Hercules in the Haunted World

Bava was born for Gothic Horror, like he's one of the patron saints of the genre, so of course he infused this peplum with a heavy dose of moody atmospherics and, of course, fog. Who better to direct a movie about Hercules journeying to Hell to find the means to defeat an evil magician/demon played by a (sadly dubbed) Christopher Lee?

The directing of Bava lifts this up from being a standard entry in the pepla genre by infusing it with a horror-gothic atmosphere, especially near the end with the living dead attacking Hercules. With it many bright colors it's looks absolutely stunning. Reg Park makes for a very likable Hercules and Christopher Lee a good, but underused, villain.

One of the better Italian Hercules films of the 60's thanks to Mario Bava and Christopher Lee

Cheesy with really bad dubbing and low production values but it was still fun to watch.

Stylistically speaking, Bava's Hercules plays like a dry run for Erik The Conqueror, which came out the same year. It's a cheaper looking film and one of the few examples where budget contraints impacted negatively on Bava's creativity. True to form, the maestro does manage a few good scenes, most notably towards the end when Hercules is battling his way through the colourful catacombs of a fog drenched netherworld, but the strong fantasy imagery doesn't compensate for its overriding flaws.

Just the right kind of inane moronic cheese to tide me through the day, also life.

Qualé dessa história de que Perséfone é "filha" de Hades? Muito freudiano pro meu gosto. No mais, há bons momentos.

Amusing.

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