Beyond Atlantis |
  • Philippines / USA • 1973 • 91m •    • Directed by: Eddie Romero. • Starring: Patrick Wayne, John Ashley, Leigh Christian, Sid Haig, Lenore Stevens, George Nader, Vic Diaz, Eddie Garcia, Andres Centenera, Kenneth J. Warren, Gil Arceo, Kim Ramos, Angelo Ventura. • Music by: Ed. Norton.      A band of adventurers invade a native island determined to grab a reported fortune in buried treasure. The islanders are just as determined to keep their sacred treasure. Complications ensue.
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Review:
Beyond Atlantis opens with chubby Filipino Manuel (played by chubby Filipino cult actor Vic Diaz) arriving on a tropical island with beautiful blonde Syrene (played by beautiful blonde Leigh Christian), where the lovely lady hands over a handful of pearls in exchange for supplies. Syrene then strips to a skimpy bikini, and heads for her village, arriving just in time to witness an intruder getting a spear in his back while bug-eyed natives look on.
It's a promising start to what looks set to be an entertaining piece of trashy exploitation; however, it has been my experience that the presence of Vic Diaz is seldom the sign of a great film. Or even a so-bad-it's-good film. More often than not, he appears in virtually unwatchable junk. While Beyond Atlantis isn't the worst film he's appeared in, it definitely goes downhill after the opening sequence, with way too much in the way of boring underwater scenes, and not nearly enough in the way of a decent plot or exciting action.
After much swimming - so much swimming - things do eventually pick up for a rousing final act, in which a native is eaten by piranhas, Haig blows up the islanders' temple, and Syrene and Kathy have a catfight (made all the more entertaining by being set to a piece of library music called The Awakening, best known to UK viewers as the theme to The News at Ten). A dumb final scene sees Manuel and his men trying to make off with the treasure, the box of pearls falling into the ocean during a scuffle (like the ending of The Italian Job, Logan can be heard coming up with a plan to retrieve the loot).
510. Haig is always fun to watch, but it was thanks to curvaceous beauties Christian and Stevens that I managed to make it to the end without wanting to hit the off button. And no, it's never explained why Syrene and her father don't have bug-eyes like everyone else in their tribe.
Review by BA_Harrison from the Internet Movie Database.
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