Hercules in the Haunted World (1961)

67% of users liked it
(711 ratings)

Horrormeister Mario Bava helmed this entry in the series, in which Hercules (Reg Park) must journey to the bowels of Hell to recover a magical plant that is the only hope of a dying princess. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 31 min.
Directed By: Franco Prosperi, Mario Bava
Genres: Action & Adventure, Art House & International, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Nov 16, 1961 Wide
On DVD: Aug 6, 2002

Critic Reviews

Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Typical Hercules/Machiste nonsense not made better by the overrated Bava direction.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, San Francisco Examiner
Bava's innovative color cinematography sparkles in its own right, but becomes even more impressive when you realize what a limited budget the director had.

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Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

I found this movie a lot of fun, it's much better than other Hercules movies from the 60s, maybe because Bava directs, so it has a bit of a horror feeling to it? It does have a classical epic story, though, which is really cool. It was better than I expected.
Michael G

The usual fun Bava fare. This time he sends Hercules to Hades (or Hell for those of you who've never read Bulfinch's Mythology) to save the woman he loves. One of Bava's more impressive features from a style standpoint with the lighting and camera tricks, even if the… More
The usual fun Bava fare. This time he sends Hercules to Hades (or Hell for those of you who've never read Bulfinch's Mythology) to save the woman he loves. One of Bava's more impressive features from a style standpoint with the lighting and camera tricks, even if the story is something you've seen before. Christopher Lee is the villain and the last ten minutes are creepy and amazing all at the same time. Hercules in the Haunted World also shows Bava's influence on future filmmakers such as Sam Raimi and Don Coscarelli. The Comic Relief Guy was too much, but overall this one's worth the time.