Maciste all'inferno

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.

There's no way I could NOT like a combination Italian horror film (of the traditional kind) AND Italian "spear and sandal" film, including this one, which I never saw till two years ago. The "hell" scenes were worthy of "Hercules in the Haunted World," which I also never saw till recently. It seems to be a direct sequel to another "peplum" film (I don't know which), because of flashbacks and little references. As much as I like these movies AS movies, instead of as "camp," even I found it funny when the "Maciste" character arrived in this 17th (?) century Scottish town (and yes, in his loincloth), without anyone wondering anything about him.

I've not seen a lot of peplum, but this has surely got to be one of the weirdest. The film starts in Scotland in the year 1550 where witch Martha Gaunt is sentenced to be burned at the stake by Justice Edgar Parrish (Andrea Bosic), who was spurned by the woman when she was young and beautiful. Before she dies, Martha places a curse on the land.

100 years later and the curse is in full effect, local women succumbing to madness and suicide, a gnarled tree sprouting a flower with each death. After newlyweds Martha (Vira Silenti ) and Charley (Angelo Zanolli) move into the local castle, the village folk get wind of the fact that Martha's maiden name was Gaunt, and decide that she is the reincarnation of the witch and must also be burnt at the stake.

So far, so fairly normal, but then things get totally bonkers…

Out of nowhere, Maciste (Kirk Morris)—a muscleman wearing nothing but a loincloth—rides his horse into town to try and prevent the execution. Pushing the tree over, he leaps into the hole underneath and enters Hell, where he faces many challenges before confronting the witch, the only one who can break the curse.

First Maciste wrestles a lion (a drugged-up real lion for long shots and a really manky stuffed lion head for close ups); then he wanders past the tortured and the damned where he helps Sisyphus to push his giant boulder. A massive flaming door is opened using a pair of rocks, although Maciste burns his hands in the process. Next, he narrowly escapes a booby trapped tunnel with a spiked roof that slowly lowers. A beautiful woman, Fania, heals his hands. Maciste is attacked by snakes, and a troglodyte, Goliath, who wrestles with our hero when he rushes to Fania's rescue. Having defeated Goliath, Maciste uses a boulder to shield himself from hot sparks, and has a chat with Prometheus, who is condemned to have eagles peck at his innards for all eternity, learning that he has been put under a spell by Fania, who is really Martha the witch.

After clearing his mind by watching some clips from his other movies in a pool of water (the one with the cyclops looks like good schlocky fun), and steering a herd of stampeding cattle off the edge of a cliff, Maciste finally breaks Martha's curse by kissing her. On the surface, a rainstorm puts out the fire about to burn Martha and Charley, the locals seeing this as a sign of their prisoners' innocence. Meanwhile, Maciste ascends from hell, mounts his steed, and rides off to help some other poor people in need.

Even with its constant barrage of bizarreness, I found Maciste in Hell a bit of a bore, the action consisting of Morris unconvincingly straining as he lifts supposedly heavy prop boulders or wrestles with stuffed or doped-up animals. Stunning location work (the scenes of hell were shot in the picturesque caves of Castellana) and great lighting ensures that the film is aesthetically pleasing, but director Riccardo Freda fails to bring much life to proceedings, making the film strictly for the most avid of sword and sandal fans, or those just wanting to see something completely random.

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.

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!