Anchor
Bay | Review by Dan Taylor
The
success of CONAN THE BARBARIAN and its sequel
spawned a nifty little cottage industry
of low-budget sword and sandal flicks in
the early to mid-1980s. And why not? Have
a couple buff dudes with giant swords and
topless chicks with giant hooters run around
a desert setting for 90 minutes and exploitation
fans'd be lining up for a quick check-your-brain-at-the-door
trip through time.
So when THE SWORD AND THE
SORCERER turned up on cable back in the
day I must've watched it, oh, thirty times.
Let's see, it was chock full of gore and
grue, some righteous demon transformations
done on a budget, and titties, titties,
titties!
Watching it in the comfort
of my home on DVD did nothing to dispel
the flick's brilliance.
When Cromwell (Richard Lynch)
shows up at the flick's outset you're pretty
sure he's up to no good. And when you find
out that he's got a witch tagging along,
you know nothing good's gonna come of this.
Never one to disappoint, Cromwell conjures
a nasty demon, there's a wall of faces,
and we're treated to beheadings, shooting
swords and hands nailed to trees –
all in the first 17 minutes! And I didn't
even mention the groovy curly wig Lynch
sports!
Seems that the kid who gets
his hand nailed to the tree is Fallon, son
of the king and queen that Lynch's characters
knocks off in his quest for power. Years
later Lynch is set to marry some chick and
squash a rebellion, but doesn't expect a
now-grown Fallon – played by Lee Horsley
of TV's MATT HOUSTON – to turn up and
ruin the day.
Fallon's got a score to settle
with Lynch and bands together with fellow
mercenaries – including an out of place
Joe Regalbuto and Reb Brown – to storm
the castle, restore order to the kingdom,
and get the chick. But before that can happen
we're treated to multiple sword battles,
tongues cut out, a guy's face pressed against
a sharpening wheel, lots of talk about sword
sizes and lines like "Now I poke you
with my dagger, eh?" and "I can't
wait to bed you wench, you raise my expectations."
Which would all be great and
the flick'd probably still rank as a true
classic of the genre and the era. But I'd
be neglecting The Crucifixion Scene, which
is simply one of the great set pieces of
1980s exploitation cinema. If you're looking
for the definition of a Price of Admission
Scene, this is IT!
Directed by Albert Pyun (CAPTAIN
AMERICA, BRAIN SMASHER: A LOVE STORY),
SWORD is one of those sleepers that's deserving
of its rep among fans. Too bad TALES OF
THE ANCIENT EMPIRE – a sequel mentioned
Bond-like in the closing credits –
never materialized.
