Director – Fred Olen Ray (Evil Spawn, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers)
Starring – Lyle Waggoner (Wonder Woman, Love Me Deadly), Russ Tamblyn (Twin Peaks, Django Unchained), and Blake Bahner (Thrilled to Death, Deadly Breed)
Release Date – 1991
Rating – 2.5/5
I don’t know how many of you look forward to my Tromatic Thursday reviews but I want to apologize for skipping this Thursday’s. Some of you are friends with me on Facebook and saw the news. Either way I recently became a father…again. My wife and I celebrated the birth of our second daughter on Wednesday which took precedent over my reviews.
Last week I wanted a break from the absurd and took to the Troma collection for something a little different when I came across Wizards of the Demon Swordwhich is one of the newer acquisitions to my collection. I picked this one up a few months ago at Cinema Wasteland at the Troma table. The price was right so I jumped on it. A sword and sandal Troma flick? I’m down.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows the warrior Thane as he escorts the young Melina across a dangerous land to find her father that was imprisoned by the evil Lord Khoura. Along the way they encounter thieves, swordsmen, prehistoric creatures, and other fabled creatures on a quest to save her father and stop a madman from destroying the world.**Spoiler Alert**
I didn’t know what to expect from Wizards of the Demon Sword. I was hoping for a traditional sword and sandal fantasy adventure but the film was a little more cheesier than I expected. Fred Olen Ray said he used sets used over from other film productions before Troma took it over.
The acting in this one is watchable but the cast just doesn’t fit the film. The characters are very clichéd but written with a lot of personality that was not brought to life. The cast falls flat.
The story is very campy and unoriginal which isn’t uncommon for this style of fantasy film that follows in the footsteps of Conan but fails to bring action to the screen. Viewers watch these types of films to watch sword fights, beautiful women in peril, and beasts. Instead, we get out of shape men panting as they hold swords that are just a little too heavy for them and a story that struggles to find it’s footing.
Finally, the film surprised me with the fun stop motion and the beasts. I also enjoyed the sets as well. The film really did have the look but lacked many of the other aspects. Overall, Wizards of the Demon Sword is a lackluster sword and sandal film that just doesn’t fit in well with the Troma catalogue.
