Rating: 
Summary: Voyage of the Damned or, we go where the weed takes us...
Review: The Lost Continent (1968), released by Hammer Studios, isn't one of their finer films, to be sure. Co-directed by Michael Carreras, who later gave us the mobster/kung-fu Hammer flick Shatter (1974), and Leslie Norman, who was probably more known for his early TV work on the Avengers and The Saint, The Lost Continent instills a feeling of oppression on viewers from the very beginning. Adapted from a Dennis Wheatley novel, the screenplay was adapted by a writer named Michael Nash, who has no other credits than this film, which did not surprise me at all.The film starts off showing a rusty cargo ship that is also a passenger liner of sorts. The vessel has obviously seen better days, and so have the passengers. We find that the passengers are all pretty much undesirable types, who elected to take this mode of travel due to their need for anonymity, something they wouldn't have gotten on more modern, more crowded ocean liners. We also soon discover the captain is transporting some extremely dangerous cargo, highly volatile explosives to be more specific, and this is not entirely all on the up and up, but he is being paid well and plans to retire after this voyage. I must also note the explosives are very stable, that is, unless they come into contact with water, and then it's good night nurse. Anyway, through a mishap, the ship's hull gets damaged, and water starts leaking into the compartment where the explosives are stored. Good thing they are sealed in metal canisters...to top it off, a hurricane is approaching, and the pumps begin to fail. They finally abandon ship, but end up coming back later (I know, I know, this seems to make little sense). They get the boat working again, but get stuck in a whole lot of seaweed. Not only that, but there's a big, nasty one-eyed creature lucking in the seaweed, and it seems to have a taste for humans. The boat ends up drifting with the seaweed, and it takes them to a sort of ship graveyard, full of other ships in various states of decay. While stuck here, they get attacked by another group who had gotten trapped in the weed, and from the looks of their outfits, they've been here for a while. We see Spanish Conquistadors, barbarian types, and even an inquisitor or two. These guys come from another ship, a Spanish Galleon, not far away, and have come to raid this new ship for supplies and such. Oh yeah, they've devised a method for walking on the thick seaweed that entails big floaty type booties and balloon harnesses they wear around their torso. Oh man, is this getting goofy...anyway, the Spanish type people are led by a runt who calls himself `El Supremo', among other things, and they take part in torture and archaic religious rituals. `El Supremo', it appears, is only a figurehead, with the real power emulating from the Grand Inquisitor...I've got to stop here...seriously, this movie just has too much silliness going on...why was this ever made? The plot careens this way and that, the characters have no redeeming qualities, and the dialog is utterly inane. Some effort was put into the special effects in the creation of various creatures, but with an obvious lack of resources, they come out looking like leftovers from science fiction movies from the 50's. There is atmosphere to be found within the film, but given the lameness of the whole production, it tends to be overshadowed by all that is wrong in the film. The actors seem quite capable, with a few exceptions, and had they been given something to work with, I am sure this could have been a much better movie. How does it end? Who cares? I was just happy to see it finally ended (it runs an excruciatingly 89 minutes). I won't even bother to go into who starred in the movie, as I am sure the more competent actors would probably just assume forget they appeared in this dog. Anchor Bay does release a decent looking wide screen print here, but the quality of the picture does have its minor visual flaws. Special features include a restored version with never before seen footage (oh boy, you mean the film is longer than it was originally?), a trailer, some TV spots, and a neat little 5 X 7 reproduction of the original movie poster. I am still unsure what the title refers to, as we never really got to see a `lost continent', unless they were talking about the huge bed of seaweed. Maybe I should just go read the book... Cookieman108
Rating:
Summary: Voyage of the Damned or, we go where the weed takes us...
