The one thing that really sticks out here is that sequence when they're going through the sand. I can't really tell if it's good or bad that they put this near the end. Everyone would have left the theater early of course. I guess it's probably just more clever for them. Seriously, no dialogue at all? I didn't even realize this was a sequel to "Hercules Unchained". It guess it's just because that was a pretty forgettable movie too. I don't even remember seeing any of these men on the actual Moon. I guess I just wasn't paying attention.It was just a hard to follow film. I notice that when movies are really bad, I just don't bother noticing the plot at all. There seemed to be some pretty bad lighting effects in this. Maybe it was just the MST3K version, but everything seemed way too bright, especially at the beginning. I'm not going to bother getting to know the names of the actors in this series. The costumes are quite bad and the acting isn't good as expected from an old bad movie like this. *

Hopefully if you're watching a movie called "Hercules Against the Moon Men" you're not expecting a great, insightful art film with deep characters or grand drama and you're instead hoping to have some laughs at a goofy science fiction meets fantasy adventure film. It runs a little too long, but it's got a lot of fun things going on that will really entertain. If you watch it with some friends it's sure to create some in-jokes that you can all share together for a long time. Yes, they will probably be the most obvious jokes you can imagine (I'll get to the biggest one in a bit), but you won't care. In no way does this even remotely resemble the Greek myth and that's part of the fun. You get spike traps, monsters that pop out of nowhere for Hercules to clumsily beat up, a really random and poorly executed love plot, an evil queen set to take over the world, a lot of obvious stock footage, some fight scenes straight out of a WWE match and most grandiose of all, the revelation that all of this is cause by "the evil influence of Uranus". If that sounds like fun, you will have a good time. Don't mistake this for a good movie though, it's entertaining trash. (On DVD, August 2, 2012)

