Hercules Against the Moon Men (1964) User Reviews

Under the Evil Influence of Uranus

[mstomaso · 4/10 · 18 May 2008]

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.

Wow...that sandstorm sequence was rather long wasn't it?

[Aaron1375 · 3/10 · 20 May 2005]

Time for another Hercules adventure as he must battle the people of the moon! Only, it is not Hercules that is featured in this particular film, but rather a hero by the name of Maciste. In the 50's and 60's there were not only like 15 films featuring the Greek hero Hercules, but also like 15 films featuring this hero too! There is a whole lot of films featuring bearded heroes with super strength suffice to say. This film would be repackaged as a Hercules film for its American release because the viewers here are not as familiar with the character of Maciste, but seeing as how he is basically just an Italian version of the Greek hero it is not really that big a deal. Though, it is kind of funny how people complain and moan about the amount of sequels made today when there were sometimes two Hercules films released in the same year and then you add the Maciste films to the mix and you could see three films featuring a Hercules type character at your local cinema. The Maciste character is played by a guy who was a stunt double for Steve Reeves and he sort of looks the part, but he is the smallest of the Hercules I have seen. He does okay and the film has its moments, but gets bogged down during what should be an epic showdown to close the film.

The story has a kingdom that requires its citizenry be sacrificed to the people of the moon who lurk in the cave of death. People in the kingdom tire of this tradition and so they seek the legendary hero Maciste or Hercules if you prefer, so that he might aid them and help them defeat this threat once and for all. Unfortunately, the queen of this land is evil and works with the moon people and thus tries her best to stop Maciste from completing his goals. She also plans to sacrifice her own sister to the horrible abominations in the mountain.

This made for a good episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, but I am surprised they did not say anything regarding the fact this was not a true Hercules film. I guess I can understand as it is not as obvious that this was not really a Hercules film. Now that film that was packaged as a Sinbad film they did was obvious as nothing about it remotely resembled a Sinbad movie. This one features the strong bearded hero and features an evil queen who falls for the hero so it pretty much is like most of the actual Hercules films. Though Crow summed up the looks of this Hercules the best by calling him, Super Bob Vila!

This one has its moments, but the whole film bogs down near the end during the climatic sandstorm sequence. I am pretty sure they were just trying to pad the film, but there are plenty of films that do not have a long running time, why they felt the need to show us the queen running through the storm, then Hercules running through the storm and then the people in the kingdom running through the storm is beyond me. Did I say running? I meant stumbling. All this time showing us this, and the actual fight with the moon people is over in the blink of any eye! This one featured a lot more action up to the point of the sandstorm though and would be more tolerable if that scene had been trimmed down significantly and the fight at the end made to look more epic.

Not too bad as Italian sausage factory Hercules films go

[lemon_magic · 3/10 · 30 April 2005]

One of the other reviewers remarked that "Alan Steele" had 2nd string written all over him. That's actually a fair summary of the quality of HVTMM. That doesn't mean the film isn't good, silly, disposable fun. However, a couple of things might annoy the viewer enough to keep him from enjoying the film for what it is. It all depends on how high your 'irritation' threshold is set.

For one,the dubbing job (as usual for these things) makes you want to poke your own eardrums out with a screwdriver. Where do they get these ESL voice actors, and why do they mix their voices in such a screwy way? I could get better voice quality and overtones on a wax cylinder recording!

The soundtrack has similar problems; for instance, at one point, Alan/Herc is riding cross country on horseback on a rescue mission, with no enemies yet in sight, and the orchestra is thundering along with such an overblown frenzy that in the MST3K version, Tom Servo has to yell out: "WHOA!! SERGEI!!! KEEP IT DOWN!!!!!"

For a third, the director has an unfortunate tendency to linger on closeups of Herc's heaving, sweating pecs a few seconds too long; there are definite overt juvenile homo erotic/gay overtones here, more so than most Herc films. I mean, Steve Reeves flexed and posed constantly in his films, but the camera never fixated on his oiled left pec and nipple for 20 seconds at a time. Or maybe I just have a dirty mind.

