War-Gods of the Deep is one of the few Edgar Allan Poe adaptations starring Vincent Price that wasn’t directed by Roger Corman. In fact, it could be the only one. I’m not entirely sure and I didn’t look into it. I do know that it’s very loosely based off the Poe poem, “City in the Sea,” and likely done so because the Corman Poe pictures were so successful. That’s not to say War-Gods of the Deep was directed by a slouch, as the great Jacques Tourneur helmed this one. Given the source material, the star and the director I expected something great. Sadly, the final product is merely ok with a few great moments sprinkled in.

The film takes place in Cornwall in 1903. Jill Tregillis (Susan Hart) is captured and kidnapped by some strange aquatic creatures. They’re called gillmen I believe. Ben Harris (Tab Hunter), the gentleman that was with Jill when she was taken, enlists the help of Harold Tuffnell-Jones (David Tomlinson) to go after the gillmen and rescue Jill. Their search takes them to the discovery of an underwater city. This city is home to smugglers who have been living there for a hundred years. The combination of gases in the underwater environment have allowed the smugglers to live for so long. 

The city is controlled by a man named The Captain (Vincent Price). The Captain, while giving a little background on the smugglers to our heroes, explains that their city is next to an underwater volcano. The volcano is set to erupt and in doing so will destroy their home. The gillmen believe a sacrifice will stop the volcano and they plan on making Ben and Harold that sacrifice. The Captain, being the smart fellow he is, declares that this won’t work but the gillmen think it will and the least he can do is humor them.

The gillmen are interesting. When we first see them in a dark room they look kind of cool. Seeing them later with more light, however, highlights how cheesy they actually look. This is to be expected given the era, but what real purpose do they serve? They just sort of act as goons and that’s about it. I would have liked to see them incorporated more or just not be there at all. The smugglers could just have easily been the ones needing the sacrifice and the story wouldn’t change at all.

Whenever Price is on screen, he’s captivating. He is the best part of War-Gods of the Deep and it’s not even close. That should come as no surprise as that’s often the case in movies in which Price appears. The problem is when Price isn’t on screen. The rest of the movie is just kind of boring. Hunter and Tomlinson have a few good scenes together but they also have some very dull moments. The whole time I felt like I was just waiting for the exciting part to kick in. You finally think it happens too when a chase begins. Ben, Harold and Jill begin their escape! The problem? This chase is far too long and just people swimming. That’s it.

Helping somewhat to distract from the boringness that is often on screen are the sets. The underwater city, which is basically a cave, is quite nice and very detailed. There was more than on instance when I paid more attention to admiring the surroundings rather than focusing on what was going on with the actual characters in the movie.

When you have two legends in Price and Tourneur teaming up, you want something great. You want something that gets you excited. Something you can’t wait to show others. War-Gods of the Deep simply isn’t that. I really wanted to like this too. So much potential, but in the end it was wasted and we are left with something very, very average.

The Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber is well done. The transfer looks crisp and clear, far exceeding any previous release. There’s also a very nice, little chat with Tad Hunter included as a special feature. I actually found this more interesting than large chunks of the movie. If you can get this for under $15, I’d pick it up. But I wouldn’t pay much more than that.

War-Gods of the Deep is now available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.