Hammer Fillms was adrift in the late 1960s. 1969 to be exact with MOON ZERO TWO and in 1970 with WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH. You have no doubt noticed the outrageous asking price for this single no frills DVD. This is because of the scarcity of the item. Originally issued as part of Warner Brothers’ Sci-Fi Double Feature series, it was almost immediately withdrawn due to the fact that someone put the British version of DINOSAURS, which contains brief nudity and a suggestive scene, onto a G rated release. Oops! Even at the original price of $17.99 for two movies it was hardly a bargain since it represents Hammer far from their best. By the time the 1960s were over, Hammer had lost their important American distributors and were struggling to keep up with competitors that had passed them by filling their movies with much stronger stuff.
In the wake of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and the success of the Spaghetti Westerns, the idea of a space Western must have seemed like a good idea. MOON ZERO TWO (dubbed HIGH MOON by some critics) has everything a classic Western should have from a hero and his sidekick to a claim jumping villain, a damsel in distress, a saloon brawl, and a ride off into the sunset ending. It just happens to take place on the Moon with a spaceship in place of a horse. The special effects, patterned after 2001 but at a fraction of the cost, are quite impressive and the costumes and sets are equally imaginative but very dated. The performances by the unknown principals are fine for what is required of them but it is the character parts that truly shine. All in all an enjoyable way to pass an hour and a half.
The same cannot be said of WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH. Although it’s meant to be preposterous with people and dinosaurs living together (just like ONE MILLION YEARS B.C.) and no Moon yet in the sky (that’s the crux of the plot), there’s just too much of the nonsense caveman dialogue to endure and the performers have zero chemistry and charisma although the principal female participants do fill their fur bikinis well (just not as well as Raquel Welch). Any Hammer film is worth seeing once just to see how they do things on their tight budgets but DINOSAURS is an experience that I don’t care to repeat. Rent it (if you can find it like I did) for MOON ZERO TWO but, aside from the feminine pulchritude on display and Jim Danforth’s creatures, I found DINOSAURS pretty hard to sit through.
The Capsule Critic 