But there are some enjoyable action sequences here. The guy playing Herc is pretty loose and athletic, even if his build is much rawer and less polished than Reeves; he throws bad-guy soldiers around as if they were made of paper mache; he runs up flights of stairs, rides horseback, jumps off boulders, picks up things and throws them, etc., with convincing energy and enthusiasm, AND he looks as if he's having a good time while he's doing it. This is in distinct contrast to some of the later Herc/Maciste films where the lead actor is basically a pretty boy Ken doll who can barely get out of his own way.

And the casting choice for the evil Queen was great - the actress has a brittle, vulpine quality perfect for the character, and she radiates greed, hunger, and lust without saying a word. She's a complete ham, of course, but she is completely suitable for the part - you don't doubt for a moment (even with tin-eared dubbed dialog being stuck in her mouth) that she would sell her own sister down the river and enslave all of mankind just so she can ...um, I guess, rule the world, or chain Herc to her bed, or keep herself in blue eyeshadow, or something.

Yes, the sandstorm scene does drag on for a bit - I think the director was going for a sense of overwhelming elemental power and destruction being channeled by the Moon Men against the villagers, and it starts out doing that pretty well; however he ended up spending so much money and time on special effects for the sequence that he and the editors felt they had to use every last bit of film they shot in order to justify it.

But once Herc gets into the mountain, there's three nice little bits in a row that serve as a nice payoff to the endless sandstorm sequence: Herc matches his strength against the rock monsters, the sister is rescued and the Moon Queen reverts back to a corpse with a chilling scream of anger, and finally the Queen gets her comeuppance as she whines and complains in a manner worthy of her character.

The MST3K version of this film is hilarious, but if you find the original in a bargain bin somewhere for $2.50, and you like to collect sword-and-sandal epics for viewing on a lazy Sunday afternoon, "Hercules Against the Moon Men" would be a good choice.

"And as for Hercules, I want him taken alive. He'll pay dearly for the trouble he's caused me."

[bensonmum2 · 5/10 · 28 May 2017]

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).

What more could one ask for . . .

[jmh-77559 · 5/10 · 22 May 2021]

. . . 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: Topless Hero in Mini-Skirt!

[Coventry · 4/10 · 2 August 2006]

Once again, the most frequently asked question in exploitation/cult cinema pops up: Who the hell comes up with stuff like this?!? Aliens from the moon, entirely made of rock and led by a robot-crossover between Darth Vader and C3PO, invade an ancient Greek community and force the people to sacrifice their children for no apparent reason! And, instead of moving out of the area, they blindly obey until they can't take it anymore and call for the help of Hercules. The over-muscled warrior hero arrives, eliminates the evil queen, kicks some alien-butt and falls in love with the local beauty. The end. In all honesty, this movie really isn't that bad. At least it's much better than most other entries in the seemly endless Hercules franchise. The movie only gets boring past the hour, due to the incredibly overlong sandstorm-climax, and you simply have to ignore the plot holes that have the size of a meteor. If you manage to look beyond the silliness, "Hercules against the Moon Men" is a harmless cult-quickie that offers some nice action-sequences and a handful of decent gimmicks. Alan Steel is an average Hercules – not as cool as Steve Reeves but definitely better than Peter Lupus & Mike Lane – and natural redhead Jany Clair is quite sexy as the malicious queen who made a pact with the alien leader. The supportive cast varies from mediocre to awful. I'd really like to see the MST3K-version of this film, as I heard and read some great things about it. Now, let's start wiping the sand out of my eyes.

A Great "So Bad It's Good" Flick

[charliesonnyray · 3/10 · 21 December 2015]

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.

