Creatures the World Forgot (Limited Edition) [Blu-ray]

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A serious voiced narrator, who hits the reverb button when saying the film's title, tells of "a world of brutal combat where women are spoils to the victors." Try going with that promotional angle nowadays and see where it gets you, matey. Is the awful reputation of Creatures the World Forgot deserved? Well, to get a credible answer to this question it is not a bad idea to consider the context in which this reputation is placed. It is not a bad idea to scrutinize the expectations of the critics that have argued that Creatures the World Forgot is a terrible film as well.

Since most of the scenes are outside and especially the fight scenes, it would be interesting to read interviews with some of the cast members as to what they had to have endured. Sometimes referred to as "the one without the dinosaurs," CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT is the oft-maligned final entry in Hammer's 'Cave Girl' film series. Slarek slaps on a loin cloth and huddles close to the fire for a film that's a lot more interesting than its past critical dismissal suggests, and is really impressed by Indicator's new Blu-ray. All we film fans wanted to know about was the dinosaurs. The storyline of When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth held our attention less than the sexy bikinis worn by Victoria Vetri’s cavewoman crew. But every dinosaur sequence was greeted with total approval. The 1970s was the apex of Ray Harryhausen worship, and we were anxious to see more stop-motion magic. That’s why small-scale pictures like Laserblast, The Crater Lake Monster and The Day Time Ended took the trouble to include stop-motion monsters. The last of Hammer Films’ prehistoric series, Creatures the World Forgot has mostly been forgotten about by the majority of film watchers, with only Hammer aficionados keeping its Cenozoic ‘candle’ burning. It’s kind of understandable too given that two of its three prehistoric predecessors were One Million Years BC and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970), both highly regarded, of their type. Both Creatures and 1967’s Slave Girls have fared much worse on the lists of ‘caveman’ films that people remember fondly.SEE prehistoric love rites! SEE primitive chieftains duel in naked fury! SEE the young lovers sacrificed! SEE staked girl menaced by giant python! For those over a certain age, the sight of Raquel Welch in a furry bikini and battling with stop-motion dinosaurs on the cinema screen in Hammer’s One Million Years B.C. created an indelible image. Even for those not old enough to have seen it the first time around, via pioneering animation work from the legendary Ray Harryhausen and a sense of adventure, the film has become a much-loved cult classic.

Directed by Don Chaffey, this early CFF film was long before my time, but it fits the above detailed formula to a tee. In working class southeast London, The Burton Bullets, a team of cycle speedway riders led by Swanky Clarke (Barry MacGregor), win the local semi-finals and are set to play the Bermondsey Greyhounds in the final. At the same time, two spivs named Spike (Lance Campbell) and Sam (Barry Phelps) are cruising the area in a van stealing any unattended bicycles they see, which they take to a shifty geezer named Joe, who does them up for them to sell. When excitable Italian artist Antonio (Kurt Wagener) has his bike stolen from outside his workplace, his boss Mr Johnson (Graham Stuart) suspects the local kids, and threatens to stop the Burton Bullets practising for the final on his land. Investigating the thefts, meanwhile, is well-liked local bobby Sergeant Scott (Peter Neil), who asks questions and listens attentively, but doesn't seem to do a whole lot to help. I went in wondering how grunting cavemen(even the curvy kind like Julie Ege!) could hold my attention for 90 minutes without dinosaurs to fight. To my joy, the film is actually quite entertaining. The birth, life and struggle of two brothers vying for leadership of the tribe has an almost Biblical quality, and director Chaffey gives us plenty of fighting and conflict with nature to keep the film moving. Though much of the story consists of the tribe traveling from one fight to another, I found myself caught up in their journey and never once got bored. I don't know any of Don Chaffey's other work, but ONE MILLION YEARS BC and CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT have convinced me that the man knows how to tell a story.The title, "Creatures the World Forgot", is a very poor one, as it hints at something that the movie doesn't contain or delivers. I had initially thought that there were creatures in the movie, so imagine my surprise when there was none of such. So the movie's title is very poorly selected. A fact-driven skip through Norwegian actor Julie Ege's career, with particular focus on the films she made after Creatures the World Forgot. I have to admit to being unaware that she trained and qualified as a nurse when she retired from acting and returned to Norway, which lifted my spirits for my upcoming hospital visit. The acting is sub-par all round, with not even a name star making a guest appearance. The best they can do with is Julie Ege (THE MUTATIONS), left to supply the glamour interest, although she doesn't have a big role and pervy viewers will be disappointed that she doesn't shed her fur bikini either (although lots of other girls do, their faces conveniently obscured by hair - I wonder why?). All of the men in the film look exactly the same, with long brown hair and bushy brown beards, with the exception of the aforementioned shaman and the hero, a guy with blond hair (dyed) for a change. He is played by a young-looking Richard Branson. Audio commentary by Sean Hogan and Kim Newman – An interesting commentary that talks about the prehistoric movie subgenre, in general, (starting from One Million BC, in 1941) to more recent films, including the Amicus movies such as The Land that Time Forgot. Creatures was originally going to be another script going by the name of Zepplins Vs Pterdactyl.