Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Ancient peplum hero Ursus is now doing his thing in Eastern Europe where the Mongol conquerors are running things but with arrangements with the locals. Not anyone in the cast looks remotely Asian however, especially one who as it turns out is the lost princess daughter of the Great Khan who was murdered in a palace coup.Anyway the usurper and his partner who is a sorceress have the common serfs under control, but for Ursus who leads one of the tribes. The sorceress gets the big guy under her control and turn him into some kind of ravenous beast.Good thing the good guys have someone skilled in the black arts who brings Ursus around. Just like Hulk Hogan going over to the dark side.

Directed by Antonio Margheriti (Cannibal Apocalypse), with help from assistant director Ruggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust), this mid '60s horror/peplum gives very little indication of the future gory delights to come from either film-maker: Terror of the Kirghiz is strictly family friendly fodder, as brave warrior Ursus (muscleman Reg Park) protects his people from a marauding monster (a man in an unconvincing mask and hair glued to his torso), wicked tyrant Zereteli (Furio Meniconi), and a scheming witch, Amiko (Mireille Granelli).Lots of dull dialogue and badly choreographed fight scenes make for a really boring viewing experience, with Park putting in a forgettable central performance as the bland hero: the bodybuilder might have the physique, but he sure lacks the charisma. Mind you, with such an uninspired script and flat direction from Margheriti, he never really stood a chance.

A disappointing peplum with horror touches, especially regretful given that one of my favourite all-time directors, Antonio Margheriti, is at the helm. Whether it's the typically poor dubbing job - it would have helped if they had picked voice-over artists who could actually put emotion and inflection into their voices - or the apparent lack of interest of everyone involved, who simply go through the paces, this is below the average for an Italian peplum film. Even Margheriti can't hide his low budget this time around, with grotty locations and a lack of conviction in the easily-burnt down sets. The action sequences highlight actors who are simply going through the paces, swinging their swords with a lack of energy, and the plot itself is very simple and doesn't hold together. One thing that is surprising is the twist ending, hinted at in the film's American title, that Hercules himself is the monster that has been terrorising the community as a result of the potion he has been given by an evil witch.I bought this film on the strength of an enthusiastic review claiming that we get to see Hercules battling "werewolves" in this movie. I'm always a fan of the peplum/horror combinations so my hopes were high for this movie. What a letdown. The "werewolves" are little more than half-naked guys covered in yak-hair and bad make-up, who jump on top of people a lot and just look like what they are, scrawny guys in bad make-up. The immortal character of Hercules doesn't even have many enemies to fight, and lies around for ages in a cave after being injured by one such "werewolf".Reg Park takes the central role of Hercules (originally Ursus) but his character here is far less developed than in, say, HERCULES AND THE CAPTIVE WOMEN. It doesn't help that Park is wooden in the part - a fault of most, if not all, bodybuilders turned actors. At least this guy's physique is impressive and matched only by Schwarzenegger's in sheer bulk. The supporting cast includes the dependable Ettore Manni, wasted in a dull part, and the usual Italian glamour ladies, but there's not a lot here to get excited about. Even Margheriti seems rather half-hearted in his direction, for there are no memorable scenes. At least I can forgive him, for it was early in his career, but I expected more from the man who gave us CASTLE OF BLOOD. Not a totally worthless film but you can do a lot better in this genre and it disappoints throughout.

"Hercules, Prisoner of Evil" is awful. As an earlier commentator has noted, this Hercules movie occurs outside of the peplum era with Hercules living with a nomadic tribe somewhere in Europe. Reg Park plays the muscle-bound hero, but he has little in common with his other Hercules incarnations. This is not one of director Anthony M. Dawson's better movies. The tribe that Hercules resides with is being plagued by a monster that lurks in the woods at night, but it turns out that the monster is anybody who comes into contact with a witch who lives in a cave and has an evil potion. Drink the potion and you become the monster. Think of it as an early version of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." I bought the Retromedia DVD, too, and experienced the same problem with the audio, but I have an earlier VHS copy that I transferred to DVD-R for my own enjoyment and the audio and the picture are perfectly synchronized. Unfortunately, neither of them is in the widescreen process so the picture is cropped to full frame. The drama is minimal and Hercules really performs nothing in the way of memorable feats. Of course, when the monster appears, he is played by another actor who bears no resemblance to anybody in the cast so if you figure out the plot, you'll be lost. About midway into the action Hercules suffers a minor wound that takes him out of the story for several scenes. This is a below-average Hercules film and a below-average Reg Park movie. Only completists will want to watch this yucky yarn.