Leader of a tribe of amazon women, Queen Kari, has vanquished a rival tribe and rules them with savage ruthlessness and cruel arrogance. A hunter stumbles onto the enclave and falls for one of the slaves, so unleashing the anger and envy of the possessive, sadistic Queen.
It’s, um… creative
RELEASED IN 1967 and written/directed by Michael Carreras, "Prehistoric Women” (aka “Slave Girls”) chronicles events in deepest African when a hunting guide (Michael Latimer) enters the forbidden area of the white rhino and passes through a portal into a prehistoric world where dark-haired white women led by Queen Kari (Martine Beswick) cruelly rule over blondes. Meanwhile, all men are kept captive in a cave dungeon, which is where the guide will find himself if he doesn’t submit to Kari’s amorous whims.
Beswick is striking and has a killer body, but she never tripped my trigger, maybe because she seems too Amazonian. Regardless, the flick’s filled with gorgeous women, including the protagonist’s wannabe babe, Saria (Edina Ronay). The indoor English sets are too obvious, contrasted by the authentic opening location shots.
There are so many curious native dance sequences that the movie borders on being a musical. Thankfully, they’re entertaining and the tribal ditties are catchy. The story seems to be a commentary on gender dynamics from a late 60’s English perspective, but the film’s too cheesy to take overly serious. Nevertheless, it has its points of interest, particularly the prehistoric women (lol).
THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour 30 minutes and was shot in England (Elstree Studios, Borehamwood) with establishing shots of Africa.
GRADE: C