Rating: 
Summary: Pretty bad, but possesses an undeniable charm
Review: I remember seeing this flick many years back on TV; it kept my interest for the first hour and ten minutes or so, right up to when the colossal creatures appeared. They're so laughably bad I was FORCED to tune out.After becoming a fan of Dana Gillespie (see her in "The People That Time Forgot" to learn WHY), and finding out she appeared in this pic, I ended up buying it on DVD. An open-minded second-look reveals a pretty bad movie indeed, but a bad movie with a certain charm. Quite a few reviewers state that there is no lost continent in the picture; this is not true. When the cast are in the Sargasso sea area you can clearly see mountainous land in the background; in fact, a character even proclaims at one point, "Look -- land!" Some of the cast even end up walking on the "lost continent" which is where they run into the laughable monsters (giant crab, giant lobster, etc.). What works: Lots of action and adventure. Eric Porter as Captain Lansen is strong. The human-eating seaweed. The surreal sets for the orangey Sargasso Sea of shipwrecks are great. Dana Gillespie is beautiful. The balloon shoes and harnesses are creative. The plot generally keeps your interest, although the writing is weak. What doesn't work: Except for Dana Gillespie (Sarah) the characters are all rather unlikeable. The creature F/X are horrible (did I already mention that?). Mediocre writing. Final Analysis: "The Lost Continent" is certainly not one of Hammer's masterpieces, in fact, it's quite cheesy; but it's enjoyable for those of us who are attracted to "lost continent"-type adventure flicks. And Dana Gillespie doesn't hurt. Definitely a so-bad-it's-good guilty pleasure.
Rating: 
Summary: The Creepy Continent
Review: I've always liked Hammer films. This one was a pretty good one for
its genre (1968 I think). The movie begins with a group of passengers on a (nope not a cruise ship) converted garbage scow
maybe, with a beyond dangerous cargo that the Captain of the ship
doesn't fill them in on till they are about to sink. They soon abandon ship and start drifting thru some pretty nasty
seaweed (it apparently is hungry). Soon they end up back on the same
ship? after drifting for days. Oh yeah there's alot of fog and gloomy
settings which make the film really eerie.
It drags in some spots but picks up with a cool scene with a giant
octopus with one glass/green eye snagging one of the babes.
There is also another scene where a nasty looking hermit crab and
a very ... off scorpion do battle. (they're very big of course)
There is no gore in this film so don't bother looking for it But for some of you oldtimers, me included (in their 40's I mean) that British babe
Dana Gillespie is in the film too, you'll recognize her she's the
one with the nice cleavage and great body
All in all a good film I recommend it ( oh I forgot to mention there is a character by the name of El Supremo) maybe the screenwriter had too many drinks at lunch
Rating: 
Summary: Incontinent...
Review: Imagine a rusting, hulk of a ship loaded with high explosives that go boom when they get damp, a cranky crew, and a passenger list borrowed from the love boat. Now, put these poor wretches through a mutiny, a hurricane (in a lifeboat), a shark attack, and being lost at sea. Next, add a tangled mess of killer seaweed. Then, throw in a spanish gallion full of pirates / conquistadors / inquisitors and big-boobed babes who walk around on the killer seaweed in balloon shoes (I'm not kidding)! Finally, toss in a few floppy, rubber "monsters", hand-made by four year olds, and you've got THE LOST CONTINENT. Of course, the real kicker is, there is NO continent, lost or otherwise! Just lots of seaweed and boredom. With all that's going on in this movie, you'd think it couldn't possibly stink. Think again...
Rating: 
Summary: Incontinent...
Review: Imagine a rusting, leaky, creaky, hulk of a ship loaded with high explosives that go boom when they get damp, a cranky crew, and a passenger list borrowed from the love boat. Now, put these poor wretches through a mutiny, a hurricane (in a lifeboat), a shark attack, and being lost at sea. Next, add a tangled mess of killer seaweed. Then, throw in a spanish galleon full of pirates / conquistadors / inquisitors and big-boobed babes who walk around on the killer seaweed in balloon shoes (I'm not kidding)! Finally, toss in a few floppy, rubber "monsters", hand-made by four year olds, and you've got THE LOST CONTINENT. ... Just lots of seaweed and boredom. With all that's going on in this movie, you'd think it couldn't possibly stink. Think again...
Rating: 
Summary: The Love Boat It Ain't!
Review: Often referred to as, *The Love Boat On Acid*, this film is definitely a trip! It would be just my luck to book passage on a ship like this....Passengers that are on the run from various illegal acts, a crew that would rather take it's chances in a lifeboat, a Captain that oozes sarcasm and a trip straight to a lost continent; complete with man-eating seaweed, mutated crustaceans and the Spanish Inquisition! This film is *B* entertainment, pure and simple. This is easily one of my favortie Hammer films, I love the look and feel of this film, the sea monsters, the wild array of passengers and the opening theme to this film will definitely have you singing along for days. If you've watched your way through Hammer's Frankenstein, Dracula and Mummy series of films, then why not sit back and enjoy this sci-fi/fantasy/horror film? I guarantee you, this will be a film you'll never forget and if you think I'm kidding, just listen to that opening theme....*You have discovered the Lost Con-tin-ent!*.
Rating:
Summary: Great! Porter, Knef and Seaweed That Bites
Review: One of my favorite rainy weekend movies, The Lost Continent also is one of the best ripe Hammer films of the Sixties.
A freighter is blown off course and finds itself in a fog-shrouded part of the ocean where the seaweed enjoys flesh and mutated creatures with claws scamper about. It's a mild horror version of the Sargasso Sea and Bermuda Triangle. Eventually the surviving crew and passengers encounter humans who scitter around the seaweed with paddle-like shoes and balloons. The ship these people are from is a Spanish galleon several hundred years old, the crew of which survived and bred into the generations, evolving an Inquisition-like culture on board.
