Hercules Against the Moon Men

Hercules Against the Moon Men (originally titled *Maciste e la regina di Samar*, meaning "Maciste and the Queen of Samar") is a 1964 sword-and-sandal film produced solely in Italy. It was directed by Giacomo Gentilomo, starring Alan Steel and Jany Clair. The English-language version is dubbed and runs 90 minutes.

In ancient Greece, hostile aliens from the Moon land on Earth and terrorize the city of Samar. Hercules (called Maciste in the original) tries to free the kingdom from its evil queen, who is under the aliens' influence. The Moon Men demand child sacrifices to revive their own dead queen. The queen of Samar has allied with them, hoping to conquer the world and become the most powerful woman alive. The people cheer Hercules as he faces deadly trials, battles Moon monsters, and eventually confronts the metal-headed giant Redolphis, leader of the Moon Men.

In the original Italian version, the hero is Maciste, a character from silent Italian cinema. The film mixes elements from Roman, Greek, Ancient Egyptian, and Cretan mythologies. It was shot in Italy, mainly at Cinecittà Studios in Rome and in the Lazio region.

The film was released in Italy on 27 June 1964 and in the United States in May 1965. Its French title was *Maciste contre les hommes de pierre* ("Maciste Against the Men of Stone"), but English distributors renamed the hero Hercules because Maciste was unfamiliar to American audiences. According to critics, the film made little effort to stay true to ancient myths. Film historian Gary Allen Smith described it as a silly but diverting mix of peplum and science fiction, with Alan Steel (real name Sergio Ciani) fighting Moon monsters before the invaders are destroyed. He noted one inventive touch: scenes set in the Moon Men's mountain kingdom are filmed in sepia tone, not full color or the "Cosmicolor" claimed in American ads.

The film was also featured on *Mystery Science Theater 3000*, becoming infamous for its "Deep Hurting" sequence—a five-minute sandstorm scene where characters flounder pointlessly, advancing neither plot nor character. Dr. Forrester introduced this concept as a follow-up to "Rock Climbing" from the movie *Lost Continent*. The MST3K version was released by Rhino Home Video in the *Collection, Volume 7* box set. The film itself has seen many bargain-bin DVD releases.