the struggles of primitive men in a bleak, prehistoric world. Despite the smirking ad campaign and much-ballyhooed adult rating, CREATURES spends far less time than its predecessors showcasing the anatomical blessings of its female cast members and places more emphasis on the brutality of early man's daily life. The girls are certainly an eyeful, but they are nowhere near as groomed or glamorous as Raquel Welch or Victoria Vetri.

The film stands out in many ways. There is no opening narration and no dialogue to speak of. Instead of using the gibberish language of the earlier films, the "Creatures" say very little, grunting and gesturing to communicate with one another. The solid performances make this surprisingly effective. The movie also inverts the formula established by its predecessors, moving the requisite cataclysmic volcanic eruption to the beginning and letting the human drama dominate the climax. This unusual structure lends extra weight to the finale.

I went in wondering how grunting cavemen(even the curvy kind like Julie Ege!) could hold my attention for 90 minutes without dinosaurs to fight. To my joy, the film is actually quite entertaining. The birth, life and struggle of two brothers vying for leadership of the tribe has an almost Biblical quality, and director Chaffey gives us plenty of fighting and conflict with nature to keep the film moving. Though much of the story consists of the tribe traveling from one fight to another, I found myself caught up in their journey and never once got bored. I don't know any of Don Chaffey's other work, but ONE MILLION YEARS BC and CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT have convinced me that the man knows how to tell a story.

Bottom line? It's a caveman movie. If that ain't your bag, you probably won't like it. But if you can watch the other two Hammer prehistoric movies without fast-forwarding to the dinosaur scenes, you'll probably find CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT a very pleasant surprise!

In a Land Far, Far Away...A Long LongTime Ago!

[bsmith5552 · 7/10 · 24 October 2018]

You have to approach "Creatures the World forgot" with an open mind. There are no name actors in the cast, they have no names and communicate only in grunts and gestures.

The story chronicles life in a pre-historic world devoid of dinosaurs, of a tribe of people over the period of some 30 years surviving in a bleak desolate land. It starts off with a hunting party slaying an antelope. One of the party is gored by another beast and dies after which they bury him. They bring home the meat to the tribe, but then in a spectacular sequence two volcanoes erupt and the earth opens up swallowing several members of the tribe.

Among the injured is the chief of the tribe who is murdered. Two of the strongest men fight to the death to become the new chief. The victor (Brian O'Shaughnessy) becomes the new leader and the center of the story. The tribe, ever on the move, comes upon another tribe of fair haired people. They have a friendly meeting where two maidens, one from each tribe are sacrificed as a sign of friendship.

A fair young maiden is given unto the leader of our group. The girl (Sue Wilson) becomes the mother of fraternal twins, one fair haired and the other dark haired. The mother dies in child birth. At the same time a girl is born to another who also dies and will be raised along with the boys. The boys compete against one another to win their father's favor.

The boys grow up to become Tony Bonner (the fair haired one) and Robert John (the dark haired one). They continue to compete with one another. One day the girl grown to be Julie Ege, is taken by a hostile tribe. The blond brother goes after her and after a bloody fight finds her about to be sacrificed. He also finds a wife from among the savage group.

While hunting the father is attacked and killed by a wild animal. The two brothers must now determine who will become the new chief. The blond brother triumphs but refuses to kill his brother as is the custom. He then leaves the camp with his followers. The dark haired brother recovers from a wound and pursues him with his followers and................................................

Along through the entire story is Rosalie Crutchley as the witch like soothsayer who pops up at every critical time. The film is quite good. I was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining it was considering there were no recognizable stars, dialogue or hideous monsters. Plenty of violence and blood to satisfy all.

A very fake bear

[hauntedalways · 2/10 · 3 October 2017]

This movie could have been enjoyable if the title were changed to "A Very Fake Bear" and voice-over were added by Some Comedian/enne. It made me ask very deep questions, such as, "What did they use for hairspray back then?" and "When did we stop aging at arbitrary rates and begin experiencing time together?" Just another reminder why I don't watch movies made in the 70s. In all seriousness, though, that bear is the best part.

It was impressive in first-run

[lor_ · 4 May 2024]

One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Don Chaffey. Produced by Michael Carreras for Hammer Films; Released by Columbia Pictures. Screenplay by Michael Carreras; Photographed by Vincent Cox; Edited by Chris Barnes; Music by Mario Nascimbene; Assistant Director: Ferdinand Fairfax. Starring Julie Ege, Tony Bonner, Robert John, Brian O'Shaughnessy, Rosalie Crutchley, Marcia Fox, Doon Baide, Sue Wilson, Gerard Bonthuys, Don Leonard, Ken Hare and Fred Swart.

Prehistoric tribes on the loose grunting their way across Africa, facing mini-cataclysm and indulging in non-stop savagery. In a "2001"-ish Dawn of Man mode, their customs are delineated well, although their beliefs in the supernatural and their origins are handled crudely. The big difference: no oversize creatures appear in this one other than a big grizzly bear.

