The Island of the Fishmen (1979)

Original title: L'isola Degli Uomini Pesce

Adventure/Sci-Fi/Horror. Italy. Starring Richard Johnson, Barbara Bach, Claudio Cassinelli, Joseph Cotten & Beryl Cunningham. Directed by Sergio Martino.

DVD: NoShame (Italy). English/italian language options. Widescreen. Nice quality.

Shipwrecked criminals, fishmen, mad scientist, sunken city with gold treasure, greedy sociopathic aristocrat, voodoo natives, jungle traps, volcanic eruption, Barbara Bach... what more could you possibly want? A wonderful adventure film! 4/5

The Barbarians (1987)

Fantasy. Italy/USA. Starring Peter Paul, David Paul, Richard Lynch, Eva La Rue & Michael Berryman. Directed by Ruggero Deodato.

DVD: Stormovie (Italy). English or italian language. Widescreen. A very dissapointing DVD release, looks like it was sourced from VHS. Well, at least we can finally see it in full widescreen...

Without the darling bodybuilder twins Peter and David Paul (the barbarian brothers!) this movie would have been pure shit, but since they're in most scenes and steals all of them, I really like it! Still, hardly one of Deodato's most inspired moments as a director. 3/5

Warlords of Atlantis (1978)

Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Adventure. UK. Starring Doug McClure, Peter Gilmore, Cyd Charisse, Shane Rimmer & John Ratzenberger. Directed by Kevin Connor.

Thorn-Emi (Sweden). English language. Fullscreen.

Entertaining brittish fantasy flick. 3/5

The Mystery of Monster Island (1981)

Original title: Misterio en la Isla de los Monstruos

Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Adventure. Spain/USA. Starring Terence Stamp, Peter Cushing, David Hatton, Ian Sera, Blanca Estrada, Frank Braña, Paul Naschy, Gérard Tichy, Daniel Martín & Luis Barboo. Directed by Juan Piquer Simón.

CBS Fox Video (UK). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

I usually like J. P Simón's Jules Verne-films, but this is the exception: an abysmal film that doesn't work on any level. It will leave you irritated and annoyed at the poor level of filmmaking on display here. And Naschy fans needn't bother either: the lovable spanish bear is hardly in the film for a minute... 1/5

Hundra (1983)

Fantasy/Amazons. Spain/USA. Starring Laurene Landon, Cihangir Gaffari, María Casal & Luis Lorenzo. Directed by Matt Cimber.

Thorn-Emi (Sweden). English language. Fullscreen.

Very cool and entertaining entry in the hot-amazon-warrior-kicking-male-butt genre, one of my sword and sorcery favorites. Another thing I liked: the film's "feminist message" feels a little less half-assed and more from the heart than in similiar b-films of the era, say something like Cirio H. Santiago's The Sisterhood or Corman's Barbarian Queen. 4/5

Hundra (1983)

Fantasy/Amazons. Spain/USA. Starring Laurene Landon, Cihangir Gaffari, María Casal & Luis Lorenzo. Directed by Matt Cimber.

DVD: Subversive Cinema (USA). English language. Widescreen. Great quality. Disc includes the original Ennio Morricone soundtrack.

Very cool and entertaining entry in the hot-amazon-warrior-kicking-male-butt genre, one of my sword and sorcery favorites. Another thing I liked: the film's "feminist message" feels a little less half-assed and more from the heart than in similiar b-films of the era, say something like Cirio H. Santiago's The Sisterhood or Corman's Barbarian Queen. 4/5

Niebelungen Part 1: Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy (1966)

Original title: Die Nibelungen, Teil 1 - Siegfried

Fantasy. West Germany/Yugoslavia. Starring Uwe Beyer, Rolf Henniger, Maria Marlow, Terence Hill, Hans von Borsody, Samson Burke & Fred Williams. Directed by Harald Reinl.

Video Alsen (Greece). English dubbed. Widescreen.

Visually imaginative and quite good Niebelungen adaption. But of course it's no match for the more poetic Fritz Lang silent version which, despite being made 40 years ealier, is better in every aspect, even in the special-FX department. Anyway, does anyone have part 2 of this thing? 3/5

The People That Time Forgot (1977)

Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Adventure. UK. Starring Doug McClure, Patrick Wayne, Sarah Douglas, Dana Gillespie & Thorley Walters. Directed by Kevin Connor.

DVD: MGM Midnite Movies (USA). English language. Widescreen. Very good quality.

In my opinion the weakest of all of Connor's victorian fantasy films. 2/5

The Land That Time Forgot (1975)

Fantasy/Adventure. UK/USA. Starring Doug McClure, John McEnery, Susan Penhaligon & Keith Barron. Directed by Kevin Connor.

DVD: MGM Midnite Movies (USA). English language. Widescreen. Great quality.

The first of many brittish boys' adventures with stop-motion dinosaurs that Kevin Connor cranked out like a one-man fantasy factory during the seventies. It was some time since I saw these but I remember liking them all (except the dull The People That Time Forgot). Doug McClure is the man. 3/5

At the Earth's Core (1976)

Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Adventure. UK. Starring Doug McClure, Peter Cushing, Caroline Munro & Sean Lynch. Directed by Kevin Connor.

MGM Midnite Movies (USA). Widescreen. English language. Very good quality.

