At the Earth's Core

There I am sitting at home in the morning, suddenly my brother flips on what appears to be the stupidest looking movie i have ever seen. Considering it was the 70's and special effects weren't to sharpe, this movie just about equaled the definition of crap. The stupid monsters, the stupid story line, and the stupid setting made this the worst movie I have ever seen. So bad in fact I didnt even finish it, I made it up to a certain point then proceeded to see how long I could go without putting a rope around my neck and hanging myself. (im just kidding haha) AWFUL MOVIE

This engaging adaptation is a special version of the Edgar Rice Burroughs adventure yarn . There are rip-roaring action, spirit of adventure, derring-do, thrills, and results to be quite entertaining. It's a brief fun with average special effects , passable set decoration , functional art direction and none use of computer generator. Fantastic adventures full of monsters in a lost continent on the center of earth . Searching for adventures, a Victorian professor (Peter Cushing acting against his usual type as the absentminded scientific) and his American supporter named David Innes( an impulsive Doug McClure who has a good time) set off in their new boring rocket with a short proof on a Welsh mountain. Unfortunately the things were wrong and less easy than expected and they end up in a large cavern at the centre of the earth. When they're watching how humans are dragged by an evil over-sized prehistoric bird , then they suddenly are attacked by a flying monster . It's a domineering world governed by a monstrous race which rules the human beings with extra-sensory abilities. There they meet a race of humans enslaved , being one of them a gorgeous and eye-catching cavern-girl ( the scream-girl Caroline Munro from Hammer Productions as film's chief attribute) in scantily clad . This fantasy picture produced by Max Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky packs thrills, action, weird monsters, lively pace and fantastic scenarios. The rubber monsters are the real stars of this production ,however being middling made . The fable is silly and laughable , though the effects and action are regularly made . Among the most spectacular of its visuals there are a deeply shrouded caverns full of monsters roaring menacingly towards the camera , a little tableau comprising attack of a giant monsters and the colorful backgrounds of the lost land . Some monsters are clumsily made but movie is OK . Some illogical parts in the argument are more than compensated for the excitement provided by Roger Dicken's monsters, though sometimes are a little bit cheesy. Filmed in glimmer and shimmer cinematography by Alan Hume in Pinewood studios , England , showing a colorful camp treat. Splendid and stirring musical score by Mike Vickers. This is the fourth collaboration between producer John Dark and director Kevin Connor who also made in similar style : ¨The land that time forgot(1975)¨, , ¨The people that time forgot(77)¨. ¨Warlord of Atlantis¨ , mostly starred by Doug McClure and with Dicken as the monster-maker. The film will appeal to adolescents who swallow whole and sit convulsed in their armchair. Older kids will enjoy the colorful sets and fire-breathing animals. Rating : Passable and acceptable film .

There is something about Doug McLure's appearance in a movie that is a warranty of wretchedness. His DG initials are like a special cinema-certification, that comes somewhere before 'U'. Cushing, on the other hand, seemed to suffer from both a dilatory agent and poor judgement of his own. He did excellent work in the Hammer movies as Dr Van Helsing. I'v seen him do a very passable Sherlock Holmes in 'Hound Of The Baskervilles'. And his magnum opus was probably Grand Moff Tarkin in the first 'Star Wars'. The only man but the emperor who could tell Darth Vadar to 'stop bickering' and get away with it. But - crikey! - he's done some turkeys. There was that lamentable 'Daleks' movie for one. And here's another. There's a machine that's been hijacked from Tracy Island. It's a cylinder with a screw at the front and traction devices at the sides. I'm surprised Jerry Anderson didn't sue for plagiarism. Maybe he was bought-off. Yet if the movie is any guide, they can't have paid him much. It's 1976 and we're still playing about in latex romper-suits. That's about it really. Some movies have an entertainment value in the 'so bad it's good' category. This one doesn't even manage that. It wouldn't even entertain kids. 'Crash Corrigan's' stuff from the 1930's has got more going for it.

