Audience Member
It says a lot about a cult horror film that cannot be redeemed by location scenery, the presence of two great British actors (Peter Cushing, Donald Pleasance), the lure of the Minotaur myth and a musical score by Brian Eno. None of the characters in this movie have anything interesting to say and there is a paucity of storyline to grapple with but fortunately it doesn't outstay its welcome and bore us to a death that could have been more efficiently met in the temple of the Minotaur!
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/26/23
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Audience Member
A priest investigates a series of disappearances surrounding an ancient pagan archaeological site. Those who enter the forbidden chamber of the Minotaur must die by way of sacrifice. Brings out two heavyweights in Cushing and Pleasance. A lesser form of The Wicker Man. Also released in more explicit form as The Devil's Men; that version may be worth seeking out over this title.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/24/23
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Audience Member
This Movie comes from the Drive-In Cult Classics Volume 2 8 Movie Collection, The movie was released under many names Land of the Minotaur, and The Devil's Men.
Better than you might expect horror outing about a small Greek village succumbing to the old, Pagan ways and keeping alive the cult of the Minotaur, in this case a statue of a bull that shoots out flames from its nostrils and apparently speaks independent of any moving mouth. Young, crazy "kids" have been disappearing after they go searching for the site of the Minotaur. Father Roche( a Catholic priest living inexplicably in a remote part of Greek Orthodox country)has his suspicions that evil forces are at work and warns a group of teen travelers to stay away from the site. They ignore him and disappear. Soon Roche calls for a friendly detective from New York, who along with the girlfriend of one of the missing guys, aids Roche in discovering the secrets of the village and the nature of the evil. What makes this highly implausible, totally absurd story work is the acting. Pleasance is a very underrated actor and is able to make the most of his Van Helsing type role - battling the forces of evil and having a sort of sixth sense about it. Veteran horror icon Peter Cushing plays the bad guy, here a Baron Corofax from Carpathia, with his usual charm, grace, and stoicism. Cushing and Pleasance give very good turns in their roles and raise this film above the mire. As for the rest of the cast - don't expect too much. They are for the most part all Greek as this is a Greek production and directed by Costas Karagiannis. There are; however, two beautiful blondes that wear the shortest shorts possible - Luann Peters and Vanna Reville. Both are very attractive, but cleavage(from both ends) aside - their acting is only adequate at best. Costas does do some things very nicely. He creates some tension in the village by creating a sense that everyone is against the threesome. The scenes in the cave with Cushing presiding over sacrifices are pretty eerie until the bull shows up. By no means is this a great film, but Cushing and Pleasance show once again that good, solid acting can overcome most obstacles. 2 1/2 Stars 9-2-13
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/23/23
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Audience Member
It doesn't have a whole lot going for it. The plot is stale, the characters are uninteresting, and the pacing is slow. It does have quite the cast, such as Cushing and Pleasence, but their roles aren't exactly memorable in this film. The film wasn't a thing like I thought it would be, considering the Minotaur is only a statue and the film focuses more around the cult that follows it.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/02/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Mill Creek's 50 Movie Pack: Chilling Classics Reviews
THE DEVIL'S MEN/ LAND OF THE MINOTAUR [1976]: Starring Donald Pleasance & Peter Cushing in what can be called an honest let down to most diehard horror fans since SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN [1970]. The 1976 made film THE DEVIL'S MEN/ LAND OF THE MINOTAUR despite being shot in scenic Greece and the presence of two great actors, is a below average horror film.
PLOT: Somewhere in Greece Three archaeology students go searching for the site of an ancient Devil worshiping cult. Despite the heartfelt wishes of Father Roche (Pleasance), the group go and get sacrifice in horror movie fashion to the living devil cult of the Minotaur. The Father then enlists the help of a NYC PI and one of the victim's partners to help him find the group. Upon arriving in the village, suspicion soon points to the mysterious Baron Corofax (Cushing) and his followers.
THOUGHTS: Despite the decent performances by the always brilliant Donald Pleasance & Peter Cushing, and the shear fact it was filmed near some Ancient Greek Ruins; this film isn't without its drawbacks. With the over use of the zoom lens for no real purpose, and the awkward editing start to make it difficult to know what one is looking at. Despite the dull vibe throughout the film, there are some amusing moments in this film. For example the Minotaur isn't a species of a small Carnivorous Dinosaur as one would think with a name like "Minotaur", but it's just a statue of a humanoid Bull with blow torch nostrils. And also the way the satanic chants sound more like people gargling mouthwash than actual chanting; this films odd mix of dull and weird moments make it worthy of a 50% rating from me.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/22/23
Full Review
Audience Member
One of the most imitated horror films ever made is the original The Wicker Man, and Land of the Minotaur is exactly one of those imitators. Not even the presence of Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasance could save a very bland and uninteresting movie. For starters, we go through two sets of people before we get to the main cast who's story we're going to follow for the rest of the movie. It's kind of frustrating when the film can't decide who's story it's gonna tell. There aren't any good performances in the film, not even from Pleasance and Cushing, but it's not their fault. They're simply not given anything to work with. The movie does feature an early film score from Brian Eno, but that doesn't make the film any better really. Land of the Minotaur could have had something going for it, but unfortunately it doesn't, and remains just a curiosity.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/26/23
Full Review
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