A fairly dull prehistoric film thankfully devoid of dinosaurs

[vampire_hounddog · 4/10 · 8 August 2020]

Rival prehistory tribes fight it out for dominance.

Hammer's fourth prehistoric movie is also the second devoid of dinosaurs is it tries a greater effort to be more somewhat historically accurate. This Hammer film might be something of a slow dirge, but has its interests, even if its raison d'être is to some fleshy beautiful women, especially Julie Ege in this case.

Unbelievingly boring

[robertopoletti · 3/10 · 4 March 2020]

Hammer did very good films. But this is really below the Hammer standards. Moreover, blonde and blue-eyed primitive men are very unlikely.

Creatures the World Forgot stands as a below-average film, appealing primarily to fans of movies that are so bad they're good

[kevin_robbins · 4/10 · 6 March 2024]

I recently viewed the UK 🇬🇧 Hammer Film Creatures the World Forgot (1971) on Tubi. The film unfolds in prehistoric times, with a volcano eruption claiming the life of a tribe leader. Two brothers vie for leadership, with the winner earning not only leadership but also the tribe's babe.

Directed by Don Chaffey (Jason and the Argonauts), the film features Julie Ege (On Her Majesty's Secret Service), Tony Bonner (The Man from Snowy River), Brian O'Shaughnessy (The Gods Must Be Crazy), and Rosalie Crutchley (The Haunting).

This film aligns with the expectations of its era-undeniably cheesy and significantly flawed. The attire, settings, and props are passable, with a fun model volcano adding amusement. While showcasing gorgeous ladies and entertaining girl fights, the creature is clearly a person in a costume. The animal fights were also bad, but some of the kills and stabbing scenes were solid.

In conclusion, Creatures the World Forgot stands as a below-average film, appealing primarily to fans of movies that are so bad they're good. I would rate it a 4/10 but still recommend it for those seeking some quirky entertainment.

Creatures the World Forgot (And did good to forget!)

[trimbolicelia · 5/10 · 15 October 2021]

Dull, early 70's color Hammer production. Stone Age humans live a harsh life, hunting, mating, fighting, and killing each other. Sounds like life today. All the actors, including the leads, wear little, are tattooed, look unwashed (which is the most realistic aspect of this whole mishmash), and are generally unattractive. It was hard to sit through this slog. No dinosaurs, also realistic. The few animals you see are modern-day, slightly unrealistic. I guess the producers didn't want to spend the pounds making early mammal effects. Dinosaurs, however incorrect for the time, would have livened things up. This flick needed someone like Raquel Welch to keep interest going. This film makes One Million Years B. C. look like Citizen Kane or Gone With the Wind. One question though; what precisely were the creatures that the world forgot? The Columbia Classics DVD-R is very good quality, if this is your bowl of antelope burger.

Fun movie

[alexmcr · 6/10 · 23 December 2018]

It's not the greatest but it's an entertaining b movie that will not disappoint. But I feel like you have to appreciate the genera to appreciate the film

Most Realistic of the Caveman films

[bayardhiler · 8/10 · 10 March 2012]

Of all the caveman movies I have seen, this one is the best because it choose to present early man as realistic as it could. Rather than have dinosaurs, this movie features animals and creatures that were actually around when early man was. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy dinosaurs very much and had I seen this movie as a kid, I might have thought it was a horrible one. However, now that I am able to recognize good acting and filmmaking, I really loved this movie. It presents the story of early man as a bleak time, a struggle for survival where death was around every corner. No doubt, that was how it was for early man. There are a few beautiful women here, but you won't see as much of their figures as you did in say, "1 Million Years B.C.". None the less, if you are a fan of history or anthropology, "The Creatures That Time Forgot" is a great way to spend your time.

Quite enjoyable...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 4 August 2022]

I had the opportunity to sit down and watch the 1971 Hammer movie "Creatures the World Forgot" for the very first time here in 2022. In fact, I had never even heard about the movie prior to getting to sit down and watch it, so I didn't know what to expect here from writer Michael Carreras and director Don Chaffey.

The title, "Creatures the World Forgot", is a very poor one, as it hints at something that the movie doesn't contain or delivers. I had initially thought that there were creatures in the movie, so imagine my surprise when there was none of such. So the movie's title is very poorly selected.

The storyline in "Creatures the World Forgot" was actually good. Sure, it was somewhat simplistic, but that sort of kept to the whole concept of the movie and the era in which it took place. On that account, then I will say that writer Michael Carreras actually managed to create something wholesome with this movie. And it is a movie that is very much watchable today, 51 years after it was initially released. So thumbs up on that accomplishment.

I definitely liked the having no proper English dialogue aspect of the movie, as it added a very believable and realistic layer to the movie.

