Hercules in the Haunted World

Hercules in the Haunted World (Ercole al Centro Della Terra (1961)

Runtime: 85 delightful minutes

Directed by: Mario Bava

Starring: Reg Park, Christopher Lee, Leonara Ruffo, George Ardisson, Marisa Belli

From: Several different Italian and West German companies

A horror-tinged peplum is delightful-at least as long as it’s directed by Mario Bava. It’s a film I’ve known of and have had in my collection for awhile; the presence of Christopher Lee (not the only time I’ll be seeing him in the next two months—sadly, he was dubbed w/ another voice in the English dub I found) alone was enticing, but so was seeing Reg Park in the title role. Park famously was an inspiration to Schwarzenegger as a child; Arnold and he became close friends later in life. Reg was in tremendous shape at the time, making him a natural to play Hercules.

The Big H returns home, only to discover his girl under some sort of spell; it’s no surprise to the viewer but it takes our hero a long while to realize it’s Lee’s King character who is behind the plot to marry our hero’s gal. H goes on a quest to Hades with his best bro and an odious comic relief dude to retrieve items to save his gal. The time in Hades is a fun adventure, at least for the viewer if not the heroes that face such foes as a rock monster. Back home, there’s drama between Herc and his bro; after machinations from Lee, the horror elements return for the finale… where as others have noted, Hercules technically destroyed historical ruins while combating his supernatural foes.

Without having experienced much of the sword-and-sandal genre, the plot seemed standard yet the injection of another genre made it feel fresh while also remaining an engaging story; it can satisfy both action and horror fans. Naturally, Bava’s direction is the highlight. The movie was as colorful and visually stunning as you’d hope; those Twitter and Tumblr accounts posting images from films should be all over Haunted World… instead of just a few random Twitter accounts doing so. The awesome sets (allegedly left over from earlier productions) were also marvelous. No one should be gobsmacked either that fog was used often.

The plan is to view more Bava and more Lee the next two months. The hope is that those pictures will at least be as delightful as Hercules in the Haunted World.