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The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

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Theme: Prehistory

Prehistory is any period before the advent of human civilisation and what we generally consider recorded history. This can range from the epochs when Dinosaurs roamed the Earth to those dealing with the lives of Cavemen.

Since the silent era, there have been a number of prehistoric dramas featuring cavemen coexisting with dinosaurs despite the fact that there was 64 million years separating both species in reality. From the 1980s onwards, films have opted for greater anthropological realism in this regard.

There is also a body of films from tv’s The Flintstones (1960-6) onwards that treat the prehistoric world with comic silliness. There are also a number of animated films about the lives of dinosaurs, cavepeople or prehistoric talking animals.

This also includes a number of works where people Time Travel from the present day to the prehistoric past. For films in which cavemen and dinosaurs are revived in the present day see Prehistoric Revivals.


100 Million BC (2008)

21 September 202121 September 2021

Rating: ★★

Time Portal to Prehistory/The Asylum Mockbuster

Director: Griff Furst
Actors: Michael Gross, Christopher Atkins, Greg Evigan, Phil Burke, …
Category: Science Fiction

10,000 BC (2008)

8 March 20089 April 2022

Rating: ★

Prehistoric Drama

Director: Roland Emmerich
Actors: Steven Strait, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis, Reece Ritchie, …
Category: Science Fiction

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

26 April 200121 April 2025

Rating: ★★★★★

Stargate/Amok AI/Human Evolution/Space Mission

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Actors: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Douglas Rains
Category: Science Fiction

The 25th Reich (2012)

26 February 201616 July 2019

Rating: ★★★

Time Travel, UFOs and Nazi-Ruled Alternate Future

Director: Stephen Amis
Actors: Jim Knobeloch, Serge Donardo, Jak Wyld, Angelo Salamanca, …
Category: Science Fiction

65 (2023)

15 April 202319 December 2024

Rating: ★

Trapped on Prehistoric Earth

Director: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
Actors: Adam Driver, Ariana Greenblatt, Chloe Coleman, Nika King
Category: Science Fiction

Aaaaaaaah! (2015)

11 October 201514 May 2021

Rating: ★★½

Alternate World That Operates on Pre-Verbal Behaviour

Director: Steve Oram
Actors: Steve Oram, Lucy Honigman, Toyah Willcox, Julian Rhind-Tutt, …
Category: Science Fiction

Adventures in Dinosaur City (1991)

9 April 199920 June 2025

Rating: 0­

Kids Trapped Inside a Dinosaur TV Show

Director: Brett Thompson
Actors: Omri Katz, Shawn Hoffman, Steven Anderson, R.A. Mihailoff, …
Category: Science Fiction

Age of the Hobbits (2012)

8 February 201312 April 2025

Rating: ★★

The Asylum Mockbuster/Epic Fantasy

Director: Joseph J. Lawson
Actors: Christopher Judge, Bai Ling, Kim Little
Category: Fantasy

Alpha (2018)

15 February 20197 August 2020

Rating: ★★★

Prehistoric Adventure

Director: Albert Hughes
Actors: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Johannes Haukur Johanesson, Marcin Kowakczyk, Natassia Malthe, …
Category: Science Fiction

At the Earth’s Core (1976)

7 November 200115 August 2022

Rating: ★★

Lost World at the Centre of the Earth/Edgar Rice Burroughs Adaptation

Director: Kevin Connor
Actors: Peter Cushing, Doug McClure, Caroline Munro
Category: Science Fiction

Beauties of the Night (1952)

27 May 199931 December 2024

Rating: ★★★★

Daydreamer’s Fantasies

Director: Rene Clair
Actors: Gerard Phillipe, Martine Carol, Gina Lollobrigida
Category: Fantasy

Cavegirl (1985)

22 November 20087 April 2020

Rating: ½

Nerd Time Travels Back to Prehistory Comedy

Director: David Oliver
Actors: Daniel Roebuck, Cindy Ann Thompson
Category: Science Fiction

Caveman (1981)

6 September 200019 October 2021

Rating: ★★

Prehistoric Spoof

Director: Carl Gottlieb
Actors: Ringo Starr, Shelley Long, Dennis Quaid, Barbara Bach, …
Category: Science Fiction

Clan of the Cave Bear (1986)

14 April 200121 April 2020

Rating: ★★

Prehistoric Feminism

Director: Michael Chapman
Actors: Daryl Hannah, James Remar, Pamela Reed
Category: Science Fiction

Creatures the World Forgot (1971)

3 April 200121 May 2020

Rating: ★★½

Prehistory/Caveman Drama

Director: Don Chaffey
Actors: Julie Ege, Tony Bonner, Robert John, Brian O'Shaughnessy, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Croods (2013)