It's really pretty good, thanks to the interesting ideas of seaweed that bites back and the evolved life on the Spanish ship, plus the skill of the two lead actors. And it has a great look. Eric Porter and Hildegard Knef were both heavyweights in the acting department. I'm not sure why they agreed to this film, but I assume the money was good. Porter is one of my favorite actors. He wasn't handsome enough to make a career as a movie leading man, but if anyone doubts his abilities to command watch him as Soames in the original BBC Forsyte Saga. Knef had a so-so career as a lead actress in a handful of American and British films, but returned to Germany for better stuff. She was sexy and self-confident.
Rating:
Summary: An Irwin Allen film on LSD...........and just as weirder
Review: One thing I neglected to mention in my past reviews of films that were released in 1968 was this film. One that had all the makings of an Irwin Allen/Lost World type of film. The only difference between those productions and this film, is that those films made a little bit of sense. This one, very little. If anything, Hammer Films managed to tap into the surreal, hallucinogenic pop-culture of 1968 for this outing. Most of what I remember in this film would have qualified for certain episodes and settings on Space:1999 (i.e. the large octopus that nearly devours a beautiful blonde woman, and the red-tinted sky that is just above the lost island). Even the Rancor-like pit would have qualified in some respects, for an episode of the classic British science fiction series. Either way, The Lost Continent has some interesting moments. Particularly how the Captain of the freighter is trying to smuggle some powerful explosives to another country, the first officer and some of the crew forming a mutiny when the ship is in danger of being blown apart, the passengers trying to escape some dreaded past, and the island itself, populated by descendents of the Spanish Inquisition. Even the Grand Inquisitor (frighteningly dressed as a Ku Klux Klan member) has some moments. Particularly when he stabs his own king, a young boy named El Diablo in the back with a knife. One disturbing aspect of the film, is when someone is thrown into the Rancor-Like pit, and is eaten alive. His screams of pain and terror are very convincing. As is the shock of El Diablo and the freighter's crew watching such a monstrous event. Filmed on location at Elstree Studios in Herts, England, the viewer is easily reminded that this film was a British production, and is easily stunned to his senses as to what the film is all about. Not only is it warped and twisted in some ways, it also, at times, interesting to watch. What is even more interesting, is the fact that this film was G-rated in the United States. In the United Kingdom, the film was X - rated. A very unusual piece of movie trivia, indeed. If you enjoy Hammer films and the surreal, then this film is for you. If this is not your cup of tea, then I would recommend watching something else entirely. Can anyone say Planet Of the Apes?
Rating:
Summary: VERY VERY NICE HOPELESS!
Review: opening theme is very nice. all charactors are hopeless and helpless. horrible monsters,really. visual is great. a ship's panick is better than titanic. i like it!
Rating:
Summary: Hopelessly lost continent
Review: The film starts aboard a steamer which is carrying a few passengers and (unknown to all, but the captain)illegal explosives. A storm comes up and most of the crew abandons the ship. The remaining crew and passengers end up in a sort of graveyard of old ships and debris. They run into killer seaweed, a shark (we only see a fin) and other strange creatures. Eventually they discover a group of Spanish conquistadors who are trying to pull the ship's crew into serving them. This lopsided script falls apart as it goes along, there are a number of annoying characters and the story goes from the improbable to the ridiculous. The monsters in this film are terrible! Hammer often did a good job of making a film look more expensive than, but instead of just giving brief glances they decided to give us close-ups of these "creatures" that look like rejects from an Irwin Allen show. The good points of this film are that it is not boring, it does have some good action and moves along fairly well. The cast also deserves credit for keeping straight faces throughout this film and really giving their best effort even when they faced hoses disguised as seweed, rubber monsters and balloon shoes. This film is worth seeing, but not one of Hammer's better moments.
Rating:
Summary: Sargasso Sea Saga From Hammer!
Review: The first half of this movie is straight adventure-at-sea: the seedy captain of an old rust-bucket illegally carries a cargo of high explosives; his motley crew are a mutinous lot; the passengers are all on the run from the law or their sins; and incompetence causes the ship to almost founder in a typhoon. But instead of sinking it becomes lost in the Sargasso Sea, trapped by entangling seaweed. The second half is pure fantasy, with sea monsters, carnivorous kelp, a lost civilization living on derelict ships, descendants of the Spanish Inquisition still practicing their medieval profession, and a rebellion brewing among the slaves. In short, a swashbuckling saga of the bizarre kind, done up in the usual Hammer style, making low-budget movies look lavish on the screen. I saw this movie at the old Paulo Drive-In in 1968. The drive-in has been gone now for about 20 years but I still remember it and some parts of this movie quite well. I remember the green-eyed monster with its obscene maw, and the big-breasted girl Sarah (Dana Gillespie) walking on the kelp bed with two big balloons on a harness supporting the weight of her very own two big balloons! And, of course, I remember Hildegarde Knef, still very lovely at the age of 43 when this movie was made. And apparently she's still active in films today, at the grand old age of 75! And probably still lovely, too! But evidently Dana Gillespie and her big balloons retired from the industry in 1990, the year of her last movie role. So I was glad to see this movie again, on DVD, to refresh my memory, and with extra "adult" footage that it didn't have when I first saw it. Don't buy this DVD thinking that you're going to see any "adult" scenes, though! You're not! There's no nudity at all here and the sex is suggested, not shown. Unfortunately, also, the image quality is not the best. Many scenes are dark and murky. But the image is still sharp enough and the sound is good. Bonus features are the standard chapter index, trailer, TV spots, and Hammer films promo. Not bad, but only a Hammer film fan would love it. A little pricey, too, for what it offers.
|