A Beautifully Bad Film

[mirutsa-1 · 2/10 · 2 July 2005]

Story: Where? Oh wait, if you look very closely there is something resembling a story in there, although I'm sure I don't understand it. Something about Hercules, and an evil queen, and some really not intimidating rock creatures, and that guy, and that guy over there, and some other guy. I don't know. 0 points.

Presentation: Well, let's see. There's the fifteen minute sandstorm scene. I haven't actually timed it, but it's infamously long. Then there's the many other scenes of people walking, or standing, or sitting. How much film can a director waste and still make a movie? Here's your answer. 0 points.

Performance: Strangely, not as bad as it should be, considering the rest of the movie's lack of effort. Far from convincing, the actors are still at least as good as every other Italian movie I've seen. So, given the origin and context, I'll be liberal. 1 point.

Overall: I personally got a lot of enjoyment from this movie, but that probably calls my taste into question. If you and a friend need a movie to make fun of for a while, or even just a really really really long sandstorm scene, this movie's perfect. It's potentially entertaining, so one last point. Total, 2 stars.

The eternal sandstorm! I guess that would make this a 'gritty' movie...

[Oosterhartbabe · 2/10 · 12 November 2005]

That sandstorm left the biggest impression on my psyche where this film is concerned. Whenever I think about it, images of blowing sand obscure the plot line and the corny acting. Deep hurting! Deep hurting!

Basically, I guess, these guys in stupid masks play moon men who came down to Earth(how, this is never made clear) and live in caves on this mountain. They demand human sacrifices from the country of Samar, or else they'll...ummm...what? I was never sure about that one. Anyhoo, the Queen of Samar is actively supplying sacrificial fodder for these things and their living rock guards(you'd have to be made of stone not to laugh at those bad costumes!), so that she can have tons of power and stay young and beautiful always. Again, it was never explained how the moon guys were going to give her these things. That would probably be because they always intended to betray her, and she was just too stupid to see that.

The desperate people of Samar call on the 'mighty hero' Hercules to save them from the moon men. This is one thing that has always bothered me-for centuries, Hercules has been considered a hero. But the truth is, this guy was a total jerk. Oh, wait a minute..Never mind, that's pretty much the definition of a hero, anyway. So the well oiled and waxed Alan Steel rides into town as the eponymous Hercules, and promptly blows it. He can't even save this old guy that he's with(or maybe he just didn't want to), and the geezer gets whacked by a wall of blades. Later, he isn't in time to stop the ubiquitous blonde princess's love interest from being shot by some Little Caesar's guards, and the girl who likes him gets captured TWICE before he does anything about it! If the evil Queen had decided just to do her in, she'd have had it. Some hero, this guy is.

Hercules pretends to be drugged(during the entire movie)to learn the evil Queen's plans, then rides off to save her sister(the aforementioned blonde princess), who the Queen has given over to the moon men as a sacrifice. They mean to use her life force, along with the other sacrifices, to bring their own Queen back from the dead.

Now begins the endless sandstorm, with long, long shots of people stumbling through it. This sandstorm took up approximately three fourths of the movie, and by the time they stopped showing it everyone watching was officially insane. After that there's some wrap up, as Hercules saves the princess and then runs away with his tail between his legs(how this is defeating the moon men is beyond me), and then rides off into the sunset with Agar(John Agar?). The End...of all hope and joy in the world.

Maciste, Badly Dubbed

[gavin6942 · 4/10 · 25 March 2018]

Hercules (Alan Steel) is summoned to oppose the evil Queen Samara (Jany Clair), who has allied herself with aliens and is sacrificing her own people in a bid to awaken a moon goddess.

Sergio Ciani started his career as a stuntman; then he became the body double for Steve Reeves in "Hercules Unchained" and in "The Giant of Marathon", in which he also played a minor role. In the early 1960s he adopted the stage name Alan Steel and starred the leading roles in a number of peplum films with good commercial success. With the decline of the genre Steel thinned out his appearances, until his retirement at the end of the 1970s. This film, like many others, is really an extension of his stunt work. And with the misleading "Hercules" title for English audiences, it even seems like they picked up where Reeves left off.