The props and costumes were fairly good. One thing that didn't strike me as all that proper, was the fact that all people in the movie had perfectly, shiny, white teeth. I am pretty sure that back in that era, people would have pretty bad dental hygiene and not have pearly white teeth.

"Creatures the World Forgot" was a nice surprise of a movie, and it is a movie that is actually well-worth watching.

My rating of "Creatures the World Forgot" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Incredibly idiotic caveman flick.

[fedor8 · 20 January 2007]

There is a reason why the world forgot these creatures: they are dull. This is a Hammer Production which means that whoever made this movie should be struck with a hammer, several times if possible - and where it most hurts. Most people put more thought into taking a dump than these idiots have put into making this movie.

Seriously now… The movie begins with some cavemen hunting an antelope-thing. Now, antelopes must have evolved a lot from those pre-historic times because they actually attack and kill people here. After that, it's time to meet the rest of the tribe: more bearded men, some fashion-models, and even a couple of very old, grey-haired grannies and grandpas. These old geezers obviously never heard about cave people not surpassing the age of 30; they refused to bow to the will of both logic and pre-historical records, so they remain alive. One of the cavemen isn't bearded; he is clean-shaven. Not quite as clean-shaven as Tarzan, The Lord of the Humanoid Clean-Shaven Ones Roaming the Jungle Since Childhood And Without a Razor, but thereabouts.

What follows is the obligatory earthquake/molten-lava destruction sequence which causes a lot of our not-so-hairy friends to meet their doom. It is interesting to note that before the earthquake the fashion-models showed their breasts more. After it, they must have gotten shy or something, because they covered their chests for a while (maybe they were covered by ash so I mistakenly thought they were covered). More action follows in the form of two fashion-models wrestling in the sand; the next-best thing to female mud-wrestling, I suppose. After a good deal of the desert has been crossed, our black-haired tribe meets - how else could it be - a blond tribe. Yawn.

More spellbinding stuff follows. There is that redhead fashion-model who is bothered by seeing a cave-teen kill a hedge-hog-thing. There is also the scene of a woman dying at birth: those cave-fashion-models are so frail. Eventually we get to meet an even darker -haired and -skinned tribe, i.e. an evil tribe. One of them becomes a WWF champion after he actually beats(!) a huge bear-thing in a wrestling bout. 1,2,3... and it's done: the bear is the loser. We also witness a jealous caveman miraculously recover from two major injuries: first he gets stabbed with a big spear into the thigh, yet he walks away from that as if it were but a scratch. Then he gets thrown off a cliff - onto a big rock - by the blond goodie-two-shoes caveman, yet he walks away from it as if he were thrown onto a giant sofa. It's unclear in the end whether he dies from falling off an even higher cliff or from that voodoo doll being crushed. Oh yes, voodoo was used in pre-historic times by white tribes that live in the desert and whose females were fashion-models. It's always important to learn from movies.

The message of the movie is as insightful as it is educational: cave people liked to fight for local power and they loved their fashion-models, too. As if any self-respecting caveman would fight to be leader of such a sorry bunch.

Sexy grunting cavewoman

[leavymusic-2 · 6/10 · 20 April 2022]

Best parts of this film is the scenery, it looks real because it was filmed in Africa with some amazing back drop shots!

The second best part is the incredible good looking half naked females grunting along with the males, both not really caring who gets beaten to death first!

Sexy! Lots of fights, but meals that would put you off meat for life, and 0 dialogue. What's not to like ??

It's actually quite entertaining on a +++caveman level!

I enjoyed it, however, mostly for the incredible glamour cave girls, they didn't have much, but some hidden cave girl was obviously great with makeup, small costumes and making sure the girls assets were in view.

A violent and realistic view of an unsettled world.

[mark.waltz · 9/10 · 5 May 2021]

This film might not be for the squeamish. It is a view of the ancient world after the dinosaurs and before civilizations began, so you get to see the triumphs and tragedies and the survival of the fittest of prehistoric peoples. It is graphic and intense, showing how these people manage to survive against the odds whether dealing with enemies or natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions. The attempts to find food leaves nothing to the imagination as antelope become fair game for undeveloped humans who simply reach into their hives to pull out meat and the nutrients that somehow they can get from the blood. There's even a little bit of cannibalism as evidenced by a man wanting control and taking a huge bite out of his rival.

Then there are tribes separated by looks, with darker hair prehistoric men coming up against lighter haired tribes, looking on each other in both fear and awe, and you never know how they are going to react. Surprisingly, among this seemingly barbaric world, there are often compromises and silent treaties of peace, and the site of the different colored hair tribes examining each other is both profound and funny.

Then there are the different views of each of their artistic attempts, and live entertainment are being performed for amusement. It's amazing because it shows the advancements of society before civilization really began, yet there is an underlying sense that it could turn at any minute back to violence and carnage. Even with just grunts and screaming and a minimal music score, this will keep your attention. Probably one of the underrated science fiction gems of the 1970's, although I really can't say how fictional or scientific it is.