What this movie lacks in big budget monsters and FX it more than makes up in charm. Another entertaining Kevin Connor flick that won't dissapoint fans of victorian fantasy adventures that ends with volcanic eruptions. 3/5

War Gods of the Deep (1965)

a.k.a The City Under the Sea

Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Adventure. UK. Starring Vincent Price, Tab Hunter, David Tomlinson & Susan Hart. Directed by Jacques Tourneur.

DVD: MGM Midnite Movies (USA). English language. Widescreen. Very good quality.

After an interesting first half this movie turns into another lame big studio moneyburner with too many boring underwater scenes. Tourneur's director skills was better suited for thrillers. 2/5

Prisoners of the Lost Universe (1983)

Fantasy. UK. Starring Richard Hatch, John Saxon, Kay Lenz, Peter O'Farrell & Kenneth Hendel. Directed by Terry Marcel.

IP (Sweden). English language. Fullscreen.

Marcel, the man behind Hawk the Slayer obviously picked up a thing or two since his first stab at directing because this is a much professional looking and entertaining film. Good fun. 3/5

Hawk the Slayer (1980)

Fantasy. UK. Starring John Terry, Jack Palance & William Morgan Sheppard. Directed by Terry Marcel.

Sonet Video (Sweden). English language. Fullscreen.

This cheap brittish sword and sorcery epic could have used better actors (most actors sleepwalk through their roles and only veteran actor Palance delivers fun over-the-top performance as the evil Voltan) and perhaps a little more exiting sets than a brittish pineforest. Still a reasonably entertaining little film that does the best it can with it's meagre resources - not the turkey it has often been painted as. Fans of the genre might want to check it out. 2/5

The Barbarians (1987)

Fantasy. Italy/USA. Starring Peter Paul, David Paul, Richard Lynch, Eva La Rue & Michael Berryman. Directed by Ruggero Deodato.

Tower Vision/Scanbox (Sweden). English language. Fullscreen.

Without the darling bodybuilder twins Peter and David Paul (the barbarian brothers!) this movie would have been pure shit, but since they're in most scenes and steals all of them, I really like it! Still, hardly one of Deodato's most inspired moments as a director. 3/5

The Throne of Fire (1983)

Original title: Il Trono di Fuoco

Fantasy. Italy. Starring Peter McCoy, Sabrina Siani, Harrison Muller Jr. & Pietro Ceccarelli. Directed by Franco Prosperi.

VTC (Sweden). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

Another cheap sword and sorcery flick by Prosperi with the usual actors, but at least it's better than the slow-mo yawn The Invicible Barbarian. A slow-moving and very low budget film with a synth score that kind of works if you like the genre and watch it alone late at night. But of course it's not "good". 2/5

The Sword of the Barbarians (1982)

Original title: Sangraal, La Spada di Fuoco

Fantasy. Italy. Starring Peter McCoy, Sabrina Siani & Hal Yamanouchi. Directed by Michele Massimo Tarantini.

VTC (Sweden). English dubbed. Fullscreen. Cut!

One of the best of the italian low budget Conan-ripp offs (itself a ripp off of the italian peplas of the 1960s). A violent and very entertaining slice of machismo/lunacy! 4/5

Thor the Conqueror (1983)

Original title: Thor il Conquistatore

Fantasy. Italy. Starring Conrad Nichols, Malisa Longo, Maria Romano, Raf Baldassarre & Christopher Holm. Directed by Tonino Ricci.

VTC (Sweden). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

The dumbest, cheapest, crappiest, most moronic sword and sorcery flick imaginable. It's not without a certain Grade Z appeal though. Who could resist lines like "the woman is weak, Thor - take her!" (it's one of the most unashamedly sexist - even pro-rape- films in history and all the funnier for it) or "centuries from now this will be called a Horse". This swedish video release states that "Leading man Conrad Nichols has a disarming charm behind his muscles" on the cover, possibly the biggest lie in video cover history. While one of the worst films on this blog, Thor is not without its entertainment value and should be watched at least once. 2/5

Ator the Invincible (1984)

Original title: Ator L'invincibile 2

Fantasy. Italy. Starring Miles O'Keeffe, Lisa Foster, David Brandon, Charles Borromel & Salvatore Baccaro. Directed by Joe D'Amato.

VTC (UK). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

I like all the other Ator's so I should like this too, but I find it boring beyond words. Just writing about it now makes me sleepy. If only the film was as good as the cover... 1/5

Quest for the Mighty Sword (1990)

Fantasy. Italy. Starring Eric Allan Kramer, Margaret Lenzey, Donald O'Brien, Laura Gemser & Marisa Mell. Directed by Joe D'Amato.

RCA (UK). English language. Fullscreen.

The last entry in the Ator series - or perhaps the first Son of Ator? Either way it's a hilarious bad movie classic with too much fun stuff to mentioned! What are you waiting for, find yourself a copy right now! 4/5

Hearts and Armour (1983)

Original title: I Paladini - Storia D'armi e D'amori

Fantasy. Italy/USA. Starring Ron Moss, Rick Edwards, Tanya Roberts, Tony Vogel, Al Cliver & Hal Yamanouchi. Directed by Giacomo Battiato.

Warner Home Video (UK). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

A stylish and reasonably entertaining fantasy/knights film from Italy. The verdict may be either "better han usual" or "not cheezy enough" depending on your point of view. 3/5