Movie Type: Costume Adventure, Mythological Fantasy
Themes: Daring Rescues, Heroic Mission
Main Cast: Reg Park
Release Year: 1961
Country: IT
Run Time: 91 minutes
Plot
Horrormeister Mario Bava helmed this entry in the series, in which Hercules (Reg Park) must journey to the bowels of Hell to recover a magical plant that is the only hope of a dying princess. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Review
Hercules in the Haunted World is about as good a film as could be made on a budget in the "mythic hero" subgenre of action films. If that sounds like faint praise, it isn't intended to be, for while overall Hercules can't totally rise above the many limitations of its genre (and budget), it nevertheless will thrill fans of such movies and even give non-devotees a number of very worthwhile elements to ponder. First and foremost, Hercules is a Mario Bava movie. Not a name that means a great deal to mainstream moviegoers, but fans of Italian cinema and/or fantasy flicks know that with Bava at the helm, there's bound to be plenty of goodies. Bava is in especially good form for Hercules, as it was his first color film and he seems to have relished the opportunity to let his camera play with this new palette. While many of Hercules' sets -- especially its backdrops -- are quite phony, Bava uses lighting to create marvelous mosaics, dramatic pictures that create a hyper-reality of their own. The director gets a bit stodgy in some of the talkier scenes, perhaps trying to get as much in one shot as he can to accommodate the lack of funds; but when he gets to let loose, Hercules come sto vivid, exciting life. Reg Park looks the part of the title character, and his acting is perfectly fine for this sort of thing. Christopher Lee is on hand as well, but unfortunately not with his own voice, which is a disappointment. The script is silly but contains plenty of action, but Bava makes the most of it. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Cast
Reg Park - Hercules
Giorgio Ardisson - Theseus; Mino Doro; Ida Galli; Franco Giacobini - Telemachus; Christopher Lee - Lichas; Leonora Ruffo - Deianira; Marisa Belli
Credit
Franco Lolli - Art Director, Mario Giorsi - Costume Designer, Mario Bava - Director, Mario Serandrei - Editor, Armando Trovajoli - Composer (Music Score), Mario Bava - Cinematographer, Achille Piazzi - Producer, Mario Bava - Screenwriter, Sandro Continenza - Screenwriter, Franco E. Prosperi - Screenwriter, Duccio Tessari - Screenwriter
Upon his return to Italia from his many adventures, the great warrior Hercules learns that his lover, Princess Deianira (Daianara), has lost her senses. According to the oracleMedea, Daianara's only hope is the Stone of Forgetfulness which lies deep in the realm of Hades. Hercules, with two companions, Theseus and Telemachus, embarks on a dangerous quest for the stone, while he is unaware that Dianara's guardian, King Lico, is the one responsible for her condition and plots to have the girl for himself as his bride upon her revival. Lico is in fact in league with the dark forces of the underworld, and it is up to Hercules to stop him.
The climax has Hercules smashing Lico with a giant boulder and throwing similarly large rocks at an army of zombies.
Trivia
Christopher Lee's more familiar deep, smoothly menacing voice was dubbed by another actor for the English language version of the film.
Roy Colt and Winchester Jack (1970) ·Twitch of the Death Nerve (1971) ·Baron Blood (1972) ·Four Times That Night (1972) ·Lisa and the Devil (1972) ·Rabid Dogs (1974) ·The House of Exorcism (1974) ·Shock (1977) ·The Venus of Ille (1979)
