Aventura al centro de la tierra

It's a bit difficult for me to write a completely accurate review of this film, as no dubbed or subtitled copy exists, and my Spanish is not good enough for me to really follow the dialog. Luckily, the plot is simple enough for a non-Spanish speaker to get the gist of it without understanding the (probably silly) interactions between the characters. The plot concerns a group of scientists who have an interest in human evolution journey beneath the earth through a series of picturesque caverns where they endure hardships, betrayal by one of the expedition members, and some deadly encounters with humanoid monsters, some of them sporting big bat wings on their shoulders. There's also a giant spider. The monster make-up and effects are, on the whole, excellent.

In 1965 Alfredo B. Crevenna directed AVENTURA EN EL CENTRO DE LA TIERRA, with recycled footage from other films, with a great cast (Javier Solís, Columba Domínguez) but with no good results. Everything start with a group of tourists visiting the Cacahuamilpa Caves, two of them, a little too ''in love'' decide to stay behind to do a little kissy-touchy and is when the monster strikes. Killing the man and taking the woman with him.

Now, a group of scientists so they can venture inside the caves all the way to the bottom, find that girl and bring her out. Of course that the expedition suffers some loss, but the effort is good, specially when México was behind in the monster movie genre that flourished around the world in the 50s.

There's a lot wrong with this one, but it's still fun.

I have so much to say, but I also don't want to give anything away.

I will say that I loved the costumes for the creatures. I think with regards to the bat one, they had a different face for the close-up shots than they did for the long shots and action sequences. The make-up in the close-ups was very intricate, and I imagine it was giant time-saver to have a more rudimentary mask for the others. It almost seemed like the close-ups were from a different movie. I imagine they were just all done in one day with maybe enough footage for one or two reels with the character doing a few reactions and looking different directions. Just to be used a quick cuts.

I also liked the score.

I will probably watch again.

Highly recommended for a cheesy movie night or ¡Noche de cine cursi!

This is a very good movie. It starts with a a group of people who enter the caverns;a couple gets separated from the rest of them and while they are kissing a hideous monster kills the man. The woman goes mad but escapes.Then when a scientist is trying to find out what happened he sets up a group to find out what just did happen. They enter the cave, unaware of what awaits them.Its soundtrack is what sets the mood for most of the film. Perhaps the best of the film is its ending.I wont spoil anything. What is probably the scariest is that we see the creatures shining eyes glaring at the persons who have entered.There is blood,betrayal,love,horror,terror,suspense! A great film to see.