Trying to judge a film like this is tough. The dubbing may make it appear worse than it really is, and the print quality is typically bad because it has fallen in the public domain. What if it was properly scanned in 4K and subtitled, treated like a forgotten cult film? Sure, it may still be second-rate, but certainly not as bad as it is generally seen.

Pretty good Peplum

[Maciste_Brother · 8/10 · 27 March 2007]

A large asteroid falls on earth and from that emerges a group of aliens who try to take over the ancient world by bringing an evil witch back to life. The story is, like some many of these films, incidental to the action but I really enjoyed the mix of fantasy and sci-fi. The alien is cool looking. The rock monsters are slightly underwhelming (it's the way the walk) but they're fun nonetheless, in a B-movie kinda way. Alan Steel (née Sergio Ciani) is agile even if he's more beefy (and older looking) than Steve Reeves or Mark Forest. The film transfer I saw was bad but even so I had fun watching it. I could see that it was very colorful film in its original state and I'm certain that if this film had a decent transfer, people would be pleasantly surprised by how much fun HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN actually is.

There are several good moments in it, including the "nicer dicer" scene, when Hercules (or Maciste) is trapped within a giant contraption which looks like the jaws of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Cool scene. I thought the film moved at a good pace and was never dull. The actress who played the Queen was a pretty good villainess. She looked like she came straight out of an anime. The actress who played the sister had a massive rack which would make Dolly Parton jealous. The only weakness in the film would be the soundtrack. It's not really impressive.

Peplums like this one are often derided and dismissed for showcasing too much muscle. First of all, so what? Secondly, films like this were made, first and foremost, for kids. Kids back then (and today) are impressed by big burly guys. Just look at the success of the über trashy WWE today, which shows more skin than any of these sometimes overlooked action flicks. Third of all, Sword and Sandal films are probably the most underrated genre ever. Without these films there wouldn't have been a Ridley Scott's Oscar winning GLADIATOR or the current box office smash, 300.

Just watch HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN for what it is: just a fun, colorful action movie, which happens to have some beefcake and cheesecake thrown in for good measure.

Its not great, but its fun.

[KennethEagleSpirit · 6/10 · 30 January 2007]

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.

Hercules pushes things over!

[junk-monkey · 1/10 · 9 February 2006]

Hercules pushes things over a lot in this movie. Lots of people, several walls, a huge statue, and lots of other stuff that just happens to be standing about. He also picks people up and throws them at other people a lot and, in a fight in an inn, manages to pick up the same guy twice and throw him into the same barrel. How we laughed!

Best lines of this movie: After endless meetings in the tavern the locals have finally had enough and might, ALMOST, be getting to the point of actually DOING something about having their young folk being tossed into a volcano every 3 months when in walks a soldier with a white cloak (actualy it's a bed-sheet and you can still see the fold in the middle where they didn't bother to iron it before draping it on him) "The army is with you," says the soldier, "they have women folk and children to look after too."

"He's right!" cries the innkeeper, "Come on men! Let's storm the Palace!" Later, just as the rebel rabble arrive at the door of the palace, it is thrown open by the good-guy prince who has just escaped the evil queen's dungeons and he shouts:

"Hurry! To The mountain of Death! Hercules is already on his way! Let's go!" ...and they all turn around 180 degrees and charge off to the Mountain of Death.

So, if you ever need to get a mob moving in any particular direction, don't forget to use the word "let's" in your speech. Seems to work wonders.

