[HorrorScience] Unknown Land (1957)

Reading time: 5 minutes

Qualification

The Land Unknown

Year

1957

Duration

78 minutes

Director

Virgil Vogel

Distribution

Jock Mahoney, Shirley Patterson, William Reynolds, Henry Brandon, Douglas Kennedy, Phil Harvey, Tim Smyth

Script

Charles Palmer, William N. Robson, László Görög

Despite the advances in technology, there are parts of the world that remain almost unknown, one of them is Antarctica, since the little reliable data they have about that area comes from superficial studies carried out decades ago that revealed the possible existence of hot water in that icy area of the world. In order to explore and better understand this terrain, an important scientific expedition will be carried out led by Harold Roberts and documented by journalist Margaret Hataway.

The initial plan is very simple, fly over the different areas by helicopter, obtaining all possible information about the areas with hot water that have been discovered in the surroundings to be able to analyze it later, so the main group of researchers will be made up of the characters previously described, the helicopter pilot and a technician.

[HorrorScience] Unknown Land (1957) — Our protagonists will have to learn to survive in a hostile environment

During the flight everything seems to be going normally, until a storm causes the protagonists to vary their initial course in search of an area to land and take shelter. At that same moment something will fly over the helicopter, damaging some parts of the propeller engine, which will cause the pilot to have to make an emergency landing in the nearest area, which appears to be below sea level and have incredibly high temperatures.

Trapped in a tropical environment, our protagonists see how luck abandons them, as they cannot communicate with the rest of the team, nor repair the damaged parts of the helicopter. Fortunately, their problems will be put in the background when they discover that some huge lizards are fighting to the death, which confirms suspicions that this isolated area is like a small prehistoric world.

In addition to those giant lizards, there are more dangers in the area, flying and aquatic reptiles, carnivorous plants and a Tyrannosaurus that wants to eat humans. The problems increase when they see that some of the supplies are missing and that the journalist has also disappeared, who seems to have been kidnapped.

A quick investigation will find the kidnapper, who turns out to be the last survivor of an investigation carried out a decade ago. This individual will give our protagonists the opportunity to escape, since he knows where they can find the parts they need for the helicopter, but in exchange he wants the girl to stay with him to give him the company he hasn't had in years.

Our protagonists see the days go by without being rescued and without finding a way to escape from there, at the same time that the prehistoric creatures continue to stalk them. Will they accept the deal proposed by the survivor? Will they find a better way out of there?

Unknown Land (The Land Unknown) It is the typical American family entertainment, adventure and dinosaur movie. From the first moment you can guess that the inclusion of the girl is only to be kidnapped by something or someone, although at least they try to innovate by changing the reason for the kidnapping (which is generally the sacrifice to satisfy some God), the character of Harold Roberts is also a stereotype widely seen in this type of films, tough, intelligent, but with a great sense of justice, especially if it involves saving the girl. However, it must be said that despite its lack of novelty in the characters and the general idea, this film works very well, as it entertains and does not become tiresome.

The visual section is very good, since the settings have a level of detail high enough to be convincing at all times, the director did a good job showing us the setting from different planes, managing to create a feeling of a “lost world” superior to that seen in other similar films.

The giant beasts obtain much more diverse results, since in this film different resources are used when including them in the film, perhaps due to the limited budget. On the one hand we have real lizards, which are introduced into the film with a very acceptable result, even when they share the scene with humans fleeing, on the other we have the aquatic and flying reptiles, which are made with models and puppets of different sizes and whose result is more than correct, and finally we have the T. Rex that has been represented with a costumed actor and who takes the worst part, since the suit can be greatly improved, especially in terms of proportions, the movement of the The gigantic dinosaur is not very accomplished either, as it walks in a way that makes it impossible to forget that there is a human inside.

Curiosities about the film:

The investigations discussed at the beginning of the film (under the command of Admiral Byrd) are based on a real event, since Richard Evelyn Byrd was an explorer who worked several times in that area.
The film was going to be shot in color, but due to the cost of the special effects and the low budget they had, it was not possible.