Ah yes, Richard Harrison as Perseus (aka: one of the myriad sons of Hercules) must battle all manner of men and monsters in THE MEDUSA AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES. All while wearing some very stylish power-tunics! Can Perseus defeat the eeevil meany-pants, king Acrisio (Arturo Dominici) and his jerk-weed son, Galenore (Leo Anchoriz), before they fulfill their plan for old-world domination? EXTRA POINTS: For the "tournament of strength" (aka: macho man contest), where the contestants get to use micro-shields that couldn't cover a baby! EXTRA EXTRA POINTS: For the lovely Andromeda (Anna Ranalli) w/ her flaming red hair and fabulous earring choices! EXTRA X3 POINTS: For the well-realized title creature, as well as the lake monster! For the time (1963), and obviously modest budget, the animatronics are downright impressive! Worth many late-night viewings...

This peplum adventure is for those who like their tales mythological in nature, concerning as it does all manner of monsters and evil creatures. While it's not as well made as the films which came before it, and the plot can hardly be called inspired, this is an entertaining little film which benefits from a wealth of action and not too much talk. The main flaw with this film is the plot, which seems all too convenient - perhaps contrived - in places, and offers up a by-the-numbers battle between Perseus, our hero, and an evil ruler from another kingdom who happens to be an egomaniac. The monster battles are just incidental along the way.While it may not be as well made as real classics like MACISTE AGAINST THE VAMPIRE, there is still much to enjoy with this incredibly rare movie. Not least the many battles and fight scenes which are scattered throughout, ranging from hand-to-hand to large scale at the end. The acting is another thing to this film's disadvantage, as aside from the lead, most of the actors and actresses appear stilted and unconvincing in their roles. The baddie just isn't bad enough, the romantic interest just isn't glamorous enough, and everybody else might as well be cardboard cut-outs. Only Richard Harrison (from a bit part in MASTER OF THE WORLD to this!) saves the day. Harrison may not be the most muscular of peplum heroes, but he has a certain quality about him - which Gordon Scott shared - which made him appealing to the camera, and likable as a heroic figure. Watching Harrison dodge arrows and getting whipped by an enemy, you're in for a good time.Chiefly of interest to me were the two monsters this film has to offer; a dragon and the Medusa. Let's study the dragon first. I have to say that this is an EXTREMELY convincing model, only not so in later scenes where you see the entire, immobile body of it. I actually wondered when some kind of real reptile was used but no, it's just a very realistic looking model. The scenes of it eating people and Harrison battling it are great in an old-fashioned childhood fun sense, an example of the peplum genre at its finest. It's just a shame that due to poor editing, the death of the beast remains unseen.The Medusa has its good points and bad points. On the bad side, if you're expecting something traditional you'll be mistaken. This Medusa looks more like a walking tree with bendy branches sticking out of it. A nice effort, but one that doesn't cut it. On the plus side, this creature actually reminded me of a Lovecraftian creature in a way, and by viewing it in this frame of mind, it's pretty darned good. I loved the valley of the Medusa's victims, a barren wasteland packed with statues of paralysed men - the visuals here are wonderful.As this film is so hard to come by, I had to get an American copy. There's an amusing little ditty at the beginning of the film, an attempt to tie it into the 'Sons of Hercules' series, although as the original title (PERSEUS THE INVINCIBLE) suggests, this had nothing to do with Hercules whatsoever. Unfortunately the tape I watched had terrible sound quality. For the first half, it's crackly and frequently drops out in scenes where the mock epic-sounding score places. In the second half, the voices of all the characters deepen suddenly, which is somewhat disconcerting! MEDUSA AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES is a fun adventure film, enjoyable to watch if you're not too critical. Just ignore the low budget and have a good time, like I did.

Passable low-brow mythological hokum: Richard Harrison is Perseus – who, rather than the offspring of Zeus, here is the adopted son of Hercules (and an unwitting deposed monarch to boot!). The film provides two villains in Arturo Dominici, an ambitious man who usurps the throne by killing the current ruler and marrying his wife (the scriptwriters must have read "Hamlet"), and Leo Anchoriz as his equally despicable son – who also acts as a rival to Harrison for the heroine's hand; the latter, then, is the usual lovely sovereign of a rival harassed empire (but who, at least, demonstrates a prowess with bow and arrow).In this outing, Perseus fights a couple of monsters: a man-eating dragon residing in a lake(!) and the titular paralyzing creature (which, instead of sporting writhing snakes in its hair-do, is a vine-like Cyclops that would better fit the atmosphere of a science-fiction movie, in the vein of the shapeless one-eyed alien seen in IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE [1953], than a sword-and-sandal flick); nevertheless, the latter confrontation anticipates the Ray Harryhausen opus CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981). With respect to the human end of the scale, the ongoing dispute is resolved over a long-running duel between Harrison and Anchoriz taking place at the heart of a tournament organized by Dominici.Director De Martino made a few peplums before going on to other "Euro-Cult" genres (Spaghetti Western, war, horror, giallo, etc). Eugenio Bava – father of cult film-maker Mario – served as technical adviser here, presumably contributing the matte work involved in the creation of the special effects. The film's score is highlighted by a catchy but corny title tune heard over the opening and closing credits.

Yes, this old italian peplum is probably more fun and better acted than the major blockbuster Troy. At least the story is more plausible, even with a sort of medieval tournament for the hand of the princess and a medieval siege with catapults and boiling oil. Anyway, you have a couple of stop motion creatures (Medusa and a sort of aquatic dragon) made by Carlo Rambaldi, father of Spielberg's E.T., a lot of cinematic battle scenes without computer graphics, love, heroic adventures, swords and sandals. Exactly as Troy, but 40 years before and on a very low budget.