I watched this without the benefit of the MSTK editing and comments and believe me they couldn't improve on the sandstorm sequence. It's like a silent movie. D W Griffith would have been proud of it - actually that's a fib he would have hated it, because it made no sense whatsoever and just consisted of the same seven actors staggering past the same three dead trees with the entire Italian stock footage (volcanos) library edited in at random. Ocassionaly to relieve the tedium the actress playing Agar falls over and the director tries to get a sneaky peek down the front of her dress before remembering it's a kid's film and after staring at Hercules' well-oiled man-tits for over an hour (sometimes in loving sweaty, slow motion, close-up) whatever she has got down the front of her dress is bound to be a disappointment

More Greek guys in skirts

[InzyWimzy · 3/10 · 7 October 2000]

Enter Alan Steel as greasy, gym rat Hercules. He must battle the evil Queen Zamara and the moon men. Funny thing is it's never explained who the moon men are (strange especially since they're on earth!). Annoying characters include Prince Darrick, Princess Phyllis, and his girlfriend Agar. Lots of Pizza Pizza guards getting tossed by Herc like 20 lb dumbbells. Try to regain composure (and reality) after the brutally boring and pointless `sandstorm' part.

Watch the great part with the old man and the trap. You'd think he'd remember it was there!

"I know that you're strong enough to crush me, but it's worth the risk."

[classicsoncall · 4/10 · 17 February 2006]

There was a period of time in the 1960's when I OD'd on films in the Hercules genre, as if there even was such a thing. Steve Reeves was the best of course, and his films were fairly watchable. Reg Park was a reasonable substitute, and then you got down to all those beefcake Maciste's portrayed by guys with two first names like Gordon Scott, Brad Harris and Kirk Morris. Alan Steel does the honors in this Grecian formula romp, and truth be told, it could have been a lot worse.

Steel's Hercules is rather athletic, enjoying an early workout against a gang of Queen Samara's (Jany Clair) best warriors. He looks a lot like Reeves, though he might be a bit shorter. Steel (real name Sergio Ciani) looks like he's having fun with his moment of stardom, that or his frequent grin means he realizes just what he's gotten himself into.

What would a Hercules film be without feats of strength? Steel convinces when he bends the bars of an iron gate in the underground cavern, and tosses aside a dead tree during the famous sand storm scene. Now if this were a Mensa convention, he could have simply walked between the bars sideways, and come on, why not just walk around the tree? I guess that's just the kind of hokey adventure that makes the film campy fun. But the best was when the leader of the moon men tells the Queen how he believes she betrayed them. Suddenly, Samara finds herself between a rock and, well, another rock. (You'll just have to watch the movie!)

Hey, can you picture a bunch of film makers back in the Sixties discussing how they could make a movie with the goofiest title. How about "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians"? Nope, already taken. OK, then what about "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter"? Wild West meets Sci-Fi, no, that concept is at least a couple years off. Hey, I've got it! "Hercules Against the Moon Men". We can set it in a land where desert storms, violent oceans and lava flows all exist in near proximity, and in the end, the hero gets the girl. Let's do it!

A Mildly Entertaining Sword And Sandstorm Movie

[Rainey-Dawn · 2/10 · 20 January 2017]

This is more of a sword and sandstorm movie than peplum and sci-fi mix because you rarely see the aliens, only the effects and problems they caused good ol' Hercules. Don't expect to see Hercules physically fight the moon aliens because he doesn't. He does however fight their powers and their rock men army.

The film is barely mildly entertaining to watch normally - but if you watch in fast-forward it's pretty funny. Watch it in fast motion when Herc is strapped to the spikes... he looks like he's almost hyperventilating. Ha-ha.

The ending really is "sandy" as other have mentioned. I didn't find as bad as some of the other reviews read but it is truly one heck of a sandstorm.

