Hercules, Prisoner of Evil (1964)

Pretty Good

A lot of fun.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Ancient peplum hero Ursus is now doing his thing in Eastern Europe where the Mongol conquerors are running things but with arrangements with the locals. Not anyone in the cast looks remotely Asian however, especially one who as it turns out is the lost princess daughter of the Great Khan who was murdered in a palace coup.Anyway the usurper and his partner who is a sorceress have the common serfs under control, but for Ursus who leads one of the tribes. The sorceress gets the big guy under her control and turn him into some kind of ravenous beast.Good thing the good guys have someone skilled in the black arts who brings Ursus around. Just like Hulk Hogan going over to the dark side.

Jolly legendary strongman Hercules (an engaging performance by the handsome and muscular Reg Park) battles evil sorceress Amiko (gorgeous brunette stunner Mireille Granelli), who transforms men into vicious and hideous werewolf beasts. While the central premise certainly has promise, it's unfortunately rendered pretty flat and uninteresting thanks to Antonio Margheriti's pedestrian direction, the leaden pace, the meandering pace, a plot that fails to blend the horror and fantasy elements together into a cohesive and satisfying whole, the inevitable cruddy dubbing, a crippling lack of tension and vitality, and the classic problem of much dull talk detracting substantially from the too little, yet still quite exciting action (the usual rough'n'ready swordfights are especially stirring). The werewolf monster is likewise a disappointment; he's some pudgy guy in silly hairy make-up who proves to be more laughable than scary. On the plus side the girls are definitely attractive, with the ravishing Maria Teresa Orsini a stand-out as fetching slave girl Kato. Furio Meniconi delivers an effectively slimy portrayal of wicked no-count prince Zeretelli. Franco Mannino's score alternates between slushy orchestral mush and rousing full-speed-ahead barnstorming music. A passable, but overall forgettable diversion.

Quite rare stuff. Two masters of Italian horrors Antonio Margheriti and young Ruggero Deodato directed this film in 1964. It has a lot to do with antique fairy tales and the screenplay is really original. Ursus is the prototype of Conan and other muscled heroes of fantasy movies. He is real hero in this film, fighting against evil, black magic, selfish king with a small number of friends, like Robin Good. Good fighting scenes really liked them. Good costumes and rather progressive score. Bewitched fighters turn in to werewolves like monsters. So this is a real epic fantasy with wise dialogs and 60s colors. Andrey Tripod "www.myspace.com/neizvest" Quite rare stuff. Two masters of Italian horrors Antonio Margheriti and young Ruggero Deodato directed this film in 1964. It has a lot to do with antique fairy tales and the screenplay is really original. Ursus is the prototype of Conan and other muscled heroes of fantasy movies. He is real hero in this film, fighting against evil, black magic, selfish king with a small number of friends, like Robin Good. Good fighting scenes really liked them. Good costumes and rather progressive score. Bewitched fighters turn in to werewolves like monsters. So this is a real epic fantasy with wise dialogs and 60s colors. Andrey Tripod "www.myspace.com/neizvest"

HERCULES, PRISONER OF EVIL is one of the worst Sword & Sandal films ever. It's unspeakably bad. The first thing is it's not even a Peplum. The setting is old Europe, not Ancient Greece or Rome. The story, about a witch wanting to become queen, is crap and confusing. The acting is bad. The production values are non-existent. Reg Park is somewhere in there. The "monster" is not scary but embarrassing. The shriek it makes is hilarious, not scary. I saw this on the Retromedia DVD of HERCULES AND THE CAPTIVE WOMEN (that one is good) and the transfer was really bad. The soundtrack wasn't even in sync with the crappy image. All in all, a thoroughly unpleasant viewing and not just because of the bad transfer. I was entertained by other good S&S films even if the DVD transfers were mediocre. A good transfer wouldn't improve anything about this awful film.