Review: The Lost Continent (1968), released by Hammer Studios, isn't one of their finer films, to be sure. Co-directed by Michael Carreras, who later gave us the mobster/kung-fu Hammer flick Shatter (1974), and Leslie Norman, who was probably more known for his early TV work on the Avengers and The Saint, The Lost Continent instills a feeling of oppression on viewers from the very beginning. Adapted from a Dennis Wheatley novel, the screenplay was adapted by a writer named Michael Nash, who has no other credits than this film, which did not surprise me at all. The film starts off showing a rusty cargo ship that is also a passenger liner of sorts. The vessel has obviously seen better days, and so have the passengers. We find that the passengers are all pretty much undesirable types, who elected to take this mode of travel due to their need for anonymity, something they wouldn't have gotten on more modern, more crowded ocean liners. We also soon discover the captain is transporting some extremely dangerous cargo, highly volatile explosives to be more specific, and this is not entirely all on the up and up, but he is being paid well and plans to retire after this voyage. I must also note the explosives are very stable, that is, unless they come into contact with water, and then it's good night nurse. Anyway, through a mishap, the ship's hull gets damaged, and water starts leaking into the compartment where the explosives are stored. Good thing they are sealed in metal canisters...to top it off, a hurricane is approaching, and the pumps begin to fail. They finally abandon ship, but end up coming back later (I know, I know, this seems to make little sense). They get the boat working again, but get stuck in a whole lot of seaweed. Not only that, but there's a big, nasty one-eyed creature lucking in the seaweed, and it seems to have a taste for humans. The boat ends up drifting with the seaweed, and it takes them to a sort of ship graveyard, full of other ships in various states of decay. While stuck here, they get attacked by another group who had gotten trapped in the weed, and from the looks of their outfits, they've been here for a while. We see Spanish Conquistadors, barbarian types, and even an inquisitor or two. These guys come from another ship, a Spanish Galleon, not far away, and have come to raid this new ship for supplies and such. Oh yeah, they've devised a method for walking on the thick seaweed that entails big floaty type booties and balloon harnesses they wear around their torso. Oh man, is this getting goofy...anyway, the Spanish type people are led by a runt who calls himself 'El Supremo', among other things, and they take part in torture and archaic religious rituals. 'El Supremo', it appears, is only a figurehead, with the real power emulating from the Grand Inquisitor...I've got to stop here...seriously, this movie just has too much silliness going on...why was this ever made? The plot careens this way and that, the characters have no redeeming qualities, and the dialog is utterly inane. Some effort was put into the special effects in the creation of various creatures, but with an obvious lack of resources, they come out looking like leftovers from science fiction movies from the 50's. There is atmosphere to be found within the film, but given the lameness of the whole production, it tends to be overshadowed by all that is wrong in the film. The actors seem quite capable, with a few exceptions, and had they been given something to work with, I am sure this could have been a much better movie. How does it end? Who cares? I was just happy to see it finally ended (it runs an excruciatingly 89 minutes). I won't even bother to go into who starred in the movie, as I am sure the more competent actors would probably just assume forget they appeared in this dog. Anchor Bay does release a decent looking wide screen print here, but the quality of the picture does have its minor visual flaws. Special features include a restored version with never before seen footage (oh boy, you mean the film is longer than it was originally?), a trailer, some TV spots, and a neat little 5 X 7 reproduction of the original movie poster. I am still unsure what the title refers to, as we never really got to see a 'lost continent', unless they were talking about the huge bed of seaweed. Maybe I should just go read the book... Cookieman108
Rating: 
Summary: A film to sit back and just enjoy....nothing more!
Review: This film has all the elements that make for an enjoyable time. There's mutiny, over-bearing characters, the obligatory maidens in distress, and plenty of mutated sea creatures! The film moves along at a decent pace and it makes for a good viewing experience. There's also eight minutes of added footage that you usually don't have the pleasure of viewing on TV, so check it out! If you're looking for a good film to sit back and just relax with.....this is a good bet!
Rating: 
Summary: sharks...killer seaweed...big bugs
Review: This is a mixed bag of genres: swashbuckling, fantasy, storm at sea tales, lost worlds. Made in the vein of "One Million Years B.C." and "When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth" but not as good, so if you like this kind of film , you'll dig this! , not to mention hot lusty babes and a groovy 60's soundtrack through out. A unique film takes awhile to get going, good actors recommended buy it
Rating: 
Summary: This is quite a movie.