2.5/10

A unique film of many strange genres

[oscar-35 · 11 August 2009]

*Spoiler/plot- 1964, Hercules against the Moonmen, In ancient times, an ancient race lands in Greece. They terrorizing the nearby city of Samar taking the cities children as human sacrifices to the moon god. The evil queen of Samar has made an alliance with the moon men so she can rule the Earth. Hercules has to win the day for the poor country people. *Special stars- Alan Steel plays the he-man from Greece. *Theme- Mythical strongmen can make things right. *Based on- Hercules Greecian myths. *Trivia/location/goofs- Italian production. The moon men are stone robots.Many men enjoyed seeing the top heavy actresses in this film thanks to the banded bullet bra costume dept. Science fiction and sword & sorcery type interesting film combo. *Emotion- A unique film of many strange genres but the stars merely sleep-walk through their roles here.

Evilly influenced by...Uranus!!!

[evilskip · 2/10 · 2 May 2001]

Ol skip had seen several cool looking lobby cards for this Italian sword & sandal/muscle flick.Walking rock monsters and a lead villain I dubbed The Aluminum Foil Man.Okay he looks like a refugee from an Easy Bake Oven.Having never seen one of these epics I was overjoyed to find a copy for a little over 100 pennies.Maybe some cheesy fun at worst.So I settled in to watch.... ....AUUUGGGHHH!When will the hurting stop????

Peasants are being sacrificed to the Lunar Men at the Mountain Of Death. A rebellion is to be led against the evil queen.Hercules is the outside "muscle" called to ride in and save the day.

The queen is tied in with the Lunar Men who want to make the earth over on the image of the moon.Via some really horsebleep dubbing we're told that when the planets are aligned just right we'll have earthquakes,floods and other catastrophic events.Somehow this is evilly influenced by Uranus.You got that right Bubba.

We also are given mind numbing lingering shots of Hercules' sweaty chest and armpits.Let's not forget the sandstorm that drags on and on and on and on....

Unfortunately we're not given enough screen time of the Lunar Man and his rock monster minions.They are the only saving grace this pitiful flick has.

So if you really want to hurt yourself try and find this movie.And watch out for Uranus.

Lots Of Deep Hurting For Anyone Who Watches

[AliensPredator27 · 1/10 · 2 July 2005]

Deep Hurting....DEEP HURTING. Oh boy were the Mads correct. I was left with the desire to shower off the slime Hercules Against The Moon Men left on me after viewing it. OK I'm guessing that Hercules is rebelling against the queen who has a treaty with "moon men" -cough Mexican wrestler mask cough-. Although the Moon Men and his Rock Minions don't get much screen time, they easily steal the show (which isn't to hard here. Their only competition was the Sand Storm scene). Hercules or Alan Steel here; mostly spends his time in this film fighting off soldiers of the queen. He also scrambles with a Sasquatch type creature with large fangs. And at last beats the moon men by.....pushing the leader down and running away.

1 out of 10 as a real rating 5 out of 10 as a B movie rating 10 out of 10 for a Deep Hurting rating.

-Jesse

This French & Italian movie is as impotent as their armies were in WWII.

[ccunning-73587 · 3/10 · 21 September 2019]

A really cheesy Italian/French production. Sometimes the lighting was okay but often it was very dark. Some scenes were fairly well done but not enough to save the photography director from criticism. I also wonder what they smeared all over Hercules to make him glisten throughout the movie. Remember to keep your sense of humor! One of my 'funny humor' scenes was when the unarmed, untrained, dweeb citizens were shouting, "Let's attack the Mountain of Death," where the moon monsters have destroyed all attacking armies for generations. In some scene changes all the dots weren't connected and you're left wondering what was missing. Near the end Hercules picks up one of the Moon Men and you can see plastic 'footies' of the 'all rock' Moon Men'. Again, this French & Italian movie is as impotent as their armies were in WWII. Their rifles were never fired and only dropped once... Just like this movie!

Oh No! Its the sandstorm scene, Joel !!!!!!!!!!!

