Hercules Against the Moon Men (1964)

Why so much hype?

recommended

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I feel I should mention that I saw the movie in its original and widescreen version, not the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version. After seeing it, I regret not seeing the MST3K version; surely the hosts of that show would have added some life to the movie by their non-stop comic jabs. To put it bluntly, this movie is a real bore. It is extremely slow-moving and with very little plot unfolding during its endless slog. Making things worse is the character of Hercules himself. There is almost no character development done with this demi-god; believe it or not, for large chunks of the movie he becomes a weak supporting character. Even worse are the moon men; they only appear for a few minutes in the entire movie! Some of the production values are okay for an Italian muscleman cheapie of this time, but they don't enliven the enterprise very much. Unless you watch the MST3K version, I would only recommend the movie to insomniacs.

Hercules Against The Moon Men? The title says it all. And it's hardly a successful mixing of genres.The mythic demi-god strongman played here by Alan Steel is summoned by some folks in a small kingdom whose Queen played by Jany Clair is demanding child sacrifices. The kids go up on a mountain that is continually veiled in mist, but they never come back. Kind of like the Pied Piper without the flute.As for these aliens they're rock monsters who have a human queen who needs blood sacrifices to keep her comatose body alive, preferably the youngest blood possible. When the moon and planets are at a certain confluence, they're going to come down out of their mountain hideout and takeover. What's the science here, I'm not sure, I don't think the producers thought seriously on the subject. Hercules must have stopped them permanently, they didn't make an appearance when Armstrong and Aldrin paid the moon a visit. Though they did bring back some rocks.Careful they don't grow up to be monsters.

I saw this title and immediately related it to the quality and childish idea conceived for Santa Claus Conquers The Martians, and I knew it was going to be exactly the same experience. Basically in ancient Greece, aliens from the Moon land on the planet Earth, and for years they terrorise the city of Samar, demanding people to sacrifice their children. The evil Queen Samara (Jany Clair) has become an ally to them, helping them to conquer the world and to become the most powerful woman in the world. The people of Samar are sick of the chaos and control of the Queen and the aliens, so they send for help from the strongest man on the Earth, Hercules (Sergio Ciani / Alan Steel). When he arrives he is told about the situation everyone is in, and he agrees to help them overcome it. Hercules is very loyal to his new friends though, and wants to make sure they are all safe, starting with the Agar (Anna Maria Polani). Meanwhile, the aliens know that Hercules has come to help, and they demand that the Queen kill him before he can spoil the plans to awaken the Moon Goddess and take over. There is a point when the aliens, with their rock monsters, manage to catch Hercules and place him in a giant spike trap, but his strength gets him out of it. The Moon Goddess is attempted to be awoken, but not before the Queen is killed for betrayal and failure to kill Hercules, but in the end, the good side wins, the people are free and Hercules rides off to another adventure. Also starring Nando Tamberlani as Gladius, Jean-Pierre Honoré as Darix, Delia D'Alberti as Billis / Selene, Goffredo Unger as Mogol, Franco Moricias Timor and Attilio Dottesio as Remar. Being made in Italy, the English dubbing is terrible, the concept is completely ridiculous to be taken seriously or appeal to any science-fiction fans, it is just awful. Poor!

"An alien race from the Moon lands in ancient Greece, terrorizing the nearby city of Samar, and taking the population's children as human sacrifices. If that isn't enough, the queen of Samar has made an alliance with the aliens in order to rule the world. Now it's up to Hercules to save the day and free the oppressed townspeople," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.Dubbed "Hercules Against the Moon Men" from the original Italian, this features Alan Steel as the titular "Hercules" - really, he's playing "Maciste" this time, but worldly studios and audiences saw Italian strongmen used interchangeably. This is a dreary series entry, with busty blonde Delia d'Alberti leading the main attractions. A long-winded third act drags it down.** Maciste e la regina di Samar (6/27/64) Giacomo Gentilomo ~ Alan Steel, Jany Clair, Anna Maria Polani, Delia d'Alberti