Doug McClure has starred in a few of these British produced genre adventures and this one has got to be the worst of the lot . I know THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT has its critics but please at least that movie featured location filming and relatively good production values . That's the problem with this movie - The production values go way beyond " So bad they're good " affectionate territory and become " so bad I think I'll go and see what's on the other channels " One case in point is the first scene featuring the intrepid Cushing and McClure encountering a monster . It's painfully obvious the monster is an average sized man dressed up as a rubber monster being made to look over twenty foot tall via overblown back projection . It becomes even more painfully obvious that our heroes are trying to escape the monster by running on the spot . Have I mentioned that this is one of the more convincing set pieces ? No really this looks like it was filmed in somebody's living room with the spare change left over from that year's DOCTOR WHO budget . Even former DOCTOR WHO Peter Cushing is bland and what should have been an amusing line " You can't mesmerise me - I'm British " is delivered in a very flat way ( A very similar line is spoken by Cushing in HORROR EXPRESS ) in a script devoid of characterisation , plotting and memorable dialogue . It's not just the fact that the dialogue is unmemorable it's also infrequent and rare since the monsters don't speak . Wouldn't it have been better having the chief bad guys humanoids like in WARLORDS OF ATLANTIS so that they could explain the plot . Does anyone here know what the plot actually is ? A very tedious British movie that even the twin talents of Caroline Munro can not save . The whole mood of the movie is summed up by the final sequence featuring two keystone cops

One of my favorite lost world settings is Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pellucidar. It is a primordial world existing on the underside of the earth's crust, with the central core of magma providing a perpetual noonday sun. The land is full of ancient mammals, dinosaurs and beautiful cave girls. The story begins with a eccentric inventor and his friend who plan to explore the earth's crust in an 'iron mole.' They go off course and plunge toward the center of the earth, finally surfacing in Pellucidar. They discover a world in which telepathic flying reptiles dominate, and human cave tribes are either on the run or enslaved. What do our plucky explorers do upon encountering this primeval world? They attempt to liberate the humans and civilize them! There are a lot of cheesy 'Lost World' type movies. At the Earth's Core is certainly one of the cheesiest. I would never argue with those believe that this is a bad movie, but I love it. The setting has a wonderful inner world feel with weird plants and a pale red sky. The caverns and tunnels are well developed. The iron mole looks very cool. The cave people and Sagoth costumes are adequate and cheesy in a fun '70s way. How about the dinosaurs and creatures? Hmm. The monsters in this movie are the lamest monsters to ever grace the silver screen. They set a standard for lameness that will probably never be surpassed. But as lame-o as the monsters are, they are a fun and active group. Several of them seem to have a propensity for exploding at the moment of death. That's always fun, isn't it? The Mahar telepathic powers are clearly presented with the eyes lighting up, the zzzzzz-zrt! sound, the eyelids closing. 'Cmon, admit it, it's a cool effect. And the way the Mahars swoop down upon the sacrificial cave girls, this scene actually provides a moment of horror, in spite of the lame Mahar costumes. Doug McClure, Peter Cushing and Caroline Monroe are perfectly cast in the roles of David Innes, Abner Perry and Dian the Beautiful. I can no longer read the books without picturing these actors in the story. I could have watched many Pellucidar sequels with these actors. McClure is the perfect actor for any cheesy lost world adventure. Nobody - and I mean nobody - fights lame-o monsters like Doug McClure. The guy is brilliant. Check out the arena scene, where he faces off against a lame saber-toothed hippo thing. McClure swings, he grits, he staggers and strains. I love how he jukes the monster off balance to retrieve the spear head from underneath it. Yeah! What other actor would have put so much into that scene? Peter Cushing is certainly a far better actor than this movie deserves, and yet he gives a surprising and outrageous performance. Don't critique him too much for hamming it up, some of his lines are right out of the book, and the character calls for a goofball. Caroline Monroe looks like she just stepped out of a Frank Frazetta painting. Too bad her role is limited to being a mere one-dimensional love interest. Sure, it is a cheesy movie. But if you can suspend disbelief and stay with this movie, you just might like it. No question, it is a challenge to hang in there, neither mocking the movie nor beating your head against the wall. If you can get in, and stay in, this is an amazing lost world movie. But you have to fight the cheesiness, you have to fight the lameness. You have to fight like Doug McClure!