31 March 201329 October 2024

Rating: ★★★

Animation/Prehistoric Comedy

Director: Kirk De Micco, Chris Sanders
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Cloris Leachman, …
Category: Fantasy

The Croods: A New Age (2020)

13 August 202113 August 2021

Rating: ★★★

Animation/Prehistoric Comedy

Director: Joel Crawford
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Peter Dinklage, …
Category: Fantasy

Dinosaur (2000)

22 May 200015 August 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Disney Animation/Talking Dinosaurs

Director: Eric Leighton, Ralph Zondag
Actors: D.B. Sweeney, Julianna Margulies, Samuel E. Wright, Joan Plowright, …
Category: Fantasy

The Dinosaur and the Missing Link: A Prehistoric Tragedy (1915)

3 January 201919 October 2021

Rating: ★★

Cavemen and Dinosaurs

Director: Willis O'Brien
Category: Science Fiction

Disaster Movie (2008)

4 July 20106 August 2024

Rating: ½

Parodies of Various Films

Director: Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer
Actors: Matt Lanter, Crista Flanagan, Nicole Parker, Kim Kardashian, …
Category: Science Fiction

Early Man (2018)

19 May 201828 December 2023

Rating: ★★

Aardman Animation/Prehistoric Sports Comedy

Director: Nick Park
Actors: Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams, Timothy Spall, …
Category: Fantasy

Fantasia (1940)

15 July 200218 April 2022

Rating: ★★★★★

Disney Animation and Music Anthology

Director: James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, Norman Ferguson, Jim Handley, …
Category: Fantasy

The Flintstones (1994)

1 February 200015 December 2020

Rating: ★★

Prehistoric Comedy/Cartoon in Live-Action

Director: Brian Levant
Actors: John Goodman, Rick Moranis, Rosie O'Donnell, Elizabeth Perkins, …
Category: Fantasy

The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000)

23 April 200031 March 2024

Rating: ★

Prehistoric Comedy/Cartoon in Live-Action

Director: Brian Levant
Actors: Mark Addy, Stephen Baldwin, Kristen Johnston, Jane Krakowski, …
Category: Fantasy

The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918)

2 March 20222 March 2022

Rating: ★★★

Vision of Prehistory

Director: Willis O'Brien
Category: Fantasy, Science Fiction

The Good Dinosaur (2015)

6 December 201531 August 2024

Rating: ★★★

Pixar Animation/Dinosaur Befriends Caveboy

Director: Peter Sohn
Actors: Raymond Ochoa, Jack Bright, Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, …
Category: Fantasy

Here (2024)

7 December 20247 December 2024

Rating: ★★½

One Room Across Multiple Eras of Time

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Actors: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Paul Bettany, Kelly Reilly, …
Category: Fantasy

The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (1981)

30 January 20056 April 2021

Rating: ★★★

Gonzo SF

Actors: Simon Jones, David Dixon, Mark Wing-Davey, Sandra Dickinson, …
Category: Science Fiction

Horror of the Blood Monsters (1970)

19 February 20132 October 2024

Rating: ½

Space Expedition to a Prehistoric Planet

Director: Al Adamson
Actors: John Carradine, Robert Dix, Joey Benson, Jennifer Bishop
Category: Science Fiction

Ice Age 2 (2006)

21 June 200627 October 2021

Rating: ★

Animation/Prehistoric Talking Animals

Director: Carlos Saldanha
Actors: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, …
Category: Fantasy

Ice Age (2002)

22 March 200228 December 2019

Rating: ★★★

Animation/Prehistoric Talking Animals

Director: Chris Wedge, Carlos Saldanha
Actors: John Leguizamo, Ray Romano, Denis Leary, Goran Visnic, …
Category: Fantasy

Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)

17 July 200913 December 2024

Rating: ★★

Animation/Prehistoric Talking Animals

Director: Carlos Saldanha, Mike Thurmeier
Actors: John Leguizamo, Ray Romano, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, …
Category: Fantasy

Ice Age: Collision Course (2016)

9 September 201610 December 2020

Rating: 0­

Animation/Prehistoric Talking Animals

Director: Mike Thurmeier, Galen Tan Chu
Actors: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Simon Pegg, …
Category: Fantasy

Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)

20 July 201213 December 2024

Rating: ★

Animation/Prehistoric Talking Animals

Director: Steve Martino, Michael Thurmeier
Actors: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Peter Dinklage, …
Category: Fantasy

Iron Sky: The Coming Race (2019)

