Creatures the World Forgot (1971)

Hammer's third foray into prehistoric adventure (following ONE MILLION YEARS BC and WHEN DINOSAURS RULE THE EARTH) is a dismal, low-rent affair, lacking in any artistic flair and any imagination. This time, the budget excluded any Harryhausen-produced dinosaurs (come to think of it, even the papier mache perils of THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT might have come in handy), instead concentrating on the exploitation features of nudity and barbarism.Much of the fun to be had watching this film is the novelty value (although the film isn't original) of watching a bunch of hairy men and women running around, grunting and fighting indiscriminately. Not a single word is spoken during the course of the film, so events are depicted entirely through visual means of communication. This soon becomes tiring and boring to watch, as it takes about half an hour of set-up for the plot to really begin.It's a muddled affair, concerning a pair of twin brothers who are caught up in destiny and other mumbo-jumbo courtesy of an annoyingly camp shaman who hangs around for the entire length of the film (all other characters from the beginning of the film have either died or moved on by this point), waving a bloody whip and making me wish I was there to beat the living daylights out of him. Not much of the film makes sense, and the plot is minimalistic to say the least. Mostly, it's concerned with people running around and hitting each other with sticks. Like an early version of TV game show GLADIATORS, if you will.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.The special effects are used sparingly, something which we ought to count ourselves lucky for, as what brief back projection work there is, is simply appallingly bad. There is some gore (controversial for the time, tame for today's standards), mostly consisting of blood-covered people, although a standout scene involves a man's nose being bitten off by another man. To make up for the effects, there is some nice scenery work (it was filmed on location in South Africa, so expect miles of desert and sand), although it has to be said, that by the end we're sick of it.The perils in this film are hilariously bad. One bear is blatantly a man in a suit, and makes no attempt to be anything else. A tribe of squat, scary, Neanderthal men look more like they need a bath than being terrifying, while the climax involves a group of grey-painted guys with giant stone masks encircling their heads. Scary? No way. Absurd? Definitely. The fright value is somewhat diminished when one of the polystyrene masks slips forward and you see the flash of blond hair underneath. So did I like this film? Not really. It's so bad it's just, well...bad. However I will award it an extra mark because at least Hammer were trying something different instead of their usual Gothic horrors. Also, it might be worth watching for novelty value alone, but I wouldn't bank on it.

This is certainly the least popular of Hammer's prehistoric series, the unloved child from a litter of four. The irony is that Creatures The World Forgot makes more effort than any of the others to be vaguely accurate. After all the criticism levelled at the preceding films for their phony history, their laughable depictions of tribal life, along comes a film which tries to present a truer representation of the past… and what happens? It is showered with derision, ignored at the box office and mercilessly ridiculed for failing to provide any dinosaurs! Studios take note - audiences want the fantastic, the sensational… not the mundane. With Don Chaffey back as director (he also did One Million Years B.C.), and the emphasis shifted onto the daily struggles of a Stone Age tribe, one hopes the film might offer a fascinating look at a subject largely underused in cinema. The titular 'Creatures' are not really creatures at all, merely people: primitive, struggling human beings trying to survive against the elements and each other. Sadly, the film is poorly handled – its characters lack development and presence; the music, a jumble of rattles and thudded drum beats, becomes relentless and annoying; and the narrative is tedious for much of the time.As already noted, the plot is basically just concerned with the day-to- day existence and struggles of primitive man. The Dark Tribe, led by Mak (Brian O'Shaughnessy), traverse the wilderness in search of a new home and eventually come across a fair-haired tribe. As a peace offering, the fair-heads present Mak with one of their women, Noo (Sue Wilson), to take as his wife. Later, Noo gives birth to twin boys – one dark-haired, the other fair. On the same day, another woman in the tribe gives birth to a mute girl. The tribe contemplate sacrificing the disabled child but change their mind when a lightning strike seems to warn against it. Many years later, the twins – blonde Toomak (Ian Bonner) and dark Rool (Robert John) – have grown up, but thoroughly despise each other. In a battle with marauders, Toomak saves the mute girl (Marcia Fox) who shares his birthday, and takes one of the enemy's women, Nala (Julie Ege), as his wife. His father is mortally wounded in the skirmish and elects Toomak to replace him as leader, but Rool opposes this decision and spends the rest of his life attempting to overthrow his brother.The only department where Creatures The World Forgot has the edge over the other films is the cinematography. As captured by Vincent Cox, the Namibian and South African backdrops are breathtakingly beautiful, every inch the undisturbed playground of prehistoric man. Even the film's harshest critic would admit it has a very accomplished look about it, especially in the long shots which incorporate these spectacular backgrounds. The problem is that much of the action in front of these lovely backdrops isn't up to scratch. Very little in the film actually works – it's all very plodding, desperately short of excitement. Sure, the costumes have somehow become even skimpier than in earlier entries, yet still the film fails to generate the requisite sex appeal. Even the lovely Julie Ege, formerly a Miss Norway and Miss Universe contestant, looks drab here beneath a mop of scraggly black hair. Her co-stars, both male and female, are similarly painful on the eye. All in all, Creatures The World Forgot marks a dispiriting end to Hammer's prehistoric cycle. Its status as the least loved of the series is, I think, fairly justified.

Of all the caveman movies I have seen, this one is the best because it choose to present early man as realistic as it could. Rather than have dinosaurs, this movie features animals and creatures that were actually around when early man was. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy dinosaurs very much and had I seen this movie as a kid, I might have thought it was a horrible one. However, now that I am able to recognize good acting and filmmaking, I really loved this movie. It presents the story of early man as a bleak time, a struggle for survival where death was around every corner. No doubt, that was how it was for early man. There are a few beautiful women here, but you won't see as much of their figures as you did in say, "1 Million Years B.C.". None the less, if you are a fan of history or anthropology, "The Creatures That Time Forgot" is a great way to spend your time.

This film has got so much in it. Prehistoric society, adventure, romance, true brotherhood, violence, sex, religion; all depicted abundantly..without a single word uttered!!! And how come it sucks so bad? This film will make you rethink the origin of humanity. If this were the product of anthropology, you would rather defy Darwinian theory and Hegelian synthesis all together. You cannot bear to watch this even with your brain shut down. And now you are thinking, "I've got to see this." I warned you. I take no responsibility whatsoever should you regret spending over an hour staring at this piece of art. Well, I did warn you. This should be forgotten and buried for ever.