Dr. Abner Perry (Peter Cushing) is a Victorian era scientist who is about to take his revolutionary vehicle, capable of boring through the Earth, on its maiden voyage. Accompanying him is former student turned businessman David Innes (Doug McClure). The vehicle is more powerful than they thought, and they end up deep inside the Earths' core. Here they encounter a nonstop assortment of monsters, a kingdom named Pellucidar, a tribe of primitive people, and their subhuman captors / tormentors, who pray to dinosaur gods. Now how can you resist any hokum featuring those elements? Produced by Amicus, and scripted by Milton Subotsky (based on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs), this is decently executed by director Kevin Connor, who was a real go-to filmmaker for this kind of fantasy material in the 1970s. McClure is a jut jawed hero, and Cushing seems to be relishing a rare opportunity to ham it up. His performance may not be one of his most accomplished, but it's certainly a fun one. Caroline Munro is *extremely* alluring as cave girl Dia. Also performing this amiable nonsense with straight faces are Cy Grant as the helpful Ra, Godfrey James as the stolid Ghak, and Sean Lynch as the devious Hoojah (just to be sure we get the point, Hoojah is nicknamed "The Sly One"). The movie begins in grand style, with some striking opening titles and a beautiful, rousing piece of music. It promises a solid diversion, and that's what it delivers. The understandable criticisms often leveled at the production are its obvious budget issues, and rubber monsters. But these monsters are just so damn amusing, especially the exploding fire breathing frog. All of this is done in an agreeable tradition of the Saturday matinée feature. The sets and the visuals are reasonably impressive, and Connor keeps things moving along nicely (the movie hits the ground running), and building to an exciting and destructive finale. "At the Earth's Core" does put a goofy smile on *this* viewers' face. Seven out of 10.

Based on a Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, AT THE EARTH'S CORE provides little more than means to escape and give your brain a rest. A Victorian scientist Dr. Abner Perry(Peter Cushing)invents a giant burrowing machine, which he and his American partner(Doug McClure)use to corkscrew their way deep into the earth to explore what mysteries it may hold. They soon discover a lost world of subhuman creatures having conflict with prehistoric monsters. Cushing comes across as an absent minded professor to the point of being annoying. Instead of being a bold adventurer, he comes across effeminate. On the other hand McClure overacted enough to make himself also laughable. Caroline Munro plays the pretty Princess Dia that refuses to leave her world near the center of the earth. Also in the cast are: Godfrey James, Cy Grant and Michael Crane.

My father took me to see this film when it was released in 1976. I was but a child and it scared the crap out of me. So much so that I had to leave the theatre during a particularly claustrophobic tunnel scene as it was too intense for me!!! I went home to the safety of my family. I saw the film all the way through as I got older and thoroughly enjoyed it. Shame about the men in monster suits, though. If you overlook the cheapness of the production and delve deeper, you'll find an excellent performance by Cushing, a stunning opening score, some nice photography and the ever reliable Mr.Douglas McClure, my childhood hero!British police constables guarding the Whitehouse at the end! Titty bang bang cave woman! Monsters with beaks! Actors in monster suits gliding on wires! This has it all! Superb.

A brilliant professor and his sidekick journey to the center of the earth in a huge machine which screws its way to the core. There, naturally, they find all kinds of things that are intent on killing and eating them. Plus, of course, a love interest for the young sidekick. Ho hum, does the plot never take a different tack?

Man, what isn't there to like about this movie? Sure the SFX are kinda low-budget and some of the actors sort of ham it up, but imagine if this film was made today with CG and bland actors whom take everything seriously, it just would not be the same movie. The movie follows, well, two scientists whom drill beneath the Earth's core, run into bizarre monsters (whom looked like they were kicked out of Daiei's Gamera films BTW), become slaves, and explore the strange world and so on. I don't remember the novel very well, but I sure know that this movie is one of those "so cheesy and wild, it's hard to forget" type of movies. BTW, check out the part with Jubal the Ugly one! PRICELESS!