"Goliath and the Vampires" director Giacomo Gentilomo's "Hercules Against the Moon Men" ranks as a better-than-average science fiction/fantasy peplum. A swarthy robust Alan Steel (aka Sergio Ciani) contends with foes both supernatural and human as well as masculine and feminine. Mind you, these 1960s peplum outings qualify as an acquired taste that most casual moviegoers ridicule because of the low-budgets, inferior dubbing, juvenile plotting, and poor thesping. Nevertheless, if you enjoy this kind of far-fetch nonsense, "Hercules Against the Moon Men" represents one of the better examples of the genre. The eponymous villains look terrific when they show up about halfway through this 88-minute melodrama. Moreover, they appear in numbers, not just two or three. The torture contraption that Hercules is placed in is elaborate, and Gentilomo stages the action with aplomb. The villains are thoroughly wicked while the heroes are wholesale and virtuous.The people of the ancient kingdom of Samara suffer under the despotic rule of tyrant, Queen Samara (Jany Clair of "79 A.D."), who has allied herself with aliens that crashed into Mount Samara one night and have taken over a mountain. They demand human sacrifices every third moon from Queen Samara and she obliges them with the children of her subjects. The Moon Men plan to dominate the world one day as soon as their Queen Selene is resurrected, and they have promised Queen Samara all the riches in the world. Queen Samara's elderly adviser Gladius (Nando Tamberlani of "Cleopatra's Daughter"), who faithfully served her late father, urges her to summon Hercules so her subjects no longer have to face the prospect of more human sacrifices. Naturally, Queen Samara not only rebukes Gladius, but she also dispatches her best warriors to ambush Hercules.When we first see Hercules, the muscle-bound man is riding a white horse. Suddenly, he finds himself beset by assailants. Uprooting a tree, he wields it like a battering ram to repulse them. Gladius' daughter Agar (Anna Maria Polani of 1965 "Goliath at the Conquest of Damascus") shows up afterwards and brings the strong man to the palace to confer with her father. Initially, Hercules believes that his assailants were thieves who thought they were preying on a wealthy merchant with a fat purse. Gladius knows better. After they discuss the situation, Gladius decides to escort Hercules out of the palace by a different route so as not to arouse suspicion. Gladius takes a secret passage, but evil Queen Samar has eavesdropped on him and prepared a homicidal reception for them. No sooner have they entered the passage than Queen Samar's henchmen trigger a cluster of spears that impale poor Gladius and kill him. At the same time, Hercules plunges through a trap door in the floor and nearly drowns in a chamber when water gushes into it. Our brawny hero smashes his way out of his death trap. No sooner has he escaped than he encounters a huge ape with fangs. Of course, the ape is really a man in a ridiculous suit. Hercules defeats him in short order and breaks out.Queen Samara cannot believe the resilience of Hercules. Meantime, she has to prepare another human sacrifice and plans to offer up her sister, Princess Billis (Delia D'Alberti of "Fellini's Intervista"), for the next one. The princess doesn't have a clue about her older sister's plans for her. Indeed, she seeks Queen Samara's permission to marry the son of one of the noblest families in the kingdom, Darix (Jean-Pierre Honoré of "Joy House"), who is just as eager to wed her. Queen Samara's men attack Darix and nearly kill him. He manages to escape, but he is in critical condition. Meantime, one of the Moon Men priests materializes in Queen Samara's chambers and reminds her that Hercules must be destroyed at all costs. Furthermore, he explains that they need Billis because she bears a striking resemblance to their Queen Selene. Later, the Moon Men priest explains to Samar about the significance of the next sacrifice. "When the planet Saturn comes into conjunction with Mars and under the evil influence of Uranus, then will occur unimaginable disasters. The oceans will rise and mountains will crumble and inexorably our moon will draw near the earth. After a long night of sleep, we shall become the masters of the earth." Hercules sets out to save Billis, but he finds himself caught in a trap. Queen Samar puts Hercules in chains and places him into a contraption that has two wings that fold inward with sharp knives on them. She has chained slaves to a huge wheel and they are beaten mercilessly. Each turn of the wheel by hand brings the knives closer to Hercules. Gentilomo does a good job of generating a modicum of suspense by showing the knives getting closer to Hercules' body. Eventually, Hercules exerts his mighty strength and breaks the contraption. Rather than kill him on the spot, Queen Samar takes him to her quarters where she tries to drug him. Shrewdly, Hercules plays along with the Queen and fools her into believing that he is her slave. Queen Samar captures Darix once again and at Hercules' prompting plans to kill him. Of course, Hercules doesn't let this happen. The wicked queen flees to the Moon Men and they kill her.The screenplay by Arpad DeRiso of "Churchill's Leopards," Giacomo Gentilomo, Angelo Sangermano of "Zorro the Fox", and Nino Scolaro of "Revenge of Ursus" not only adheres to formula, but also contains a happy ending. The action is presented in straightforward fashion without flashbacks. Alan Steel looks like he has been basted with oil to make his muscles bulge. Altogether, he makes a worthwhile Hercules and "Hercules Against the Moon Men" is better than you might expect.

Once again, the most frequently asked question in exploitation/cult cinema pops up: Who the hell comes up with stuff like this?!? Aliens from the moon, entirely made of rock and led by a robot-crossover between Darth Vader and C3PO, invade an ancient Greek community and force the people to sacrifice their children for no apparent reason! And, instead of moving out of the area, they blindly obey until they can't take it anymore and call for the help of Hercules. The over-muscled warrior hero arrives, eliminates the evil queen, kicks some alien-butt and falls in love with the local beauty. The end. In all honesty, this movie really isn't that bad. At least it's much better than most other entries in the seemly endless Hercules franchise. The movie only gets boring past the hour, due to the incredibly overlong sandstorm-climax, and you simply have to ignore the plot holes that have the size of a meteor. If you manage to look beyond the silliness, "Hercules against the Moon Men" is a harmless cult-quickie that offers some nice action-sequences and a handful of decent gimmicks. Alan Steel is an average Hercules – not as cool as Steve Reeves but definitely better than Peter Lupus & Mike Lane – and natural redhead Jany Clair is quite sexy as the malicious queen who made a pact with the alien leader. The supportive cast varies from mediocre to awful. I'd really like to see the MST3K-version of this film, as I heard and read some great things about it. Now, let's start wiping the sand out of my eyes.