Hercules in the Haunted World (Mario Bava, Italy 1961, 84 min.)

Immediately following the success of his vampire classic Black Sunday, Mario Bava was recruited to direct (and photograph) the second of Reg Park’s Hercules films for producer Achille Piazzi. Freely departing from Roman mythology, the film gave Bava the opportunity to reimagine the sword-and-sandal genre. On its surface a jovial comedy adventure, Hercules in the Haunted World features a striking use of color, which would become one of Bava’s directorial hallmarks. But this playful peplum is tinged with a sense of genuine foreboding, voiced by a masked oracle Medea (Gaia Germani) in one of the film’s most stunning sequences. When Hercules descends into the depths of hell and confronts Lico (Christopher Lee), who has the power to call forth corpses from their tombs, the film plunges into the eye-popping, bone-chilling horror for which Bava had recently become famous.

Reviews:

“Very expertly done, and handsomely mounted.”

--Manchester Evening News

“A breathtaking example of the ability of cinema to construct worlds before our eyes that invite our minds to enter and wander.”

--Screen Slate

“Quite an enjoyable ancient-world spectacular.”

--Ealing Gazette

“Hades, photographed with ingenious light and sound effects, steals the picture.”

--Bristol Evening Post

“One of the most insanely beautiful movies ever made.”

--Medium

Trailer