Fantasy has traditionally been dominated by high-profile franchises like Harry Potter, Recreation of Thrones, and The Lord of the Rings. Nonetheless, there are many different lesser-known titles within the sword-and-sorcery style which have fallen by the cracks of the mainstream whereas nonetheless delivering the identical adventuresome spirit of awe and surprise.
Whether or not it is ’80s cult classics or 2010s fantasy epics, the previous half-century of cinema harbors loads of ignored deep cuts which have didn’t garner acclaim from a wider viewers. Bizarre, campy, and infrequently off-beat of their material, these movies are the life-blood that fuels the larger fantasy fandom, regardless of their long-overdue lack of credit score.
Within the Title Of The King
German filmmaker Uwe Boll’s Within the Title of the King trilogy is a weird but bold set of movies that boast an unbelievable line-up of Hollywood A-listers, together with the likes of Jason Statham, Ron Perlman, Burt Reynolds, Matthew Lillard, Dolph Lundgren, and even Goodfellas‘ personal Ray Liotta.
The franchise began as a standalone fantasy film led by Jason Statham, earlier than swapping out the actor for an additional motion hero within the type of Dolph Lundgren for the sequel. The third and remaining installment traded leads once more, this time going with Dominic Purcell.
A constant theme of the franchise is the fish-out-of-water major character. Every major protagonist is a time traveler from fashionable instances thrust right into a fantasy world stuffed with monsters. Oddly sufficient, this recurring idea has nothing to do with the supply materials.
Based mostly on the Dungeon Siege video video games, this sword-and-sorcery trilogy was extensively panned by audiences and critics alike, with the primary entry within the sequence even receiving an abysmal 4% on Rotten Tomatoes. Nonetheless, the sequence is value watching if for nothing else apart from it being a fascinatingly star-studded mess that really earns the label “so-bad-it’s-good.”
The Scorpion King
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s breakout position in The Mummy Returns spawned a flurry of sequels centered round his common antagonist Mathayus “The Scorpion King,” a ruthless Egyptian warrior whose 5000-year-old exploits have been cataloged and mythologized within the common 2002 movie of the identical title.
Although The Scorpion King initially carried out nicely, grossing almost 3 times its $60 million finances, it would not be till 2008 that we’d obtain a direct-to-DVD follow-up, wherein Johnson was succeeded by Michael Copon. Since then, actors Victor Webster and Zach McGowan have each taken up the mantle of Mathayus, but Johnson nonetheless proves irreplaceable because the titular warrior-king.
Deathstalker
For those who’re a fan of tacky fantasy-adventure flicks, it would not get extra iconic than Deathstalker, a sword-and-sorcery movie within the fashion of Conan the Barbarian whose over-the-top motion makes it match for the littered shelf amassing mud behind the teenage clerk of an ’80s video rental store.
Following the titular warrior’s magical quest for a chalice, amulet, and sword, this Argentine-American image kickstarted a franchise with all of the tell-tale indicators of a fantasy epic: muscular adversaries, scantily-clad heroines, and mysterious sorcerers whose antics propel the plot ahead. Charming, tongue-in-cheek, and chock-full of camp, Deathstalker is probably the best instance of the bygone low-budget fantasy style—flaws and all.
Beastmaster
One other franchise steeped within the fantasy epic style is Beastmaster, a franchise primarily based on sci-fi and fantasy author Andre Alice Norton’s 1959 novel The Beast Grasp, which—enjoyable truth—had its plot dramatically overhauled and rewritten for the silver display to make it extra akin to the favored sword-and-sorcery adventures of the early ’80s.
In Beastmaster, Dar (Marc Singer) is a strong warrior who can talk with animals, a capability he makes use of when battling cultists, difficult warlords, and even touring throughout time on this campy, out-of-bounds sequence.
After the success of Beastmaster, Marc Singer’s Dar acquired a sequel – full with a time journey twist – in Beastmaster 2: Via the Portal of Time. Regardless that it bombed on the field workplace, the Beastmaster franchise survived, albeit outdoors of theaters. The following entry was a made-for-TV movie, Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus.
Moreover, the franchise additionally acquired a TV sequence that ran for 3 seasons from 1999 to 2002, all within the spirit of the unique early ’80s epic. There’s since been discussions of a reboot, however to this point, any continuation of the Beastmaster franchise to take form.
Witch Mountain
Popularized within the twenty first century with the Dwayne Johnson-led 2009 reboot, the Witch Mountain movies truly originated within the mid ’70s with Disney’s hit movie Escape to Witch Mountain, an exciting adventure-fantasy about two orphaned youngsters with unbelievable psychic powers on the run from an evil millionaire eager on exploiting their profound talents.
What’s distinctive in regards to the Witch Mountain franchise is its eccentric mix of fantasy and sci-fi parts, which add exceptional stakes to an in any other case typical Disney journey. Although its reboot didn’t kick off a brand new wave of movies, the sequence’ run within the Seventies is as healthful as it’s iconic, one thing loads of different fantasy titles can’t attest to.
Willow
Some of the star-studded fantasy epics of the late ’80s is the cult traditional Willow, a George Lucas movie directed by Ron Howard that stars the nice Warwick Davis because the titular lead, alongside a daring efficiency from the late Val Kilmer because the gritty, charismatic swordsman “Madmartigan.”
Launched in 1988, Willow was a modest success on the field workplace, raking in almost $140 million worldwide on a $35 million finances. Nonetheless, followers of the movie did not obtain a follow-up entry to the cult traditional till 2022, when Disney+ launched an eight-part sequence set 20 years after the unique movie that follows the standard farmer’s ongoing adventures.
Mythica
Created by Arrowstorm Leisure, the Mythica franchise is a multi-part fantasy epic that follows Marek (Melanie Stone), a younger lady who rises out of slavery to develop into a magician in a world of highly effective monsters and darkish necromancy. Within the sequence, Marek assembles a rag-tag group of fighters towards forces match to rival the best villains in all of fantasy.
The Mythica creators utilized Kickstarter to boost over $90,000 for the primary movie alone.
Aside from its humble origins, Mythica‘s biggest achievement is its creation of a franchise produced and propelled by followers of the fantasy style, weathering shoestring budgets and a scarcity of mainstream consideration all of the whereas. But, regardless of this adversity, the creators have by no means delivered a product absent of the guts that set in movement the best indie fantasy sequence but.
