Once a movie has raised the bar for special effects, going back and reliving some of those childhood favorites can be painful. Case in point, "The Land that Time Forgot." Mesmerizing at age 5, it doesn't quite hold up after repeated viewings of "Jurassic Park," but it's still enjoyable if you can get past the effects. This is not true for the second movie on this disc however, "The People that Time Forgot."
After a German submarine destroyed their boat, the small band of survivors, including Bowen Taylor (Doug McClure) and Lisa Clayton (Susan Penhaligon) manage to hijack the war machine. After numerous changes in command, the group ends up on an uncharted island surrounded by an iceberg, "The Land that Time Forgot." Inside they find dinosaurs, caveman, and one very active volcano. Everyone bands together in an attempt to survive, forgetting that they are actually enemies.
The effects are far from great in "Land," (especially the pterodactyl late in the film; you can obviously see the strings suspending it), but the sense of adventure is unmistakable. Things do start off a bit slow (40-minutes before the first dinosaur makes an appearance), but all of the actors do a fine job and the younger set, just like me many years ago, will be enthralled. If you can past the effects and just use your imagination a bit, you'll have fun for the majority of the running time. (*** out of *****)
"The People that Time Forgot" picks up a few years after "Land." Having found the note that Taylor through into the ocean at the end of the previous film, Major Ben McBride (Patrick Wayne) gets the sponsorship of a newspaper to find the hidden land and to see if his friend Bowen is still alive. Soon after reaching the island, they meet up with a cavewoman named Ajor (Dana Gillespie in the most revealing cavewoman suit of all time) who tells the group that Bowen is still alive. Their search, now having purpose, is just beginning.
"People" suffers from a wealth of flaws. First and foremost, the effects are even worse this time around, and this was made two years after the original. The film has absolutely no momentum behind it all, lacks tension, and just never seems to pick up steam. The finale, which should be a major spectacle, is just laughable. It's obvious that all of the explosions have been pre-set. It feels like you're right there on the set watching it all happen instead on some lost prehistoric island. The only reason to watch this one is for Gillespie and her costume. Otherwise, stick with the original. (* out of *****)
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