Review: Tramp streamer carrying this really explosive substince in cans springs a leak and gets trapped in a lost continent of seaweed, giant octupus, giant crabs, spanish inquistors, and scorpions.
Rating:
Summary: This is quite a movie.
Review: Tramp streamer carrying this really explosive substince in cans springs a leak and gets trapped in a lost continent of seaweed, giant octupus, giant crabs, spanish inquistors, pretty girls, and scorpions. Tape has a great print and is letterboxed. I enjoyed it but they could have done a better job.
Rating:
Summary: Truly Bizarre Minor Hammer
Review: What a loopy, loopy movie. After an hour of passable (and palpalbly sleazy) onboard thriller dynamics (with one actor that looks eerily like a young John Carpenter), the movie quickly evolves into an outlandish horror fantasy about a continent-sized mass of living (and biting) seaweed that drags our anti-heroes into a ship's graveyard populated by lost Spaniards. These Spaniards are ruled by a puppet boy king and they make their way over the mushy weeds and ocean beneath by harnessing a balloon to either shoulder. It gets a little surreal, folks. The whole movie is sickly orange in a rather fetching way, and if it all feels like bargain basement "Ship Of Fools" meets bargain basement Lovecraft, well, I guess it should also be said the inherent smarts and adult themes that were the trademarks of Hammer studios did extend even into most of these Anchor Bay obscuities. "Lost Continent" is as fun as it is odd.
Rating:
Summary: Truly Bizarre Minor Hammer
Review: What a loopy, loopy movie. After an hour of passable (and palpalbly sleazy) onboard thriller dynamics (with one actor that looks eerily like a young John Carpenter), the movie quickly evolves into an outlandish horror fantasy about a continent-sized mass of living (and biting) seaweed that drags our anti-heroes into a ship's graveyard populated by lost Spaniards. These Spaniards are ruled by a puppet boy king and they make their way over the mushy weeds and ocean beneath by harnessing a balloon to either shoulder. It gets a little surreal, folks. The whole movie is sickly orange in a rather fetching way, and if it all feels like bargain basement "Ship Of Fools" meets bargain basement Lovecraft, well, I guess it should also be said the inherent smarts and adult themes that were the trademarks of Hammer studios did extend even into most of these Anchor Bay obscuities. "Lost Continent" is as fun as it is odd.
Rating:
Summary: A Weird And Wacky Hammer Adventure Flick
Review: While Hammer Studios is much more well known for their gothic vampire flicks (often starring the incredibly intimidating Christopher Lee and a barrage of well-endowed female actresses), some of their very best films, believe it or not, didn't star Peter Cushing. THE LOST CONTINENT is a perfect example, and is a great purchase for anyone out there who appreciates campy thrills... Even trying to explain this one is pretty useless, since the flick is literally all over the place! A mysterious group of characters, each with their own shaded past, are traveling on a rusty steam ship along with a highly explosive cargo. Along the way, they have to deal with gigantic killer crustaceans, religious fanatics, blood-thirsty sea-weed (my personal favorite) and much more. The film is full of melodramatic clichés (including the teary-eyed confessional that attempts to convince us that a one-dimension character is actually two-dimensional) and the plot zips along at a fairly quick pace. The climax and ending is especially entertaining, with the introduction of a character that has literally two minutes of screen time and yet is the only person in the entire film who the characters give a proper burial... great stuff!!! As you might have imagined, THE LOST CONTINENT is a genuinely unpredictable film, which is part of the fun of it all. Of course, it's also impossible to take seriously and its fun atmosphere means it holds up considerably well upon repeated viewings. Add in a hilarious lounge soundtrack and you've got the perfect midnight popcorn flick. It's amazing that Hammer even released such a crazy flick (on second thought, they were also responsible for the utterly baffling THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES, so maybe it's not that surprising after all). Anchor Bay Entertainment gives this obscure flick a great release... The film is presented uncut and widescreen and we're treated to theatrical trailers, television spots, a cardboard poster recreation, and an episode of the World of Hammer television show entitled "Lands Before Time" (which unfortunately gives away to the films SHE and THE VENGEANCE OF SHE, so be warned). Highly recommended!
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