Hercules Against the Moon Men

While this film made a very funny episode of MST3K, I am reviewing the film itself, not the MST3k version.

Giacomo Gentilomo and other Italian directors of the 1950s and 1960s made Hercules the James Bond of classical times. Smart, impossible to defeat and always pure of heart, Herc always got the goods and the girl. Sergio Ciani (AKA Alan Steel) plays Hercules this time. A former stunt double for Steve Reeves, Ciani does as well with this role as any of his predecessors. It has been noted that Ciani was shorter than the other Hercs in the series. While this is apparent in the film, it's worth noting that he was a mere two inches shorter than the larger-than life Reeves.

I found this film to be much more entertaining and polished than it had a right to be. The directing, editing and cinematography were fine, and the only pacing disaster was the seemingly endless sand storm. the film's art design was superior to the rest of the series. It is not surprising that Director Gentilomo became a full-time professional fine artist shortly after making this film.

In Moon Men, Hercules must face the evil power of the moon and the supernatural creatures who came to earth on a meteorite and use human sacrifice to wield mysterious power. In addition, he has to face a powerful and power-hungry queen allied to these creatures and the evil influence of Uranus. As ridiculous as this plot is, it is, at least, creative, and offers some innovative opportunities for very different fight scenes, sets, and subplots. The script is about as straightforward as it gets, and the English dubbing is actually pretty good.

Silly, but harmless. An extra star for the costumes and creative use of effects.

Alan Steele makes a nice Hercules. Jany Clair makes a very beautiful evil queen. The fanged monkey-monster is hilarious and kind of cool. The head moon man is weird enough. The rock moon men are OK. The fight scenes are passable. The continuity is fair to better than most movies of this genre. The plot is average. The acting is what you'd expect in a B movie and nothing more. The sets are OK. The photography is not the greatest, especially the out door scenes, but it works well enough. If, when you think Hercules, Kevin Sorbo is the first name that pops into your head you probably won't like this flick and don't need to waste time watching it. But if, when someone says Superman, the first name that comes to mind is George Reeves and not Christopher Reeve, well you'll probably enjoy this movie. Its a good movie to kick back and have fun with so long as you're not setting your sights to high.

. . . in a movie entitled Hercules Against the Moon Men? I gave it five out of 10 because it is quite average for a movie of its type -- silly Italian Hercules movies being the type.

Hercules Against The Moon Men doesn't deserve a 2 out of 10. It doesn't deserve an Oscar either but it isn't THAT bad. It's not good but it is at least entertaining. I have seen plenty of bad films that often insult your intelligence and make no sense but this film- though incompetent in most areas-in no way feels like a slap in the face like say Troll 2 or Howard the Duck. This movie tries to be a mixture of a Mythical Epic like Clash of the Titans and 50's Sci-fi like The Day the Earth Stood Still. And we get the best(or best worst) of both worlds. The development of the characters and their relationships are almost non-existent yet they still try to pass it off like they are growing i.e. a girl falls in love with Hercules even though they have known each other for a total of 12 minutes. The aliens are absolutely ridiculous but they look as if effort were put into them unlike other movie monsters like the goblins from Troll 2. The acting and dialogue are very wooden but you can at least say some work was put into it unlike say the actors from Troll 2(have I mentioned how much I hate Troll 2?). It doesn't try to be historically accurate or anything, it just tries to be exactly what it promises: Hercules fighting a bunch of aliens and that's exactly what it is and nothing more. I would say check this movie out if you wanna see a poorly done B-movie that you and your friends can laugh at.

The evil Queen Samara is offering up her subjects as sacrifices to the aliens that inhabit a local mountain. The aliens hope to use the blood of their victims to resurrect their own queen (at least I think that's the plan). The citizens, quite naturally, grow weary of sending their daughters off to die and summon Hercules for help. Can Herc avoid Queen Samara's clutches and defeat the aliens of the mountain and their rock-monster minions?

Hercules Against the Moon Men is by no means a great movie, but it is more fun than it's IMDb rating (2.6) would indicate. Alan Steel makes for an entertaining Hercules. He plays Hercules in a little more lighthearted manner than the more iconic Steve Reeves. He is also more agile than most of the muscle-bound dudes who would play Herc, so he's got that going for him as well. If it weren't for that Georgia clay colored bronzer, Steel would be an almost perfect Hercules. Speaking of perfect, Jany Clair's Queen Samara is also just about perfect - perfectly evil. She on a big time power trip and doesn't care who has to die to get what she wants. And what about those dresses? I didn't realize they had such shiny, sequined evening gowns in ancient Greece (or wherever they are). They look like the dresses Ginger wore on Giligan's Island. The owl headed aliens are pretty cool - even if they pose no real threat to Hercules once he gets near them. They fold like a tent in a stiff breeze. Finally, there are enough fight scenes and shows of strength from Hercules to make the whole thing mildly entertaining. Two of my favorite moments have to be Herc's fight against the ape with the dental issues and Herc's escape from the spiked jaws of death.

I've probably seen Hercules Against the Moon Men at least a dozen times over the years. Usually with the MST3k commentary, but on occasion on its own. While the MST3K commentary is often quite funny, I cannot agree with their assessment that its one of the worst movies they watched. It's too entertaining and too much fun for that. And the sandstorm scene they go on and on about really isn't that bad. Sure, it probably overstays its welcome, but it's no rock climbing (if you know what I mean).