Beyond Atlantis

Other than the babe giving the massage and numerous butt shots of the pearl girl swimming under water, there is not much here to enjoy. The big bulging eyes of the Atlantans was a bit much, especially considering this was made in the 70's not the 50's . I mean even if you are here for campy fun that's just a weird idea someone had to give them huge eyes wtf. The movie gets off track early, going in a different direction than what you'd expect and a sort of sleazy tone prevails . Not really what I was hoping for. There's not much mystery and sci-fi intrigue, well maybe a little but I was disappointed. Perhaps worth watching to see Ashley, Wayne, and Haig together.

This was a very enjoyable film, combination of horror, action, plot and some comedy. Sid Haig was very memorable as East Eddie. Had some of the better lines to deliver. John Ashley made the transition from teen star to producer and Patrick Wayne was the perfect choice for the square-jawed hero. Leigh Christian was ....hmmmmm... and the final film appearance of George Nader...too bad the other entries "Womanhunt","Beast Of The Yellow Night",and "Black Mamba" couldn't put together the same formula.

Needless to say that I had never actually heard about this 1973 movie from writers Charles Eric Johnson and Stephanie Rothman. I happened to stumble upon it by random chance here in 2024, and opted to give it a fair chance, as I had never seen it, nor heard about it. I figured that it was an adventure movie of sorts, given the movie's cover and synopsis.

The storyline in the movie was fair enough. It made for adequate entertainment, but it was lacking a bit in the excitement department, because the movie had a rather monotonous pacing to it.

I will say that the movie was off to a good start when I saw that it had Sid Haig on the cast list. Of the entire cast ensemble, I was only familiar with Sid Haig and Vic Diaz. But it should be noted that the acting performances were fair.

The bug-eyed people were the source of a good laugh. It just made zero sense, and it was nearly impossible to take it serious. I can only guess at what the writers where thinking when they came up with the idea for that thing.

The music in the movie was a bit too over-dramatic, and it sort of added a comical aspect to the movie. Instead of actually being suspenseful or exciting, or whatever they were aiming at, it just came out ridiculous, and it was a rather swing and a miss with the music.

Watchable, sure, but not an outstanding or particularly memorable movie. Nor is it a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time.

My rating of director Eddie Romero's 1973 movie "Beyond Atlantis" lands on a four out of ten stars.

In the Philippines some Americans learn of valuable pearls on a remote island and form an alliance to get the treasure, but they have to deal with the inbred tribe that inhabits the isle. John Ashley, Sid Haig and Patrick Wayne star as the venal team members along with Lenore Stevens as a scientist. Leigh Christian plays an alluring blonde member of the remote society.

"Beyond Atlantis" (1973) is an oceanic adventure that combines "City Beneath the Sea" (1953) with the women-in-skin-bikinis of Hammer's "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth" (1970). Like the latter, it has a barely-a-B-movie vibe, but it's more entertaining due to the superb location shooting and quality cast. The director knows how to tastefully shoot women (no pun intended) and it's one of the flick's highlights.

This could've been as good as "City Beneath the Sea" or "Mysterious Island" (1961), but more time needed spent on strengthening the (obviously) loose script. That takes time and time means money, which the producers regrettably didn't have. While this is a "bad movie," it's entertaining enough to check out.

The film runs 1 hour, 31 minutes, and was shot in the Philippines.

GRADE: C/C-

Manuel, (The last Vic Diaz) is a fisherman who wants to trade in his pearls for cash. He goes to a pimp named Fast Eddie (Sid Haig) and gets 500 pesos in return. Fast Eddie, sees a fortune in the pearls and decides to get some men together to get some more of the pearls. He takes with him, Logan, a scuba driver, Vic (Patrick Wayne, John Wayne's son) and lady Doctor.

Fast Eddie and his crew beat up Manuel to find out where he got the pearls. He tells them that he got them from a lady as payment for taking her to an island. Fast Eddie and his crew go to the island and find tribe of people that appear to be half fish half human. They have weird raised eyeballs that look like ping-pong balls with black dots painted on them. They are led by a name, Neraus and his beautiful daughter who runs around the whole film in a skimpy bikini.

Neraus orders his daughter mate with one of the people who have come to the island for the pearls, as it's vital to the tribe. She helps Eddie and his crew find pearls, but so she can keep them long enough on the island so she can mate.

Beyond Atlantis is a very fun film as its 100% pure cheese. I laughed a lot and had a good time watching it. I'm a huge fan of Sid Haig, the actor who has made tons of great drive-in fare. It's always fun to see him. This film is only for fans of trashy campy films. Others beware.