Yor begins an adventure to find his origins with his new found cave people friends Kala and Pag.
Director Antonio Margheriti offers a genre mixing, ungainly science fiction fantasy, the first two acts is a load of cavemen kitchen sink shenanigans, after a Yor electric theme tune (music by John Scott, Guido & Maurizio De Angeli), Yor saves a some settlers by bludgeoning a triceratops to death that seemingly was protecting his young. He helps the settlement against neanderthal-like invaders and takes on another dinosaur the some sand mummies. The last act takes a mind bending Planet of the Apes-like turn and we're told that Yor's world is actually Earth after a nuclear holocaust. Then in a flip of a coin it goes from a poor man's A Quest for Fire or One Million Years B. C. affair to bargain bin Star Wars come Flash Gordon when a spaceship lands! I should have seen it coming, the clue was in the title. Experiments, bombs, hybrid clones, androids, Overlord's spacecraft and facility kitschy high-jinx ensue with sound effects from better films.
Based on the comic 'Yor the Hunter' by Eugenio Juan Zappietro and Juan Zanott, not everything should be adapted for screen, as refreshing as it was to see practical large special effects dinosaurs and a well executed spacecraft heading off into the sunset in the same film, just because they could, doesn't mean they should. Margheriti's production is typical of the countless Italian films at the time, if fact if it wasn't for Cléry, it could be anyone of these early 80s Conan, He-Man cash-ins, thankfully there's the bombastic space facility bombshell so you can easily tell them apart. That said, credit to the set designer, there's a striking mirror and artefact scene with Kala.
Luciano Pigozzi does his best with the non existent script as bow welding Pag. Wigged and dubbed Reb Brown bounces through the film like a loincloth Flash Gordon. Stunning Corinne Cléry also appears to be sporting a wig as Kala. Like Pigozzi, Cléry plays it straight while lighting up the on location caves and sets later in the game. John Steiner is notable as the hooded Overlord but is just in the wrong film, as too is Carole André as Ena who joins the rebellion. André's screen time is terribly short, just like Ayshe Gu who plays Roa of the Sand-People.
Overall, it's silly and terrible with an anti nuclear war commentary; but neither it's message or Cléry can help elevate it, not even to cult status. With its plodding first two acts the 'twist' just hasn't got enough to make it 'so bad, it's good' material.
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