A tribe of sun worshiping nomads have been wandering through snow and ice. They eventually come to an area that is green and has water nearby. The head of the tribe is Dorak (Demeter Bitenc). He decides that it is a good place to settle down and build their village.
Dorak’s son is Aydar (Luciano Marin). One day he is walking with his woman Rhia (Andrea Aureli). A water monster rises from the lake and attacks Aydar. Maxus (Reg Lewis) is nearby when the monster attacks. Maxus kills the monster. Aydar asks the stranger his name. He says he is Maxus, son of Hercules. Aydar asks him to stay and join the tribe but Maxus says he needs to move on.
Not long after that the tribe is attacked by a tribe of moon worshipers, led by Fuwan (Nello Pazzafini), that don’t want the sun worshipers to live on what they consider their land or hunt in their forests. They kill as many men as they can, destroy the village and kidnap the women. They take the women to their cave intending on sacrificing them to their god.
Maxus returns to the village and sees the devastation wrought by the moon worshipers. One of the dead is the chief Dorak. With the chief dead Aydar is now head of the clan. Maxus says he will help them get their women back. Maxus enters the cave system through an underwater river entrance fighting an underwater multi-headed snake monster as he goes.
Maxus is found by Moah (Margaret Lee). Her father use to be the chief of the tribe but he was killed by Fuwan. Moah hates Fuwan but he lusts after her. Moah is attracted to Maxus. Moah tells Maxus that the moon worshippers will sacrifice the captured women in a celebration of the full moon that night.
Maxus pulls back the large rock that blocks the main entrance to the cave. The sun worshipers flood in and fight with the moon worshipers. Maxus manages to lead the sun worshiper men and women through the cave system and out to safety but he is caught by the moon worshipers and sentenced to death. Moah is caught trying to help him and is given the same fate. Only a miracle could save them.
“Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules” AKA “Colossus of the Stone Age” AKA “Maciste contro i mostri” was released in 1962 and was directed by Guido Malatesta. It is an Italian sword and sandal film and is part of the original Maciste series. It was a co-production between Italy and Yugoslavia.
The movie suffers from the usual low budget bad movie shortcomings. Bad dialogue, bad acting and bad special effects. The star of the film is played by Reg Lewis. “Fire Monsters” was his only sword and sandal film. I see why. Unfortunately his acting skills are about as wooden as his hairdo. He had the pecs for the job but didn’t know what to do with them.
What makes this movie hysterical crap: Maciste is called Maxus, son a Hercules in the movie. Since the movie was already dubbed before the name change whenever Maxus' name is mentioned, a different higher-registered voice adds the newly dubbed name. This means bad dubbing on top of already bad dubbing. The movie also switches from dubbed to subtitled and back on occasion for no reason whatsoever. Maxus wears a pompadour. All the other nomads have either seen barbers or hair stylists. Cannibals wearing shorts underneath their furs.
What makes this movie hysterical cheeze: It’s easy to keep track of the good guys and the bad guys. The good guys wear white fur and worship the sun. The bad guys wear black fur and worship the moon. The cannibals wear horns on their fur hats. Dopy looking monsters. The science project volcano. Calling Maciste Maxus son of Hercules two million years before Hercules supposedly existed. Maciste, on the other hand, has always existed.
I laughed just about all the way through.