1961's Hercules in the Haunted World was directed by acclaimed Italian horror maestro Mario Bava. Bava, bets known for Gothic tales of terror, worked as a cinematographer on both Hercules and Hercules Unchained. Given a chance to head up his own peplum film, his passion for Gothic nightmares came to the forefront. Hercules in the Haunted World is boiling over the images of the grotesque and fantastic, lending it a truly phantasmagoric atmosphere that helps set it apart from the pack. Based very loosely on Hercules' journey into Hell, and no doubt inspired by Dante's classic Inferno, the film takes the man-god and his requisite little buddy on a journey through Hades in order to rescue his imprisoned "one true love," one of several "one true loves" Hercules would have. Along the way, Herc locks it up with lava men, flying ghouls, and horror icon Christopher Lee, who plays the blood-sucking lord of Hell! Seeing someone like Christopher Lee suddenly pop up in a peplum film is only one of the many weird elements in this movie.

Right away, audiences knew this was a Hercules film of a different color. Psychedelic swirling ink blots and creepy green illustrations highlight the credits, which appear in the "eerie waving letters" effect so popular with horror films rather than the "generic classical Greek" font we’d expect. In the first scene we find ourselves in familiar territory as Hercules stands atop a waterfall rubbing himself down. His sidekick, Theseus, is having a roll in the hay with a sexy lass, no doubt wooed by his bleach blond pompadour. They are soon attacked by ne'r-do-wells. Needless to say, even these dozens of armed assailants prove scarcely a match for Hercules and Theseus. Mostly Theseus actually, as Herc stays pretty busy up on the cliff checking out his own biceps, showing up just in time to throw a cart at the few remaining brigands.

The attackers were sent by Christopher Lee adorned in a bad haircut. He has set himself up as king while Herc's babe, Dianira, has been sealed away "for her own protection." In fact, Lyco (Lee) has put a spell on her that turned her into a rambling zombie. The only cure for her affliction is down in Hades, and to get there Hercules needs a golden apple that grows on a tree in the Garden of Despair, where dwell the women condemned to live forever in darkness. Along the way to get the apple, they pick up "comic relief guy," who has an even dippier haircut than Lyco. He looks a lot like a Romulan, as opposed to looking like Romulus. Either way, it's like saying, "Hey, we’re going on a really long trip. I know! Let's bring Martin Short!"

In Hades, their first task is to defeat a naked, chained up woman who tries to tempt them. Theseus is ready to give her the ol' college try, but Hercules knows better than to believe the illusions of Hell. After that, it's a lake of fire and vines that scream and bleed when cut. Then its the big showdown with Lyco and his screeching ghouls.

Hercules in the Haunted World is fine fare. Bava went all out with the atmosphere, filling his movie with bizarre colored lights and mists. The finale in the cobweb-covered catacombs from which the dead rise from the grave is straight out of a horror film. What cheapness is evident onscreen in terms of sub-standard backgrounds and phony props is easy to overlook in light of how much wonderfully weird stuff is going on.

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