Culture
Cinema of Lost Worlds: A look at three movies about lost worlds and prehistoric monsters
By: Gordon Briggs
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Jurassic World may be the most popular dinosaur franchise. Still, it’s one of a series of ‘Lost World’ stories, a subgenre of fantasy or science fiction where explorers discover a hidden, previously unknown land, often containing prehistoric creatures, lost civilizations, or both. Here are three examples of Lost World films.
The first is King Kong, a classic from the ’30s whose musical score and use of stop-motion effects would influence countless other productions. In a story that sports all the essential elements of a Lost World story, we follow a film crew that travels to a mysterious island where the indigenous population worships a ginormous ape named Kong. Of course, like any 90-year-old movie, its effects are dated, and some of its racial imagery has aged poorly. Still, as far as adventure movies go, King Kong set the standard. From the moment they arrive on that island, the movie takes off by dropping its heroes into one terrific cliffhanger after another, which usually involves a man eating a monster, a rousing musical score (composer Max Steiner’s music proved highly influential), and a nearby cliff that has us itching to have someone fall off of it. Rating: ★ ★ ★1⁄2
The next is a bit of a guilty pleasure called the People Time Forgot. I can not look you in the eye and call People Time Forgot a well-made movie, but I can call it an entertaining one. Based on the story by Edgar Rice Burroughs and serving as a sequel to Land that Time Forgot, we get a ‘Lost World’ style movie where an expedition finds itself trapped in a mysterious land where prehistoric beasts roam free. Okay, so those dinosaurs look cheesy, and the acting is a safe distance from being compelling, but hey… it’s a B-movie, and what it lacks in budget it makes up for in imagination. Things get cooking in its ridiculous final half in which the characters battle an army of prehistoric samurai (yes, you read that right), escape from a He-Man-style castle, tangle with hordes of hungry dinosaurs, and outrun an erupting volcano. That’s what made me surrender to this film. Like King Kong crossed with Temple of Doom, this film is pure Saturday afternoon entertainment that throws one cliffhanger after another at you until we just give in to the fun. Rating: ★ ★ ★
The next is an unfinished film that has only recently been completed. In 1994, after years of preparation, stop-motion animator David Allen began filming his lifelong dream project, The Primevals. Unfortunately, due to financial reasons, footage was shot, but the film itself was never finished, and director Allen passed away before his film could be completed. Thirty years later, thanks to the existing footage, storyboards, and stop-motion puppets Allen left behind, the movie has been completed and can be enjoyed in all its cheesy B-movie glory. Here, we get a ‘Lost World’ style adventure when a group of explorers searching for a Yeti stumble upon a hidden primeval land populated by prehistoric creatures, ancient hominids, and an alien reptilian species. Of course, the acting is cheesy, and the logic is questionable, but that’s part of the fun. We’re here to see stop-motion monsters battle reptile aliens, and on that level, the movie is plenty entertaining. Rating: ★ ★ ★