Film Review: THE DUNGEONMASTER (aka RAGEWAR) (1985)

Fantasy and science fiction collide in the Charles Band production The Dungeonmaster (aka Ragewar) (1985) which sees Paul Bradford (Jeffrey Byron) getting sucked into an alternate world by wizard Mestema (Richard Moll) who thinks Paul’s an opponent ripe to be put into his games of death.  Mestema takes Paul’s girlfriend Gwen (Leslie Wing) hostage in order to make sure that he does exactly as he is told.  Mestema puts Paul through a series of games and challenges to see if he is a worthy opponent and if he survives each challenge then he gets one step closer to saving Gwen and getting out of the Mestema’s hell alive. 

The unique aspect of the film is that each challenge Paul is given is set in a different world which is directed by a different person making the film appear more like an anthology film.  In addition to Band directing a segment, segments are directed by David Allen, John Carl Buechler, Steven Ford, Peter Manoogian, Ted Nicolaou, and Rosemarie Turko.  Each bring a unique style to their segments while contributing to the overall look and feel of the film.

Although dated, the film itself has an ‘80s fantasy film quality that makes it one of the more entertaining films to come out of the Band camp of films.  Moll makes the most of his role as only he can keeping the film light and campy in the way expected of these types of films.  If you’re a fan of these types of fantasy films then this film is right up your alley.

Film Review: BLACK FOREST (2012)

Writer Frank H. Woodward has crafted a very interesting story of fairy-tales coming to life in the film Black Forest (2012).  Ben Cross is Cazmar, a local tourist peddler who takes people into the wild to catch glimpses of fairies and other otherworldly things only most of the tourists never believe him.  On this latest trek he’s assembled a great many people from different backgrounds to go with him including Saxon (Shaffer L’Abidine) who has studied folktales and legends.  Saxon and the unsuspecting tourists get more than they bargained for when one of the members of the group’s newborn baby is stolen by a fairy and they discover that they have crossed over into a fairy-tale land. 

They will need to start believing in the unbelievable in order to rescue the baby and figure out how to survive in a world where the fairy tales they’ve grown up with are all out to kill (or eat) them.  Time is running out for the group as a big bad wolf is also hunting them along with all the other creatures that inhabit the strange land.

Not a bad film considering that fairy-tales are kind of old hat but a lot of the success of the film comes from the very capable ensemble cast which work together to help create the fairy-tale world.  There is also a lot of great production design given to the film and even though the werewolf sequences aren’t the best there is plenty of other great sequences in the film that over shadow this.  Cross is at his most menacingly disturbed yet he always seems to be having fun (and in on the joke) making for an entertaining film.  I kind of wished he had been in the film more.

Not a complete time waster but will provide a pretty entertaining night at the movies even if you forget about it the next day.

Book Review: HEAVY METAL: THE MOVIE by Carl Macek

In 1981 one of the greatest animated features was unleashed upon the world which redefined the way in which animation was seen.  That film was Heavy Metal (1981) and it was produced by legendary film maker Ivan Reitman based on the Heavy Metal graphic magazine and incorporated animators and styles from all over the world to help contributed to the anthology style film.  In the book Heavy Metal: The Movie writer Carl Macek breaks down each of the segments and their respective animators. 

This is an amazing book not only on the making of a cult classic film but a look at some of the most influential animators of the ‘80s.  Some of the stories are based on actual stories from the magazine as well as many original stories (or inspired by stories).  Some of the artists whose influences can be seen in the film include Michael Ploog, Richard Corben, Bernie Wrightson and Chris Achilleos, to name a few.   Animation is one of the most complicated forms of art out there but each segment, as you’ll read in the book, utilizes a multitude of classic and new styles of animation (or at least new for the time).  

This book gives an excellent insight into the process of creating a feature length animated film.  There are hundreds of sketches, drawings, stills and story boards to help illustrate the complexities of creating the film.  What the film does extremely well and what will be a big draw for readers is the fact that Macek delves into the many changes that took place during the production of the film especially in regards to what was changed (or dropped altogether).

If you are a fan of the film Heavy Metal (or even the magazine) and animation then this is a great look at these types of films and is a great addition to anyone’s library.

Book Review: TOP 100 FANTASY MOVIES by Gary Gerani

Fantastic Press and writer Gary Gerani have started a series of film books detailing the best in cinematic genre films.  They’ve already released one on horror and sci-fi films and now they’ve tackled fantasy films with Top 100 Fantasy Movies.  This is a book designed not just for fantasy film fans but all film enthusiasts. 

What I love about Gerani’s books and most importantly this book is that he has put together a comprehensive list of some of the greatest fantasy films from all of film history.  There are also many International films as well.  Unlike his previous two books, there are many films in this collection I’ve never even heard of (but now will actively go look out for).  The main reason many of these films have been chosen is not just because they are great films but because they had a profound effect on the genre and on the history of film itself.

All of the entries include brief credits and a synopsis but it is in Gerani’s “Why It’s Important” section of each film that really informs the reader.  It’s a common mistake (or overlook) that audiences who see an older film for the first time is displaced by what they are seeing forgetting that the film they are watching was made in a different time period with different technical achievements and story requirements.  Gerani does an excellent job of reminding readers why a particular film was so important for the time in which it is made as well as why it is relevant now.  So many “Best of…” lists consists of more modern films forgetting everything that came before but Gerani never forgets this an in fact there is a great many films on his list that were made in the ‘30s-‘50s as well as films from all over the world.

Now, I know that I mentioned before that there are some International films on Gerani’s list but it is not completely comprehensive but it does include some of the most influential such as Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Donkey Skin (1970), The Seventh Seal (1957), The Miracle of Marcelino (1955), and Beauty And the Beast (1946), to name a few.  This is still a great sampling of films for audiences who may not have explored fantasy films from other countries.

Another great aspect of the book (which includes all the books in the series) is the plethora of posters and photos that accompany each of the entries.  This is a great book for film lovers that’s very informative and enlightening about fantasy films that would be a great addition to anyone’s library.