Hercules Against the Moon Men (1964)

Director: Giacomo Gentilomo

Starring: Alan Steel, Jany Clair, Anna Maria Polani, Nando Tamberlani, Jean-Pierre Honore, Delia D'Alberti, Goffredo Unger, Franco Morici

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Earth's mightiest man battles moon monsters!

Plot: In ancient Greece a race of evil aliens from the moon land on earth. For years they've terrorized the nearby city of Samar, demanding children for sacrifice. Now, the queen of Samar has made a pact with the moon men to conquer the world and become the most powerful woman alive. However, the residents of Samar, sick of all the chaos, cheer when the mighty Hercules shows up to put a stop to it all.

My rating:5.5/10

Will I watch it again? Nah. There are far too many films in this genre to see before ever revisiting this one.

#7 from SWORD & SANDAL TRAILERS VOL. 1. (part of the TRAILER TRASH PROJECT)

Second and final viewing. I remember watching this one a few years ago and feeling underwhelmed. It's not nearly as bad as people say it is but it's a little lackluster. If you can get past the poor dubbing (what makes it bad is the empty dubbing mix, sounding too much like a rush recording) the rest of it isn't that bad.


I have to commend the writers for coming up with an unusual story. It's certainly different than any other in the genre (which was running out of steam by '64). I would have preferred Hercules go to the Moon instead but that's OK I guess.


The special effects are a little silly but then I've seen some that are far worse. Considering what this was and who it was aimed at (kids, mostly), it's perfectly acceptable and I have no problems with it. I love the huge sets and lighting.



Besides the lack of abundant sound (making it feel like a smaller film than it should), my biggest gripe is how little Hercules gets to do. In so many of the other Hercules/Maciste pictures he's got tons of fights and getting in and out of traps. They could have padded the film with more Hercules badass-ness. At about 90 minutes it felt rather short. Still, it's not a bad film and any fan of the genre would kick themselves in the loin cloth for missing it. Silly fun.