On their way to South America, the passengers and crew of an old freighter face many challenges. The captain has taken on illegal cargo – a dangerous consignment of phosphorous that will explode if it comes into contact with water – something that worries the crew but less so for the passengers who all seem to have good reasons to continue their trip.
When the ship begins to take on water, some of the crew mutinies and eventually abandon ship. For those who stay aboard, they soon find themselves trapped in a huge bed of living carnivorous seaweed in the Sargasso Sea.
They also find a Spanish galleon that has been trapped for several centuries and is now manned by the descendants of the inquisitors from the original Spanish Inquisition.
Throw in a giant octopus with a glowing eye, a giant hermit crab, a giant scorpion and the giant gas balloons (fnarr! fnarr!) of Dana Gillespie and this is perhaps the strangest film to come out of Hammer Studios.
Producer Michael Carreras fired original director Leslie Norman and took over as director. When he went over budget and schedule, his father, Hammer Films chief James Carreras, and the studio’s solicitors arrived on set to shut the production down.
Captain Lansen
Eric Porter Eva Peters
Hildegard Knef Unity Webster
Suzanna Leigh
Harry Tyler
Tony Beckley Dr Webster
Nigel Stock First Officer Hemmings
Neil McCallum Ricaldi
Ben Carruthers Patrick
Jimmy Hanley Sarah
Dana Gillespie Nick (Chief Engineer)
James Cossins Mate
Victor Maddern Helmsman
Reg Lye Jonathan
Norman Eshley Sea Lawyer
Michael Ripper Sparks
Donald Sumpter Braemer
Charles Houston Hurri Curri
Shivendra Sinha El Diablo
Darryl Read The Inquisitor
Eddie Powell
Dr Webster
Helmsman
