Gefangene des Universums

The production team behind this sword and sorcery movie come with a fair amount of baggage . Director Terry Marcel and producer Harry Robertson had previously made HAWK THE SLAYER a film so bad that it almost attracted a cult following , almost . Certainly HAWK is a memorable film but not in any good way and Marcel and Robertson continue in the same vein here

PRISONERS OF THE LOST UNIVERSE is another sword and sorcery film where modern day protagonists from the 20th Century , a TV presenter called Carrie and a truck driver called Dan find themselves transported to an alternative universe that sees different medieval tribes warring against one another with the upper hand being held by a tyrant called Kleel

If the above makes you fear you're going to be watching a nonsensical movie then you'd be right . That said it's also a movie that doesn't take itself entirely serious . I was somewhat surprised as to how involving some of the film is and didn't find myself continually wishing for it to finish despite never once thinking it was ever in danger of being a good movie . In some ways it also reminded me of the TV show THE 10TH KINGDOM that might have very well be inspired by this camp movie

Prisoners of the Lost Universe: Science transports a mad scientist, a handyman, and a go get um TV reporter to "The Lost Universe" which turns out to be South African renaissance festival run by John Saxon.

On the plus side, this is no Frankenstein Island. There is some decent acting with actually appealing actors. Richard Hatch was always underutilized but certainly is appealing here. John Saxon is in full John Saxon mode and plays his evil character halfway between Donald Pleasance and Kurtwood Smith. As others certainly have pointed out the real find is Kay Lenz. Well find is a bit of a stretch. She played a hippy chick intertwined with William Holden in the Clint Eastwood lensed Breezy. Having recently watched that film for the first time it is well worth the look and she is fantastic in it. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance (Best New Actress nominee). Kay Lenz is fantastic in her role with great chemistry with Richard Hatch and a sense of spunky fun.

The movie also has some decent ideas wrapped up with some on the spot dialogue. So why am I watching this movie with a Rifftrax soundtrack and comparing it to Frankenstein Island? Well…. Did I mentioned it was filmed in South Africa… in the early Eighties… and they used their entire budget for top name stars like Richard Hatch? Yes, this one had potential but everything else is a pure train wreck. You can't make Lord of the Rings on a 100k budget. It is a combination of LARPers gone wrong and some of the worst, yet strangely creative costumes and makeup ever seen. You have giants, midgets, green people… and sets that would make 60's Star Trek blush.

It's all in good fun and the stars mentioned above make most of this more palatable than it should be. For those times even the charms of Richard Hatch or John Saxon cannot win one over I had the soothing jokes of Rifftrax to see me through. An okay time but don't be surprised if you are confused after fifteen minutes and asleep after forty-five.

Ostensible shades of a Hawk The Slayer reunion are evidenced here with two of that films main protagonists (Peter O'Farrell and Ray Charleson) present here in very similar roles to that which they portrayed in the aforementioned movie. In fact the film reviewed here bears more than a passing resemblance to the said glorious classic in many ways (a compliment indeed!)

The plot concerns a revolutionary scientist who develops an amazing device which can transport matter to another dimension. Predictably matters take a turn for the worse when himself, a female TV presenter and a handy man/kendo champion(!) accidentally fall into the device and inevitably end up stranded in an unforgiving parallel world ruled by a sadistic despot named Kleel (the always excellent John Saxon)

It turns out to be a highly enjoyable ride throughout boasting some great action set pieces including some very well staged battles wherein our hero, played by Richard 'Apollo' Hatch, demonstrates some highly nifty sword work!

Great fun from start to finish and can be enjoyed by all. It's just such a shame that films like this are so rarely made nowadays.

TV personality Carrie Madison visits a mad scientist Dr. Hartmann who has invented a teleporter to time bending parallel universe. The Doctor, an electrician Dan Roebuck and Madison windup in a prehistoric world and must figure their out a way to get back home.

Early 80s script sensibilities, 60s Star Trek gadgets and special effects aside, Terry Marcel and Harry Robertson offer a cheap, occasionally cheerful science fiction outing. Thankfully the likeable late Richard Hatch as Dan Roebuck and the excellent Kay Lenz as Carrie Madison make this TV low budget offering watchable as they deal with tribes of savage cavemen and a brutal warlord Kleel, played by the excellent John Saxon to name a few. To Hatch and especially Lena's credit even with bland script both their performances are fitting for a better production. There are also some great deliveries from the supporting cast including Peter O'Farrell and Ray Charleson, both of Hawk the Slayer (1980) fame and Dawn Abraham of cult film Deadly Prey (1987).

After it moves from stock footage LA, to South Africa doubling for LA to the other dimension Derek V. Browne cinematography is reminiscent of earlier The Planet of the Apes TV series mixed with aforementioned Star Trek show. The brightly filmed tone is a mixed bag like it's sound and music design. There's hokey creatures, cavemen, a golden giant (a tall man with painted makeup), vivid coloured costumes, explosions, fist fights, club bashing and sword play.

There is an interesting concept hidden under the all round cheap veneer, but the performances are not enough to elevate Marcel's picture to cult status given the lack of atmosphere. It's pity given the abundance of similar Italian films around at the same time that had bucket loads of atmospherics but sometimes the opposite problem of little plot. The production values unfortunately short change the actors and the audience on what could have been a fulfilling Flash Gordon (1980), A Princess of Mars type adventure, but it falls into the realm, maybe even below 1982's The Sword and the Sorcerer or the Sorceress.

Overall, certainly worth watching for stunning Lenz and Hatch's swashbuckling moments.

This is by no stretch of the imagination a good movie. It is incredibly low-budget, and that leaves the OK(ish) acting badly exposed. That said, I thoroughly loved it!

To enjoy this movie you really have to be able to overlook the low budget. The "effects" are bad. Really bad. The alien dimension is an exact replica of Earth. The sets could come straight from a spaghetti western (perhaps they did). The "monsters" are people in mild fancy dress. The fight scenes are amateurish, and made more "exciting" by running the film faster. A three year old child could spot it without even trying. However, if you can accept the shortfalls for what they are – the result of an extremely low budget and an overreaching ambition – and allow yourself to ride with the tide, you will enjoy this film.

The saving graces come in the form of a fun script and Kay Lenz.

The script is not magnificently written, but the dialogue is fun and counterpoints many amusing incidents in the storyline. I won't highlight any incidents as I want this post to remain spoiler-free. However, if you relax into this movie and roll with it you will discover them for yourself when you find yourself laughing out loud – and you will perhaps be surprised that you are laughing with the movie, not at it.

Kay Lenz is also fun. If you like your heroines good looking and feminine but sparky, you will love her character. Having a female lead character in a film who looks like this, and is possessed of intelligence and verve, will always add a certain frisson for many male viewers.

I always find that one of the marks of a movie that has been particularly enjoyable is that at the ending I am surprised that so much time has passed whilst I was watching. This film met that criterion. It is refreshing to find this in a low-budget movie after sitting through some Hollywood blockbuster or other wondering how much longer it will be before the interminable film ends.

If you want to watch a fun bubblegum movie, and you are willing and able to overlook a budget so low that it hits you in the face thirty times per minute of running time, take a look at this film. You will have fun.