THE MEDUSA AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1963) ** ½

Before making memorable appearances in WTF Ninja movies and low budget Spaghetti Westerns, Richard Harrison cut his teeth on a few Italian peplum adventures.  This one was directed by none other than Alberto De Martino, the man who would later go on to make the unbelievable Puma Man.  While The Medusa Against the Son of Hercules never quite achieves the lunacy of that flick, it does offer up a few cool monsters and some decent sword and sandal shenanigans.

Harrison stars as Perseus (who is in fact the son of Zeus, not Hercules, but never mind), a loner who has a little fawn as a friend.  The heartless Galinor (Leo Anchoriz) kills the deer during a hunt to impress his fiancée Andromeda (Anna Ranalli), which enrages Perseus.  This leads to a series of contests between the two, with the victor getting Andromeda’s hand in marriage.  When Galinor realizes Perseus is the legendary figure prophesized to overthrow the kingdom, he frames him for murder.  Perseus then joins the opposing king’s army, who as it stands are woefully outnumbered.  It’s then up to Perseus to defeat the Medusa so her legions of stone victims (who are also conveniently soldiers) will return to life and get in the fight.

The monsters, created by Carlo Rambaldi, are easily the best part of the movie.  I liked the “dragon”, even though it looked less like a dragon and more like the Loch Ness Monster.  It’s cool when you take the low budget into consideration (until you see the whole body in one shot, that is).  The Medusa is even better.  Rambaldi deviated from the commonly accepted design, but that helps to make the monster memorable.  It’s not a woman with snakes for hair like we’re used to.  It looks more like one of the monsters from The Green Slime.  It’s big and green with one glowing yellow eye and surrounded by a mass of tentacles.  (It kind of looks like some pissed-off mutant broccoli.)  

After all the monsters are slain, it becomes rather ordinary very fast.  Other than the monsters and a Robin Hood-inspired archery contest, there isn’t much here to separate it from countless other ‘60s peplum adventures.  All in all, it's a decent toga fest, especially if you’re a fan of Harrison.  The theme song (which sounds like it came out of a western) is badass too.

AKA:  Perseus the Invincible.  AKA:  Valley of the Stone Men.  AKA:  Perseus Against the Monsters.  AKA:  Medusa vs. the Son of Hercules.