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Mediocre Jules Verne adaptation.

Ever hear of a Spanish director named Juan Piquer Simon? If you’re at all a fan of bad sci-fi and horror movies, you should be. He’s the guy who gave us such “classics” as Cthulhu Mansion, Endless Descent, Slugs and that MST3K classic Pod People. Before all those, though, he attempted to tackle one of the world’s most well-loved sci-fi tales, with the result being this movie. Known by many names (Where Time Began, for one), this adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic is now on DVD thanks to Code Red under the title The Fabulous Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Though shot by Simon, the main cast is mostly English, and is a fairly standard retelling of the tale. Well, except for the inclusion of a gigantic Kong-like ape (this was made in 1975, so I can only assume they were cashing in on the publicity of the then-upcoming Kong remake). A group of people discover a lost world, poke around in then get the hell out before things go kaboom. There are some dinosaur-like creatures, giant turtles and the aforementioned Kong-lite (dude in a monkey suit) running around before that, though.

To be honest, the whole production feels like a made-for-tv effort, trying to emulate the Land That Time Forgot and other then-current hits. The special effects (life-size props) aren’t especially thrilling, but they sure beat sticking fins on lizards. While it’s not a pure chore to get through the film, it’s not the best version of this story by far.

Code Red’s presentation of the film is more than adequate, with a decent, if not pristine, widescreen print of the film. Though not listed on the jacket, there’s an alternate opening sequence including, which is a nice little bonus. The theatrical trailer rounds out the extras.

The Fabulous Journey to the Center of the Earth is mediocre as far as lost world epics go, but it’s presentable enough to pass the time. And it doesn’t have half the stink of Simon’s later work.

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