Beyond Atlantis (1973)

Simply Perfect

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

A fisherman (the always amusing Vic Diaz) heads to the big city to sell some rare pearls to the local pimp/dealer/criminal of all trades East Eddie(trash cinema king Sid Haig). Smelling more money where that came from, Eddie rounds up a crew for an expedition to the source of the gems. Fence Logan (John Ashley), scuba diver Vic (Patrick Wayne) and a lovely lady scientist Katherine (Lenore Stevens, who is quite beautiful) head off in search of this island for fame, career advancement(Katherine) and a small fortune in pearls (everyone else).The island is populated by some laughably bug eyed villagers(their "eyes" are masks/headdresses that look like they belong in a primary school Halloween parade) ruled over by the slinky blonde Syrene (Leigh Christian)who spends the entire film amply filling a brief bikini. They are accommodating of the outsiders initially, because they need Syrene to mate with one of them to insure the survival of the fish/half mer people/whatever.Folks get greedy, natives get suspicious and betrayal, mayhem and general silliness ensues.The underwater photography is of better quality than you'd expect, both female leads are attractive in skimpy sunwear, John Ashley is kept to a minimum of stinking up the joint, and Sid Haig gives us his usual delightful scene stealing.In addition, for a PG film, "Beyond Atlantis" manages to hit a lot of exploitation touch points ( abundant skin showing, a Syrene vs. Katherine catfight, some piranha action, explosions, a giggle inducing underwater "mating" scene and Sig Haig's sleazy heavy delivering goofy machismo camp with style).Lightweight and by no means a classic with a rather unsatisfying ending, "Beyond Atlantis" is still a fun little trifle of the drive in era, and worth watch if you have a few hours to spare.

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

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.

Manuel, (The last Vic Diaz) is a fisherman who wants to trade in his pearls for cash. He goes to a pimp named Fast Eddie (Sid Haig) and gets 500 pesos in return. Fast Eddie, sees a fortune in the pearls and decides to get some men together to get some more of the pearls. He takes with him, Logan, a scuba driver, Vic (Patrick Wayne, John Wayne's son) and lady Doctor.Fast Eddie and his crew beat up Manuel to find out where he got the pearls. He tells them that he got them from a lady as payment for taking her to an island. Fast Eddie and his crew go to the island and find tribe of people that appear to be half fish half human. They have weird raised eyeballs that look like ping-pong balls with black dots painted on them. They are led by a name, Neraus and his beautiful daughter who runs around the whole film in a skimpy bikini.Neraus orders his daughter mate with one of the people who have come to the island for the pearls, as it's vital to the tribe. She helps Eddie and his crew find pearls, but so she can keep them long enough on the island so she can mate.Beyond Atlantis is a very fun film as its 100% pure cheese. I laughed a lot and had a good time watching it. I'm a huge fan of Sid Haig, the actor who has made tons of great drive-in fare. It's always fun to see him. This film is only for fans of trashy campy films. Others beware.