Despite inept dialogue, cramped sets, second-string acting, penny-pinching special effects, and time-wasting “B”-picture shuffling, this low-budget, sci-fi yarn is not all that unentertaining. Decided assets include: (1) The plot, neatly combining the Atlantis legend with Theseus and the Minotaur; (2) a bit of effective Minotaur make-up by Roy Ashton; (3) a few flashes of directorial skill by Mr Roth; and (4) not least, a bevy of really beautiful fire maidens led by the very charming Susan Shaw (one of my favorites, I must admit) and the agreeably villainous Maya Koumani.
Camp followers will also enjoy the zippy music score comprising a few snatches of Khachaturian’s “Saber Dance” with generous excerpts from Borodin’s “Polovetsian Dances”. If you close your eyes, you can almost imagine yourself listening to the soundtrack of M-G-M’s Kismet.
True, Dexter makes a wet hero, and Carpenter is even more soppy, but who cares?
