BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES: Sequelization Taken To Dark, Eccentric Extremes
Making a sequel to the Planet Of The Apes must have seemed inevitable and impossible all at once. The international success of a film with such a tantalizingly offbeat concept virtually guaranteed that the studio bosses would want to see if there was a "brand" to be exploited in that success. That said, the film's dark take on humanity and its future, expressed with brutal bluntness in its legendary shock ending, suggested that the filmmakers had taken their vision as far as it go.
Just the same, original Planet Of The Apes producer Arthur P. Jacobs went back to work andhad Beneath The Planet Of The Apesready for release in 1970. The resulting film was one of the most unusualsequels ever made to a hit film, a follow-up that does some things expected ofa sequel while adding in all manner of additional elements that up the ante interms of both eccentricity and thematic darkness.
The script for BeneathThe Planet Of The Apes was penned by Paul Dehn, a respected writer whoseprior credits included Goldfinger andThe Spy Who Came In From The Cold. The narrative he created picks up where thefirst film left off, with Taylor (Charlton Heston) venturing into the"Forbidden Zone" feared by the Apes and disappearing after someunnerving, surreal sights. Around that time, another astronaut from the pastlands on the ape planet. This is Brent (James Franciscus) and he's the lonesurvivor of an expedition sent out to find the crew of Taylor's flight.
What follows at first feels like an action replay of thefirst Apes film, with Brent meetingup with Nova (Linda Harrison), Taylor's primitive love, and learning he is onan ape-dominated planet amongst other sinister secrets. However, Dehnintroduces a number of new elements once Brent follows Taylor's path into theforbidden zone. New characters include a group of psychically gifted mutantsand General Ursus (James Gregory), a war-minded ape military leader whosedesire to conquer the forbidden zone pushes everyone in the story towards adark fate.
BeneathThe Planet Of The Apes is a fascinating sequel because notonly does it revive the familiar elements of its predecessor, it also doublesdown on the film's edgy, offbeat qualities. The first half's action replay ofthe film has a "meta" quality to it, with Franciscus giving aHeston-style performance as goes through the familiar beats of the first film'ssetup. That said, Dehn's script adds itsown unique shadings, like the surreal sights of the forbidden zone and the waythe character of Ursus divides ape society with his totalitarian rhetoric.
However, it is the second half of the film that pushes Beneath The Planet Of The Apes into aplace of twisted greatness. The mutants are a fascinating group, with their ownunique set of rules for the civilization and their own brand of sinister dogma(a scene in their strubble-rewn place of worship, including a unique choice ofidol to worship, is Schlockmania's favorite scene in any of the Planet Of The Apes films). The thirdact is breathtakingly bleak, with our heroes pushed to nihilistic extremes asall civilizations - human, ape and mutant - act in ways that seal theirfate. When you reach that violent, doomyclimax, you'll be shocked to discover this film was rated G!
The director hired for this sequel was Ted Post, adirector who shifted back and forth between feature films and televisionthroughout his career. As The Babyproved, he wasn't afraid to explore offbeat material and that quality serveshim well here. He presents the film's offbeat qualities in a straightforward,confidently-crafted manner that makes them seem all the more unusual. When hegets a sequence he can really sink his teeth into, like the aforementionedmutant worship sequence, he goes for the gusto and the results are pulp bliss.
Post also gets solid performances from his cast. The underrated Franciscus makes a solid leadhere, channeling some Heston's mannerisms but delivering them in a uniquelyunderstated manner that allows him to differentiate himself from his character'smodel (his reaction to the terrible secret of the ape planet is impressivebecause it's done in a subtle yet heart-tugging manner). Heston's on-screentime is limited here, which was actually a condition of him signing on for thesequel, but he digs into scenes with a sense of grim commitment that matchesthe material.
Kim Hunter does fine work in her brief scenes as humanally Zira and Gregory is memorable as a blustery might-makes-right type.Maurice Evans also returns as Dr. Zaius and gets to bring out some uniqueshadings to the character, who now has to tiptoe around Ursus as he takescontrol of ape society. Finally, thecast of mutants here is packed with familiar character actor faces like JeffCorey, Gregory Sierra and Don Pedro Colley... and they create a unified,quietly chilling front of psychopathic menace.
John Chambers returns as makeup artist and does ace worknot only with the humanoid apes but also the mutants, who have a uniquedual-layered visage revealed in a memorable moment. It's also worth noting thatthis film is more visual effects-intensive than its predecessor and theseelements are handled skillfully by veterans L.B. Abbott and Art Cruickshank,who deliver some impressively surreal opticals and some excellent mattepainting-enhanced imagery in the forbidden zone. Also worthy of note is the score by LeonardRosenman, which upholds the ominous edge established in the first film's music.
The resulting film was a hit and remains oddly rewarding today because it follows up its predecessor in such an uncompromising manner: after setting the audience up with some business-as-usual sequel elements, it adds on wilder and edgier ideas with each reel until you reach another shocker of a climax. Said climax was designed to be a dead-end for the series but success would lead to further studio demands, pushing Dehn into the unlikely role of Apes sequel auteur. As time would reveal, the outré saga of the apes had plenty of twists and darkness in store for sci-fi fans.