18 May 20193 November 2022

Rating: ★★

Nazi Moonbase/Alien Lizard People from the Centre of the Earth

Director: Timo Vuorensola
Actors: Lara Rossi, Udo Kier, Julia Dietze, Tom Green, …
Category: Science Fiction

Journey to the Beginning of Time (1955)

30 July 201522 December 2021

Rating: ★★

Journey Through Prehistory

Director: Karel Zeman
Category: Science Fiction

Journey to the Center of Time (1967)

12 February 200522 December 2021

Rating: ½

Time Travel

Director: David L. Hewitt
Actors: Anthony Eisley, Scott Brady, Abraham Sofaer
Category: Science Fiction

The Land Before Time (1988)

12 May 200023 December 2024

Rating: ★★½

Animation/Talking Dinosaurs

Director: Don Bluth
Actors: Gabriel Damon, Candace Hutson, Will Rynn, Judith Barsi, …
Category: Fantasy

The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving (1995)

2 February 200324 December 2024

Rating: ★★½

Animation/Talking Dinosaurs

Director: Roy Allen Smith
Actors: Scott McAfee, Candace Hutson, Jeff Bennett, Rob Paulsen, …
Category: Fantasy

The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists (1995)

15 December 200524 December 2024

Rating: ★★

Animation/Talking Dinosaurs

Director: Roy Allen Smith
Actors: Scott McAfee, Charles Durning, Linda Gray, Candace Hutson, …
Category: Fantasy

The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island (1997)

5 July 200424 December 2024

Rating: ★★

Animation/Talking Dinosaurs

Director: Charles Grosvenor
Actors: Rob Paulsen, Jeff Bennett, Christina Pickles, Kenneth Mars, …
Category: Fantasy

Land of the Lost (2009)

11 June 200923 December 2024

Rating: 0­

TV Series Comedy Remake/Prehistoric Lost World

Director: Brad Silberling
Actors: Will Ferrell, Anna Friel, Danny McBride, Leonard Nimoy
Category: Science Fiction

The Land That Time Forgot (1974)

6 May 200023 December 2024

Rating: ★★★½

Prehistoric Lost World

Director: Kevin Connor
Actors: Doug McClure, Susan Penhaligon, John McEnery, Anthony Ainley
Category: Science Fiction

The Land Unknown (1957)

2 August 20014 November 2019

Rating: ★★

Prehistoric Lost World

Director: Virgil Vogel
Actors: Jock Mahoney, Shawn Smith, Henry Brandon, William Reynolds, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Last Dinosaur (1977)

11 July 201715 August 2022

Rating: ★★

Prehistoric Lost World

Director: Alex Grasshoff, Tom Kotani
Actors: Richard Boone, Joan Van Ark, Steven Keats
Category: Science Fiction

The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time (2018)

14 December 201814 June 2021

Rating: ★★

Storm of Sharks/Deliberately Bad Film

Director: Anthony C. Ferrante
Actors: Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Cassandra Scerbo, Judah Friedlander, …
Category: Horror

Lucy (2014)

27 July 20142 January 2025

Rating: ★★★

Drug Grants Enhanced Intelligence and Superpowers/Action Film

Director: Luc Besson
Actors: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Min-sik Choi, Amr Waked, …
Category: Science Fiction

Meg 2: The Trench (2023)

2 September 2023

Rating: ★★★

Giant Prehistoric Killer Sharks

Director: Ben Wheatley
Actors: Jason Statham, Wu Jing, Sophia Cai, Cliff Curtis, …
Category: Science Fiction

Minions (2015)

12 July 201513 August 2024

Rating: ★★

Animation/Cute Mischievous Creatures

Director: Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin
Actors: Pierre Coffin, Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, …
Category: Science Fiction

Mr. Nobody (2009)

3 July 20108 January 2025

Rating: ★★

Alternate Life Pathways

Director: Jaco Van Dormael
Actors: Jared Leto, Sarah Polley, Diane Kruger, Rhys Ifans, …
Category: Science Fiction

One Million B.C. (1940)

14 November 201929 April 2024

Rating: ★★★

Cavemen vs Dinosaurs/Prehistoric Drama

Director: Hal Roach, hal Roach Jr
Actors: Victor Mature, Carole Landis, Lon Chaney Jr
Category: Science Fiction

One Million Years B.C. (1966)

11 February 200121 November 2023

Rating: ★★★

Cavemen vs Dinosaurs/Prehistoric Drama

Director: Don Chaffey
Actors: Raquel Welch, John Richardson, Martine Beswick, Robert Brown
Category: Science Fiction

The People That Time Forgot (1977)

