I was a big Mario Bava fan until he made BLOOD & BLACK LACE (1964) and swapped Gothic for Giallo. A few films like KILL BABY KILL (1966) and BARON BLOOD (1972) return to his Gothic roots but most of his later movies just aren’t my cup of tea. After years of seeing bad TV prints of HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD (1961) and a recent streaming effort that was seriously lacking, I was pleasantly surprised (blown away actually) by the quality of this release from Fantoma.
This is the European version known as HERCULES IN THE CENTER OF THE EARTH which is in widescreen and glorious color. It also gives you the option of English or Italian soundtracks. The dubbing is excellent but I prefer the original Italian although it’s disconcerting to hear Christopher Lee conversing in Italian (he’s dubbed in the English version as well). This was Bava’s first film in color and during its many supernatural moments it looks like BLACK SUNDAY (1960) would have had it not been in black & white. In fact signature visual elements of later Bava films such as BLACK SABBATH (1963) and PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES (1965) first make their appearance here.
The scenario, having little to do with actual mythology, has Hercules travelling to Hades in order to bring back 2 relics which have the power to restore his beloved (Leonora Ruffo) to her senses. She’s been put in a trance by her evil guardian (Lee of course) who sends Hercules out on this errand in the hopes that he will fail. The scenes in the Underworld feature Bava at his most creative visually and his use of color and light and shadow give you an indication of what’s to come.
3 time Mr Universe winner Reg Park makes an excellent Hercules (and not just in looks although he’s really ripped to use 21st century terminology) and Christopher Lee’s evil King Lyco is quite an imposing presence (even without his voice). Steven H. Scheuer, the first TV movie critic (before Leonard Maltin), said “In this movie, Hercules literally goes to Hell taking the advice of his non-fans”. He must have seen one of the many bad TV prints out there for in a high quality version like this Fantoma release, this is the best Hercules movie (sorry Steve Reeves) and most of the credit should go to Bava. The DVD also comes with a number of special features including liner notes and rare stills.
The Capsule Critic 