[KOknockout920 · 1/10 · 9 November 2005]

I recently got the MST3K Volume 7 and it had Hercules against the moon men. When it was over, the movie traumatized me! Apparently, the "moon men" will destroy a town known as Samar. So, in order to keep the town from being distressed, they had to sacrifice their "children" to these rock guys in the "mountain of death". The people against the sacrifices decided to hire Hercules to take care of the problem. The Queen of Samar, I forget her name, is an ally of the moon people and desperately wants to kill Hercules. Then all of this stuff with the cave trap and the capture of his allies and being captured himself. But then, as it couldn't get any worse, it happens! A 20 sandstorm sequence in which it just shows people falling on their faces!!! But at the end, the Queen gets killed, Hercules destroys the moon guys and they all not live happily ever after.

Enough Hercules bashing Already

[CromeRose · 10/10 · 19 October 2007]

Okay, I know this is a cheapie churned out quickly by the Italian "Epic Theater -Sword & Sandal" machine, but it was made in 1965 people, and so it really is not as bad as some of your reviews would have it seem. As a filmmaker myself, I know how EXTREMELY DIFFICULT it is to go out on location and get anything even half decent on film, so just by that, the Italians have done a great job. The action set pieces are really quite well done, and the acting is believable and passable, even from Alan Steele, who I think makes a great Hercules. The special effects are very good for their time, especially the giant rock monsters. The Queen is an excellent evil schemer with perfect vulpine qualities, not to mention a very beautiful face and sexy figure. I could look at her all day long. If you compare this film, or any of the Italian horror films made around the same period (Nightmare Castle for example) or the excellent hammer Horror Ingrid Pitt vampire series, they are far superior in all aspects to anything that Hollywood was churning out at the time (or now). Most of that stuff was cranked out by the Corman machine and fell far short of the quality of Hercules Against the Moon Men. The sequences are filmed well, with steady, clear and precise camera work, and they are edited together nicely. I admit that the sandstorm sequence is perhaps a little too long, but it is no where near as agonizing to sit through than the entire Transformers movie out recently. Perhaps the only criticism I have for Hercules is the inconsistency of his strength - any man powerful enough to raise a rock monster over his head and toss it aside would be unstoppable, and most certainly unable to be fought against by guys with swords. But I loved the fight scenes anyway, and Alan Steele really looks like he's grinning and having a great time as the unbeatable hero. I love this film as much now as I did when I first saw it as a little boy growing up in England.

A fast-paced adventure, apart from that sandstorm sequence

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 29 July 2016]

A delightful adventure romp which mixes in traditional mythology with some sci-fi themes but loses its way somewhat towards the ending. Probably the biggest problem is that it looks like the filming ran short of the expected running time and lots of stock footage and the infamous, interminable "sandstorm" scene was clumsily inserted to make the movie last longer. They succeeded but sitting through these sections is a real bore. Thankfully they are only part of the movie and the rest is a lot of fun to sit through.

The opening scene witnesses a miniature meteorite crashing into a mountain and causing chaos. Moving forward hundreds of years, we learn of a race of aliens living in the mountain who require sacrifices to stay alive. They also happen to be astrologers who predict a coming catastrophe through which they will inherit the earth and mankind will be wiped out. A local village is forced to supply sacrificial victims because evil queen Selena is in cahoots with the aliens and has been promised eternal life if she helps them. Luckily, an elder has called in hero Hercules to sort out the problem.

Here, Alan Steel enters the picture as Hercules. Steel was one of the many actors to star in these peplum movies but is one of the less well-known, as he only appeared in about half-a-dozen titles before going on to other things. Like Kirk Morris, Steel is a native Italian who seems to have been picked for the genre because of his uncanny resemblance to Steve Reeves! Certainly his acting skills aren't up to much (although that's not a necessity), but his hulking figure is just right for the genre. Thankfully, Steel has late genre veteran director Giacomo Gentilomo to direct him, and Gentilomo makes a good job of things; in particular the action scenes are well-choreographed and a lot of fun to watch.

