Wizards of the Demon Sword (1991)

Lack of good storyline.

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

WIZARDS OF THE DEMON SWORD is a rubbishy sword and sorcery flick made by Fred Olen Ray and put out by Troma. It basically consists of a handful of characters wandering around in the desert (it was shot in California) and battling off henchmen in some lame sword fights where the blows are slow and sometimes don't even connect. There's brief topless nudity from a random starlet and spliced-in dinosaur footage from PLANET OF THE DINOSAURS. Poor old Russ Tamblyn looks embarrassed to be here while Michael Berryman is wasted in a small henchman role. The less said about Blake Bahner's turn as wooden hero Thane the better. At least nobody can be surprised about the quality of this film given its obvious pedigree.

Not much is expected from low-to-no-budget Sword & Sorcery film, and this one delivers a little bit more than not much.First the airing of grievances: The dialog is stilted often difficult to listen to. The campy synthesizer background music is so bad that it can be distracting. The acting is somewhat better than average for the genre, which is to say it is usually poor but sometime okay. Lyle Wagner and Russ Tamblyn are good. Lawrence Tierney absolutely shines, but his screen time is much too short. The rest of the cast never really rises above the level of acceptable.This film is not without merits, however. It delivers what one expects: sword fighting; a lovely woman in need of rescue; an evil wizard in need of vanquishing. The underlying story is quite good. It was well developed and internally consistent, and when everything is finally explained there aren't any major plot holes. Some parts of the story are kind of clever, and certainly better than what one usually gets from this type of movie.If you are able to tolerate a sub-par movie for a better than average story, watch this. If you need crisp & snappy dialog or subtle & thoughtful acting, watch anything else.

It's been awhile since I last posted one of these user comments - and what a winner I've returned with. Wizards of the Demon Sword was made during a period rife with extremely bad sword and sorcerer movies, yet it has the dubious distinction of being about the worst I've thus far run across. It didn't take long for me to realize just how much I was going to dislike the movie. As soon as the film's supposed hero appeared on-screen, I found myself instantly and negatively comparing him to the hero of another putrid sword and sorcerer movie, Deathstalker II. And any comparison with that jackass is definitely not a good thing. Antoher big problem is the plot. Wizard of the Demon Sword's plot isn't worth devoting a minute of time or an ounce of effort to. It's a mish-mash of recycled ideas that any fan of this genre will have seen dozens of times - and usually done much better. In fact, nothing in the movie is worth devoting much time and effort to. So I'll wrap this up with by saying that the tired plot, the poor acting, the non-existent special effects, the dull screenplay, and the lousy direction make Wizards of the Demon Sword a poor excuse of a movie that offers nothing in the way of entertainment. A 1/10 is almost overstating it. In the end, I was left asking myself what in the world Russ Tamblyn, Lawrence Tierney, and even Michael Berryman were doing in a stinker like this.

Wizard ofthe Demon sword is a must see for all the "sword and sorcery" fans. It is one of the best movies from the great movie maker Fred Olen Ray (also Bikini Drive-inn, Evill Toons, Cyberzone and a lot more). Great movie, produced by Troma.