21 April 20083 February 2025

Rating: ★★★

Prehistoric Lost World

Director: Kevin Connor
Actors: Patrick Wayne, Sarah Douglas, Doug McClure, Thorley Walters, …
Category: Science Fiction

Prehistoric Women (1950)

13 November 201813 November 2018

Rating: 0­

Prehistoric Drama

Director: Gregg G. Tallas
Actors: Laurette Luez, Allan Nixon, Joan Shawlee, Judy Landon, …
Category: Science Fiction

Primal: Tales of Savagery (2019)

30 May 202230 May 2022

Rating: ★★★★

Animation/Prehistory

Director: Genndy Tartakovsky
Actors: Aaron LaPlante, Tom Kenny
Category: Science Fiction

Quest for Fire (1981)

3 May 20047 August 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Prehistory/Caveman Adventure

Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Actors: Everett McGill, Rae Dawn Chong, Ron Perlman
Category: Science Fiction

Slave Girls (1967)

12 March 20139 July 2020

Rating: ★★½

Prehistoric Women-Ruled World/Hammer Film

Director: Michael Carreras
Actors: Martine Beswick, Edina Ronay, Sydney Bromley, Carol White, …
Category: Fantasy

Synchronic (2019)

23 January 202127 January 2023

Rating: ★★★

Drug That Causes People to Travel Through Time

Director: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead
Actors: Anthony Mackie, Jamie Dornan, Katie Aselton, Ally Ioannides, …
Category: Science Fiction

Teenage Caveman (1958)

12 May 20043 April 2020

Rating: ★★

Post-Holocaust Cavemen

Director: Roger Corman
Actors: Robert Vaughn, Frank DeKova, Leslie Bradley, Sarah Marshall, …
Category: Science Fiction

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

30 June 200922 July 2023

Rating: ★★

Live-Action Transformer Robots

Director: Michael Bay
Actors: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, John Turturro, Ramon Rodriguez, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Tree of Life (2011)

4 June 201112 April 2025

Rating: ★★★★½

Lost American Childhood/The Evolution of Life on Earth

Director: Terrence Malick
Actors: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Tye Sheridan, …
Category: Fantasy

Valley of the Dragons (1961)

25 August 20142 December 2024

Rating: ★

Jules Verne Adaptation/Prehistoric Lost World on a Comet

Director: Edward L. Bernds
Actors: Sean McClory, Cesare Danova, Joan Staley, Danielle De Metz, …
Category: Science Fiction

Walking With Dinosaurs (2013)

22 December 201312 April 2020

Rating: ★

Animation/Talking Dinosaurs

Director: Barry Cook, Neil Nightingale
Actors: Charlie Rowe, Karl Urban, Angourie Rice, Justin Long, …
Category: Fantasy

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970)

25 August 200224 December 2023

Rating: ★★½

Cavemen vs Dinosaurs

Director: Val Guest
Actors: Victoria Vetri, Robin Hawdron, Patrick Allen, Imogen Hassall
Category: Science Fiction

Willy McBean and His Magic Machine (1965)

12 May 20049 September 2021

Rating: ★★★

Children’s Time Travel Film

Director: Arthur Rankin Jr
Actors: Billie Richards, Larry Mann, Paul Soles, James Doohan
Category: Science Fiction

Year One (2009)

30 January 201017 June 2025

Rating: ★★

Cavemen Stumble Through the Old Testament Comedy

Director: Harold Ramis
Actors: Jack Black, Michael Cera, David Cross, Oliver Platt, …
Category: Fantasy

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Theme Essays

  • Films About Atlantis
  • Werewolf Films
  • Virtual Reality
  • Imprisonment Thrillers
  • Films Depicting NASA and the Space Program
  • Human Bloodsports and Death Games
  • Animals Attack Films
  • Films About Plague and Pandemic
  • Disaster Movies
  • Steampunk Films
  • Documentaries
  • Films About Halloween
  • Films About Prophecy
  • Magicians and Sorcerers
  • Secret Societies
  • Real-Life People in Fiction
  • Techno-Thrillers
  • Twins in Fantastic Cinema
  • Asylums
  • Possession Films
  • Films About Imaginary and Magical Lands
  • Religion in Fantastic Cinema
  • Romantic Comedies
  • Film Noir
  • Spy Films
  • Jekyll and Hyde Films
  • Films That Make Dubious Claims to Being True Stories
  • Coming of Age Stories in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Cryogenics and Suspended Animation
  • Alternate History Films
  • Disturbed Psychology as Portrayed on Film
  • Law Enforcement in Fantastic Cinema
  • Weird Westerns
∧

Copyright Richard Scheib 1999-2025

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