Beyond Atlantis (1973)

A motley group of folks go to a remote tropical island in search of a fortune in pearls. The group encounters an ancient tribe of primitive people who need a male from the group to mate with beautiful blonde Syrene (the extremely fetching Leigh Christian, who spends the entire film cavorting about in a skimpy bikini) in order to preserve their bloodline. Director Eddie Romero keeps the enjoyable story moving along at a snappy pace, maintains an engaging breezy tone throughout, and stages the exciting last reel action with rip-roaring aplomb. The solid cast of reliable B-pic regulars helps a lot: Patrick Wayne as nice guy diver Vic Mathias, John Ashley as two-bit conniving con man Logan, Lenore Stevens as foxy scientist Kathy Vernon, George Nader as imposing ruler Nereus, and Vic Diaz as amiable fisherman Manuel. However, Sid Haig easily steals the show with his delightfully energetic portrayal of smooth pimp East Eddie. Justo Paulino's bright cinematography provides an attractive sparkling look and boasts lots of impressive underwater photography. The inbred natives with their googly Ping-Pong ball eyes are a real goofy sight to behold. Entertaining drive-in fare.

Turkey of a film. A Filipino fantasy film about the quest for pearls on a secret island where a bunch of bug eyed islanders (when you see them you'll start laughing and want to turn it off) are ruled by a beautiful blond who looks normal.The cast includes Patrick Wayne and Sid Haig and is so silly and stupid that its almost enjoyable.Almost.Its a trash film that you'll either love of hate. I'm going to bet on hate, which is a shame since the cast is good and the crew behind the camera is responsible for the Blood Island films as well as many other good exploitation films. If you get a chance to see this, take a pass, there are better films out there.3 out of 10

This was a very enjoyable film, combination of horror, action, plot and some comedy. Sid Haig was very memorable as East Eddie. Had some of the better lines to deliver. John Ashley made the transition from teen star to producer and Patrick Wayne was the perfect choice for the square-jawed hero. Leigh Christian was ....hmmmmm... and the final film appearance of George Nader...too bad the other entries "Womanhunt","Beast Of The Yellow Night",and "Black Mamba" couldn't put together the same formula.

To say that you've seen an Eddie Romero film that's actually enjoyable for its merits than its inconsistencies is a lot like saying you've seen an Andy Milligan film that's just okay. Anyway, BEYOND ATLANTIS is a fond memory from the good old days of late night television viewing... before the tube was taken over by relentless ads for salad spinners.From MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND to BLACK MAMA WHITE MAMA, Romero's films are sweaty hybrids of 1940's RKO B-adventure programmers, tinny melodrama and 1970's exploitation elements. Regardless of how bad his films get (and you can't get much worse than BRIDES OF BLOOD), they are still curiously affecting.This entertaining, well-shot adventure-fantasy concerns some cut-throats looking for undersea treasure being protected by amphibian-like humanoids (featuring the lovely Leigh Christian). The movie is genuinely well-made, with a surprisingly energetic shootout finale, and some interestingly surreal moments, like when the troublesome brood is suddenly surrounded by the amphibian people (who wear these interesting crustacean-like things on their heads). Plus, there's a few unintentional giggles when one of the men mates with the mermaid girl underwater. In all, a totally engaging movie. I'm glad it has resurfaced in the DVD world-- it will be fun to see this again after so many years.