The Lost Continent

• Directed and Written by Michael Carreras
• June 19, 1968 (US) / July 27, 1968 (UK)
• Based on Dennis Wheatley’s 1938 novel Uncharted Seas

The crew and passengers of a dilapidated freighter find themselves stuck in the Sargasso Sea amongst monsters, stranded conquistadors, and lethal seaweed.

As choices go, The Lost Continent was a random find out in the wild at a used retailer. The classic Hammer connection made me excited because there was a time when nobody did genre films better than that storied production company. I felt that at the minimum a good time was in my future.

Hammer films were never afraid to be period set. Unlike others in their catalogue, the time period here is a little tough to discern. Like is this from the present day of the of the film or the recent past. A nuisance but not a problem. Much like a classic disaster film, we are introduced to a broad swath of disparate characters who all have some dark or dastardly secret and a few hidden agendas.

There is Captain Lansen (Eric Porter) hauling dangerous cargo for a big payday despite hurricane warnings. Dr. Webster (Nigel Stock) thought it was a good idea to sleep with patients while his daughter Unity (Suzanna Leigh) caused problems by sleeping with everybody so they are fleeing authorities and people. The alcoholic conman Harry Tyler (Tony Beckley) is trying to sneak out of the country in a jacket lined with money. Eva Peters (Hildegard Neff) has stolen bearer bonds to pay for the ransom on her son in Caracas from some very not so nice people. Then there is the lawyer Ricaldi (Ben Carruthers) that is more thug than litigator hot on her trail to get those bonds back. All these people amongst a greedy crew that has trouble being okay working on a boat that looks like it could spring a leak.

Captain Lansen has one heck of a character arc. He goes from a greedy ship’s captain hauling illegal/questionable cargo to not really a bad guy to a strong leader. This from a guy who took on passengers he knew were trying to run from something and he didn’t care what as long as they paid him. WTF! This is the ultimate hero?!

What you must realize is there is no actual lost continent. What we get is a large and long lasting mass of Sargassum around a few rocks filled with strange sea life and boats that have been trapped for ages. Despite being alluded to in the title, much of the action takes place on or around the Caritas which is hauling everybody.

At just over 90 minutes, it takes quite some time to get to the titular mass. Then it dives right into strangeness starting with predatory seaweed. Not the best example of tentacles I’ve seen in a film, but it doesn’t do any real harm. As a Hammer adventure film this is excellent. It’s different and very weird. The general environments are top-tier for the time and push the envelope of what was largely possible.

Within The Lost Continent director/writer Michael Carreras conveys a unique world unlike most anything I can recall from film. Boats trapped for an indeterminate amount of time form a bit of a culture in carnivorous seaweed. One of those cultures harkens all the way back to the height of the Spanish Empire led by a boy that is essentially their profit yet controlled by a man in capirote Inquisitor garb acting as God’s will. Given the easy comparison to a KKK robe it creates an uneasy feel knowing these are the villains.

As an adventure film it fires in all cylinders. As a character driven piece, it leaves something to be desired. What we learn about the characters comes mostly from information dumps over being revealed as part of the story. That could’ve been helped by shrinking down the cast. So many people were running from something with none of it other than the captain’s cargo feeding into the story.

The movie remains too grounded by spending time on the boat and not enough time unhinged in the Sargassum world of the Inquisition and general rebellion. While characters do react understandably, it all happens so quickly and in quick succession that it’s a bit overwhelming. Michael Carreras tries to overwhelm you with events instead of developing things. It does help for an adventure film, but when you think about things as I have you realize it’s missing a few pieces.

There is imagination here. It just needed some more time. Work on the kid being controlled. Develop the romantic plots. Do better in the captain’s growth. Less time on the boat or more time once they get stuck.

The opening song named ‘Lost Continent’ performed by The Peddlers when connected to the movie is just, well, weird. Not because it’s anything unusual but because it’s so jazzy in a movie that is supposed to be an occasionally frightening adventure. It’s just such an unusual tune to pick.

I enjoyed myself, but as I said, it was missing a few things that would’ve made The Lost Continent a bit above other entries of the time. Enjoyable though.