As Hercules nears the village he is pounced on by a pack of men hungry for his blood. What a welcome! He quickly fights them off before meeting up with a village elder who wants him to lead a rebellion. They hide in secret underground tunnels but the old man is impaled by a wall of spikes in a hilarious scene! Hercules himself is thrown into a pit which rapidly fills with water, but manages to break out through sheer strength alone. Now, apparently at this point Hercules fights off a monster, a fight which is referenced a couple of times in other reviews and later in the film. For whatever reason this fight is missing in the Something Weird version I saw; this annoys me pretty much because I enjoy a good monster fight as much as the next person. Having defeated his enemy, Hercules proceeds to bend a few bars before rescuing an innocent prince from an assassination attempt. This prince figures predominantly in the movie but his role is unknown - he doesn't actually do anything useful, just keeps getting captured and needing to be rescued! The plot develops as this point, introducing a number of superfluous female characters who generally need rescuing and are impossibly busty to boot. Hercules fights off a load of guards before walking into a trap when a net is thrown over him. He's put in a closing-spike trap which is kind of like one of those jungle traps they had in those Italian cannibal films, except that it works a lot slower and is man-powered instead of automatic. After much straining and sweating, he escapes to win the heart of queen Selena.

Selena has obviously seen HERCULES UNCHAINED, so slips Hercules a drink containing a potion to make him love her. Luckily he's been forewarned of this so only pretends to drink it, and goes along with Selena for a time before escaping. At this point, a rebellion attacks the palace and all the remaining characters flee to the Mountain of Death, where the Moon Men are hiding. Then there's that dratted sandstorm, which goes on for an age, plus inserted weather footage of lightning and rough seas. Eventually Hercules fights off the rock-men who act as a guard, throws the Moon Man (yes, there was only one!) to his death and rescues everyone before destroying the mountain. In the end, he rides off into the sunset with his new girlfriend! My favourite parts of this movie were the ones involving the Mountain of Death and its inhabitants. The Moon Man is a tall, golden, scary-looking dude with a skull-mask and a bad temper. The rock-men are a hilarious bunch of shambling idiots who race around and crush people to death, that is before Hercules arrives and starts throwing them around like dolls! Also lurking in the background is an alien queen who is revived by drops of blood like Barbara Steele in BLACK Sunday. After the plan is foiled she rots away like all good movie vampires. The special effects are limited in this movie but plentiful and entertaining, with lots of explosions and roaring fire at the end. As I mentioned, the action is staged well and Hercules is given lots of fighting (of guards, monsters, traps, etc.) and heroic things to do (uprooting trees, pillars, etc.).

Anna Maria Polani is pretty good as the evil Selena, a totally ruthless and hateable character who has no redeeming qualities whatsoever - that's what I like in my villains! Jany Clair in comparison is rather insipid as Agar, a slave girl who falls in love with Hercules and runs around simpering after him. This movie contains music stolen from another peplum film, possibly MACISTE IN HELL, which is used in the opening credits. It's a fast-paced adventure which could have been one of the best, but is ruined by that pacing problem in the second half. Without the sandstorm it would have been a classic; with it, it's merely good, solid fun.

First Japanese, Now Italian

[Hitchcoc · 2/10 · 17 April 2006]

These Hercules movies are really hard to stay with. First relinquish everything you know about the character of mythology. Other than the fact that he is formidable, he has not connection. They even name characters after beings from other stories. This is about a sacrifice of a young woman, done to rejuvenate an aging moon princess. Unfortunately, the evil female ruler has made nice with the Moon Men and is willing to let them have their way, sacrificing her daughter. Did you ever wonder how these characters got in their positions of authority. Maybe they told their people there were weapons of mass destruction. After numerous fights and confrontations, Hercules finally meets an army of rock monsters and engages them in battle. By this time he has killed or maimed half the people in the movie. Job security isn't what it used to be. These guys really pay a price for supporting the evil queen, who would just as soon cut their throats as look at them. Hercules has great muscles. Every one of these guys looks exactly alike.