Review of Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) by Alexander P — 11 Aug 2010

First of the 'Ape' sequels, this sees a new loincloth clad all American hero, Brent, wandering around the Monkey Planet that used to be called Earth after being caught up in the same space / time flux as Charlton Heston in the original.

Brent awakens next to his derelict, burnt out spacecraft, confused, but it's not long before Nova from the first movie shows up, and leads him to the Ape City, where he is captured. After a fairly tedious sequence where the friendly monkey scientist Dr. Zira explains the situation (for those who missed Apes 1) Brent escapes captivity and follows a bizarre, auditory signal which leads him underground, Beneath the Planet of the Apes where he encounters a fresh horror: a race of mutants, almost human, who perform acts of worship to their deity, a still operational nuclear missile capable of bringing an end to all life on the planet, whilst singing a truly eerie rendition of All Things Bright and Beautiful. Seriously, this is freaky stuff. Unfortunately for Brent, these mutants are no more friendly than the simians above ground....

More action oriented than the original, I actually enjoyed this one more than most fans of the series, as the pace it sets keeps things ticking over rather nicely. With fine performances all round, yet more visually impressive set designs - the New York subway station, the derelict New York Library - using a combination of physical constructs and matte paintings to produce backdrops far more evocative than anything CGI is capable of, and staggeringly good make up work once more, as well as a nice line in social commentary, this is way above your average sci-fi fodder.

A good sequel and worth a look for fans of the original.