This 1983 movie was clearly inspired by Quest for Fire (1981), Clash of
the Titans (1981), Conan the Barbarian (1982), and a dash of Beastmaster
(1982). The story opens on a beach with a band of ghostly figures,
presumably gods, preparing Ilias for his quest into the world. Ilias'€™
father, Kronos, gives him words of advice and a magical bow. Ilias
looks a lot like Perseus (Harry Hamlin) from Clash of the Titans and his
father has a Zeus-like appearance.
Next we come to the realm of Ocron (Sabrina Siani), a witch who claims the power to raise the sun. She is mostly naked, usually wearing only a spiked bikini bottom and a golden mask that encases her head. She likes to writhe on her bed with snakes, reminding me of the Snake Cult from Conan. During one of these writhing romps, she has a vision that a faceless man who looks suspiciously like Ilias will kill her with a magic bow. She sends her minions to capture this stranger and his bow. Her minions are gnolls and masked humans.
Next we find a young woman with braided hair and skin painted white, very reminiscent of Rae-Dawn Chong in Quest for Fire. She is obliviously idling near a stream while some minions of Ocron watch from the tall grass. A snake slithers toward her, ready to strike. Before it can bite, its head is impaled by an arrow. Ilias makes an awkward attempt to befriend the girl but she runs away. Then Ocron'™s minions attack. Ilias drops several of them with his bow but then, suddenly, he discovers that he has run out of arrows. He sort of stands there dumbfounded for a moment before running and promptly tripping over his own feet. The minions are on him and it looks like our hero is doomed as soon as the movie has begun.
Enter Mace. Armed with what looks like a nunchaku fashioned from a pair of thigh bones, Mace gives the minions a beating and sends those that survive into a headlong flight. Mace is a burly fellow in caveman furs though he is oddly clean-shaven. He'€™s an amiable fellow who tells Ilias that his enemies call him Mace. When Ilias asked what his friends call him, he declares that he has no friends. Nonetheless, he befriends Ilias. The two have a variety of adventures that too often involve one or the other being carried away by Ocron's minions only to then be rescued by the one still at liberty. Mace has a fondness for animals, refusing to kill them but he is willing to eat one that someone else killed. On several occasions, he is either saved by animals or guided by them.
The setting is generally Stone Age (crude stone axes are the most common weapon), which makes Ilias and his magic bow an anomaly. Ocron and her surprisingly well-made cave and metal-worked mask are also more advanced. Ocron uses magic to teleport and also to summon an even greater being than herself, Zora. Zora is completely encased in square plates of metal linked into a body suit. He proves to have the power to polymorph. There is a valley filled with zombies and a rocky region inhabited by cob-web covered beasts with bird-like voices. The setting is so unusual and unique that it makes the movie more interesting than it has a right to be. Sure, it's excessively gory and is populated by one-dimensional characters but that is somewhat mitigated by the glorious weirdness.
The Magic Bow deserves comment. Ilias has his arrows sheathed in his boot, which is a strange choice of quivers. He appears to have only four at any one time and it is never explained how his supply replenishes. But actual arrows are only for the novice with the bow. Once the user overcomes his fear, the true power is revealed. By pulling back on the string, a glowing blue arrow appears and, when fired, will split into multiple arrows (seemed to be a limit of 5) that unerringly strike enemies. Yeah, that's a powerful bow, more so considering the Stone Age weapons of his opponents.
Like many fantasy movies of the era, this one is beset by a constant mist. Yes, it is sometimes so foggy that it is hard to see what is happening. Worse, the cinematographer just loved to have the sun in the middle of the frame. All too often, you find yourself staring into the sun to watch the film which proves the greatest fault of the movie.
The movie is available on Youtube though it is grainy, which is not helped by the sun constantly in your eyes and the heavy fog. To my absolute astonishment, this ranks as one of the top 100 Sword & Sorcery movies (#77), which shows how weak the field is. Even Dungeons & Dragons (2000) made the list (#98).
Next we come to the realm of Ocron (Sabrina Siani), a witch who claims the power to raise the sun. She is mostly naked, usually wearing only a spiked bikini bottom and a golden mask that encases her head. She likes to writhe on her bed with snakes, reminding me of the Snake Cult from Conan. During one of these writhing romps, she has a vision that a faceless man who looks suspiciously like Ilias will kill her with a magic bow. She sends her minions to capture this stranger and his bow. Her minions are gnolls and masked humans.
Next we find a young woman with braided hair and skin painted white, very reminiscent of Rae-Dawn Chong in Quest for Fire. She is obliviously idling near a stream while some minions of Ocron watch from the tall grass. A snake slithers toward her, ready to strike. Before it can bite, its head is impaled by an arrow. Ilias makes an awkward attempt to befriend the girl but she runs away. Then Ocron'™s minions attack. Ilias drops several of them with his bow but then, suddenly, he discovers that he has run out of arrows. He sort of stands there dumbfounded for a moment before running and promptly tripping over his own feet. The minions are on him and it looks like our hero is doomed as soon as the movie has begun.
Enter Mace. Armed with what looks like a nunchaku fashioned from a pair of thigh bones, Mace gives the minions a beating and sends those that survive into a headlong flight. Mace is a burly fellow in caveman furs though he is oddly clean-shaven. He'€™s an amiable fellow who tells Ilias that his enemies call him Mace. When Ilias asked what his friends call him, he declares that he has no friends. Nonetheless, he befriends Ilias. The two have a variety of adventures that too often involve one or the other being carried away by Ocron's minions only to then be rescued by the one still at liberty. Mace has a fondness for animals, refusing to kill them but he is willing to eat one that someone else killed. On several occasions, he is either saved by animals or guided by them.
The setting is generally Stone Age (crude stone axes are the most common weapon), which makes Ilias and his magic bow an anomaly. Ocron and her surprisingly well-made cave and metal-worked mask are also more advanced. Ocron uses magic to teleport and also to summon an even greater being than herself, Zora. Zora is completely encased in square plates of metal linked into a body suit. He proves to have the power to polymorph. There is a valley filled with zombies and a rocky region inhabited by cob-web covered beasts with bird-like voices. The setting is so unusual and unique that it makes the movie more interesting than it has a right to be. Sure, it's excessively gory and is populated by one-dimensional characters but that is somewhat mitigated by the glorious weirdness.
The Magic Bow deserves comment. Ilias has his arrows sheathed in his boot, which is a strange choice of quivers. He appears to have only four at any one time and it is never explained how his supply replenishes. But actual arrows are only for the novice with the bow. Once the user overcomes his fear, the true power is revealed. By pulling back on the string, a glowing blue arrow appears and, when fired, will split into multiple arrows (seemed to be a limit of 5) that unerringly strike enemies. Yeah, that's a powerful bow, more so considering the Stone Age weapons of his opponents.
Like many fantasy movies of the era, this one is beset by a constant mist. Yes, it is sometimes so foggy that it is hard to see what is happening. Worse, the cinematographer just loved to have the sun in the middle of the frame. All too often, you find yourself staring into the sun to watch the film which proves the greatest fault of the movie.
The movie is available on Youtube though it is grainy, which is not helped by the sun constantly in your eyes and the heavy fog. To my absolute astonishment, this ranks as one of the top 100 Sword & Sorcery movies (#77), which shows how weak the field is. Even Dungeons & Dragons (2000) made the list (#98).
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