An atmospheric Italian movie which lacks full-scale action (apart from one key scene) but makes up for this with oodles of spooky atmosphere. The court intrigue aspect of the film has been seen and done many times before (you know, loyal servants, corrupt rulers, traitors, etc.) yet good acting keeps it interesting; but where this film impresses us most is in the dry-ice bound set where Barrymore practices his black magic (like using voodoo dolls and making people walk on burning coals). This brilliant set is encircled by a large rock wall, chained to which are the bodies of desiccated men. The scene is topped off by a huge, impressive statue of Barrymore's evil goddess, a cyclopian head which emits a beam of light from the single, purple eye.The sorcerous shenanigans begin when macho Centurion Gaius gets himself captured by Aderbad, Barrymore's evil magician. Gaius finds himself falling in love with a palace slave girl who herself becomes hypnotised by Barrymore. From then on, Gaius must not only fight Aderbad but also the extremely hateable wife of Lutetius, the corrupt ruler of the local palace. Ettore Manni's acting in the lead role is pretty good; while he may not be the most physical of peplum leads he makes up for this with some forceful, believable acting (even though he's dubbed!). His character, Gaius, benefits from being a very "human" character rather than the indestructible musclemen usually battling in this genre, and his weaknesses make him more endearing and a character to root for.In comparison, Barrymore's dodgy-eyed villain is totally over the top. The imported American guest star is called upon to do all manner of wicked things, all the time explaining his actions to Gaius (and the audience). In an attempt to make him look scary, close-ups of his eyes are inserted like they did with Bela Lugosi in WHITE ZOMBIE, but the attempt is a failure as Barrymore just comes off as a cloak-wearing, raving idiot.Upon joining Barrymore's band of villains, soldiers are called upon to perform a 'blood pact', wherein they slash their wrists and let their blood drain into a cup which is then given to the goddess as "payment". In return for this worship, the goddess is able to transfix people with a blinding light (actually a flashlight) and destroy them just as easily. Barrymore siphons her power to bring the dead back to life, and scenes of the dead soldiers rising from their tombs to go into battle more than make up for any faults the movie may have; one shot alone shows a soldier rising straight-up out of his coffin as in the original Nosferatu, and is worth the admission price alone.However, the film's most impressive scene is a brilliantly-portrayed battle between the human and the dead warriors. The dead are hidden under a black cloud, and simple but effective shots show their translucent bodies riding across the land and into battle. The effects work is crude but it works, and the sight of these ghostly warriors going into battle was enough to give even me a shiver down my spine! A very well-realised portrayal, imaginative and impressive with it. The finale shows Gaius blinding the statue of the goddess, thus destroying Barrymore's source of power; it remains predictable, but entertaining. Although not the most well-made (a number of scenes are too dark) or enduring of the horror/peplum hybrids, ROME AGAINST ROME is a valiant attempt and recommended to all those interested in the genre.

When Dalmatia's tribute to Rome is hijacked and the legion guarding it massacred, the Senate sends a centurion (Ettore Manni) to find out what happened. Upon arriving in the distant province, he's immediately thrust into a hotbed of political intrigue involving the corrupt praetor, his evil wife (who, of course, has sexual designs on the centurion), and the wicked wizard Aderbal (played by a wild-eyed John Drew Barrymore) who worships a one-eyed goddess and raises the slaughtered Roman legion from the dead (by drinking their blood) to march on his enemies (hence "Rome against Rome")...Despite its low budget, this peplum fantastique actually rises to "tackily atmospheric" thanks to Mario Bava's obvious influence on the director and it's helped along by John Barrymore Jr. as a whirling dervish who speaks in soliloquies as he shamelessly exploits his illustrious family's acting legacy. He does sport an impressive profile, however. Ida Galli (Evelyn Stewart to giallo fans) plays the obligatory love interest.

Why lie to us gullible, impressionable zombie fans? The user comment synopsis for Rome Against Rome contained the word zombie not once, but twice. I'll save you the time I wasted watching it... Rome Against Rome has GHOSTS, not ZOMBIES. The undead Roman soldiers weren't even corpeal. Once the magic influence of the cyclopic god of gold was broken, they vanished into thin air. No earthly remains. I think the confusion originates from one of the alternate USA release titles: War of the Zombies. What kind of zombie doesn't leave a corpse? That said, Rome Against Rome wasn't completely terrible. It's essentially Italy's answer to the Hollywood epics that were getting pumped out and shipped overseas at the time. (It's name is suspiciously close to USA poster title for Spartacus - Spartacus: Rebel Against Rome). There were generally some impressive sets and costumes throughout, a couple memorable optical effects, and a few entertaining battle sequences sprinkled in for good measure. Still, it's one of those oldschool flicks that suffers from a severe lack of engaging rhythm. Stare at the screen long enough and you will be hypnotized by its sleepy, crawling pace. Maybe a good substitute for Ambien, but ultimately not worth the watch. Go rent Spartacus instead.

Even though the "zombies" don't appear until well after an hour into the film, this movie still is able to hold its own as a b-grade "sword and sandal" flick. The high priest of a "goddess of gold" is amassing an army of slain Roman soldiers that he brings back to "life" to fight against their former comrades (hence the title). Subplots include romance for a noble centurion and a virtuous maidservant under the control of the goddess, treachery amongst the Roman nobility, lots of swordplay, and the "zombies" are more like ghosts--the Roman army cannot hurt them, but they lay some serious casualties on them. Only one who is brave enough to face the goddess can break her curse and defeat both the evil high priest and the army of the undead and free the lovely maidservant from the spell. It's no "Ben Hur" or "Spartacus", but I wouldn't shun it if it came packaged with similar flicks. A fun watch.