peplum | Monster Zone

Distributed theatrically in Italy as ROMA CONTRO ROMA in 1964, the film was cut for foreign release, with its original 110 minute running time reduced to 97 minutes for the UK release, titled ROME AGAINST ROME. It was cut even further for its AIP release in the USA, where it was called WAR OF THE ZOMBIES.

Director Giuseppe Vari’s WAR OF THE ZOMBIES, starring John Drew Barrymore, Susy Andersen and Ettore Manni, came out towards the end of the boom in peplum films. In 1964 A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS was in release, kick-starting a wave of Italian spaghetti westerns that rapidly replaced the sword-and-sandal flicks.

'Unconquerable warriors of the damned!' — ‘Unconquerable warriors of the damned!’

With a second act that drags, WAR OF THE ZOMBIES was never going to be good enough to stave off the encroaching onslaught of Italian westerns, but it is a watchable lesser peplum, focusing on a villainous Salmacian high priest called Aderbad (played by Drew Barrymore’s dad John), who uses the power of his country’s goddess to bring dead Roman soldiers back to life. Aderbad’s plan is to use them as an undead/ghost army to fight back against Rome itself.

The film boasts a really quite impressive main set featuring a large stone head of the cyclopean goddess, hypnotised women walking across hot coals, a voodoo doll, mangle-faced minions and stock footage from previous, bigger budgeted movies.

The cool main set with the huge head of the Salmacian goddess

Despite AIP’s attention-grabbing title, the undead Roman soldiers that Aderbad raises in this movie are actually ghosts rather than zombies. This ‘ghost army’ is brought to the screen via the simple use of footage of mounted soldiers taken from previous movies, but with a ‘supernatural shadow’ added on top.
However, I actually think this live-Romans-vs-undead-Romans climax is pretty memorable, thanks to Roberto Nicolosi’s score, which utilises eerie choral voices very effectively.

Aderbad calls upon his one-eyed goddess to aid him in his plot against the occupying Romans

Some more posters for the movie…

Here are some lobby cards…

Lobby card featuring dastardly high priest Aderbad

Finally, here’s artist Reynold Brown’s original, unlettered artwork for the WAR OF THE ZOMBIES poster…

'Thrills and monsters - never before seen!' — ‘Thrills and monsters – never before seen!’

A hero must deal with an evil ruler, warriors, Medusa and a lake-dwelling dragon.

Just take a look at this Medusa! — Take a look at this Medusa!

Originally released in Italy as PERSEO L’INVINCIBLE, this movie is known by several other names, including THE VALLEY OF THE STONE MEN and, in the United States, as MEDUSA AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES. (‘The Sons of Hercules’ was a 1960s syndicated television show – a series of 13 repackaged Italian sword and sandal movies that were given a standardised theme tune, etc. This film was one of these repackaged peplums.)

Directed by Alberto De Martino, PERSEUS AGAINST THE MONSTERS stars Richard Harrison as the heroic Perseus. Long before he became a master ninja in many of Godfrey Ho’s unhinged 1980s IFD ninja action flicks, Harrison starred in a whole bunch of Italian genre movies – and this one is pretty cool!

The main reason, for me, that PERSEUS AGAINST THE MONSTERS sticks in the memory is because it features an amazingly off-the-wall interpretation of Medusa, designed by Carlo Rambaldi.

In this movie Medusa resembles a kind of Lovecraftian life form: a perambulating tree-thing with spidery root-legs, a nest of head-tentacles/snakes and a single, blinking, glowing eye. This creature seems more plant-like than a flesh and blood being: a Gorgon-Triffid if you will!

Rambaldi, famous for his work on ALIEN and E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL, brings this bizarre creation to life via a full-scale mechanised model. I love it!

Wow! Don't you just love this odd creation?! — Wow! Don’t you just love this thing?!

Adding to the impact of this weird creature-being is its lair, the valley of Medusa, which is an atmospheric location, full of mist and soldiers (and horses) turned to stone.

Medusa surrounded by its victims — Medusa surrounded by its stone victims

The plot for PERSEUS AGAINST THE MONSTERS involves a dragon too, which is also brought to the screen via a full-size articulated creation. Though its movements are limited, this big, reptilian water monster is quite impressive to look at, almost resembling a zombie sauropod.