Maciste all'inferno

It's impossible not to compare the highly entertaining THE WITCH'S CURSE aka MACISTE IN HELL to the superior HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD. First, they're both Hercules (Maciste) movies in which our hero descends into the Underworld ... and second, it's a face off between arguably the two greatest Italian pulp directors of the 1960's, Riccardo Freda (HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK, THE GHOST) and the undisputed champion, Mario Bava (BLACK Sunday, KILL BABY KILL, LISA & THE DEVIL.) By any definition, THE WITCH'S CURSE is a very entertaining fantasy film: it opens with a prologue about witches in 18th century Scotland ... and then a bare- chested Hercules rides in. No explanation of how or why he's in Scotland -- WITH NO CLOTHES ON, and about twenty centuries late. That's what we really dig about mythological fantasy films -- they Never Have to Say They're Sorry. Or explain Anything. The Something Weird DVD is sadly not letter-boxed, and pretty fuzzy -- but still this comes across as one of the top 5 Hercules movies. Once Kirk Morris (juvenile, not a great Herc -- but who really cares?) gets into the Underworld, it's non-stop flaming brimstone nonsense. Even with a great transfer, this still wouldn't hold a candle to Bava's HAUNTED WORLD -- and in the end, that's the real difference between Freda and his pupil Bava, who far surpassed his master.

Kirk Morris as Maciste in the underworld

Director Riccardo Fredda just couldn't help it. And again he had to send Maciste on a journey through time and space. This time we even went to Scotland and the 17th century. It's unbelievable what the ancient muscle man was forced to do! It would definitely have been less rainy in Carthage! But whatever!

Our hero actually climbs through a witch tree into the underworld to remove the curse of a burned witch. Oh well!

The cast is interesting: Behind the name Kirk Morris is the Italian Adriano Bellini, born in 1942. The strapping Adriano was actually a gondolier in Venice and was discovered by chance for the sword and sandal film. What a story! The French actress Helene Chanel (born in Deauville in 1941) is also there.

In West German cinemas in 1962f. At least 340,000 tickets were sold. Only recommended for friends of the Hexenhammer!

Maciste in Hell (1962)

** (out of 4)

As our movie begins, a witch is being burned to death but before she croaks she puts a curse on the town. A hundred years later a tree grows from that very spot and Maciste (Kirk Morris) must travel to Hell to find the witch and make her break the curse.

If you're expecting anything like the 1925 silent film then you're going to be disappointed as this Italian production is pretty much in the same vein as their Hercules pictures. In fact, you've basically got that same type of character doing the same type of things but the only difference here is that they throw in the Hell setting for some entertainment value.

Is this a good film? Well, I guess that'll depend on your feelings towards the genre. I'm not the biggest fan of the genre but I must admit that I found there to be some slightly entertaining things here including that Hell setting. There are some good scenes where the hero must battle a variety of things including a large snake and some bulls.

Performances are pretty much what you'd expect out of a film like this but I honestly didn't care too much for Kirk Morris in the lead. The film at least looks very good with some nice set design and director Riccardo Freda at least manages to keep the film moving at a nice pace.

In the 16th century, a witch is burned at Scotland, not forgetting to leave a curse behind. A hundred years later, the curse drives people mad - some kill themselves, some see ghosts in the shadows, some suffer from ridiculous overacting (don't miss the fat woman yelling „The witch is back again! It's the end for all of us!"). Suddenly Maciste rides into town, he looks like he came to the set of the wrong movie. It wasn't the only case of Maciste in the wrong millennium (see „Zorro Contro Maciste" by Umberto Lenzi), but if he is in Scotland, he should get a proper costume instead of the stone-age loincloth that was outdated in ancient Greece already. He tries to put an end to hysteria and terror by going down to hell and find the witch! „He can strangle the lion, but there's no man alive who can conquer the devil", they say, but where there's muscles, there's always a way. Director Freda knew what the public wanted, he made enough other movies including Maciste flicks - there even is a flashback to previous adventures -, so you get the fires, the beasts, the drama and all. My only regret is I had to watch this as a full screen copy with poor colors, because in the original wide screen format, it must be quite a show.

(Edit 2017) Nine years after my review above, I got the opportunity to watch a restored version in original scope format, running 88 minutes instead of 75 minutes (among the scenes cut from the old American DVD were a fight against a snake, Maciste crossing the rain of fire, and a flashback showing him in Ancient Egypt). I was right, it's quite a show in proper quality.

I saw a version of MACISTE IN HELL under the boneheaded title of THE WITCH'S CURSE. That version was OK but nothing really remarkable. While watching the film, I realized it was cut down to pieces, that I wasn't watching the original version but even so I thought, meh. Lo and behold, I got a hold of the original uncut Italian version in beautiful crystal clear widescreen and the difference was WOW!

MACISTE IN HELL is, suffice to say, a Peplum masterpiece. It's a stand-out S&S remake of the silent version, which, obviously doesn't look anything like this 1962 version. Aside from a few weak points and an ending that doesn't rise to the occasion, the rest is a visual masterpiece directed by maestro Riccardo Freda. 15 minutes were cut for the US version, THE WITCH'S CURSE, and those 15 minutes make a HUGE difference. What looked like amateur night suddenly looks like a super smooth atmospheric classic fantasy filled with at times jaw dropping visuals. By cutting those 15 minutes, the careful pacing and mood was destroyed/eliminated and what was left was a clunky simplistic adventure.

The film is, first and foremost, an atmospheric film. There's almost no plot and the film follows a lone Mascite (played to uber beefcake perfection by Kirk Morris, aka Adriano Bellini) going from one feat to another. In other words, except for the intro, the dialogue is minimal. Even the Scottish scenes, which looked somehow out of place and silly in THE WITCH'S CURSE suddenly look just right in the uncut version. The contrast between the somber gray, colorless prison setting with the colorful, eye-filling world of Hell is remarkable. Having Maciste appear almost out of nowhere half-naked in Scotland suddenly makes sense with the expanded scenes that show Maciste as some sort of Hero who's not bound by time and space, thanks mainly to stock footage taken from ATLAS IN THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS, SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES OF THE WORLD and MACISTE IN THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS (SON OF SAMSON).

This film looks so good in its original state that they should re-release it on the big-screen. It would be like seeing an all new film. Some might find some of the effects risible, like when Maciste fights with a giant, but I think they just add to the surreal aspects of an adventure that takes place in Hell. But there are several standout, beautifully realized effect scenes that would wow current moviegoers including a trail of flames following Maciste's footsteps, Maciste's walk through a landscape of damned people or Maciste holding a boulder over his head to protect him from a shower of flames. The latter is the film's highlight.

It's also a very sensual film. It's not just a standard S&S action film but it's a film of the senses. The way Kirk Morris (and Helene Chanel) is shot, the cave settings, the music, all add up to a wonderful experience that often transcends its Peplum root. In essence, the story is about Maciste, who represents spiritual and physical purity and how primordial it is for his spirit and (his clearly exposed) body to remain pure amidst all the temptations or dangers around him, such as Fania or whatever attacks him and tries to kill him. This new angle to a familiar story is, for a film made in 1962, cool and somewhat daring.

The uncut version of MACISTE IN HELL is a classic fantasy waiting to be re-discovered. It's a must see for fans of Peplum or any genre films.