5 Lesser-known Fantasy Movies from the early 1980’s…

1. Hawk the Slayer (1980)

This one really takes me back to Saturday film nights in with my elder cousins. Hawk is a very British sword and sorcery romp starring John Terry and Jack Palance. Director Terry Marcel was the brainchild and he kick-started the epic fantasy boom that also brought us Excalibur, the Conan films and Dragonslayer. (None of which have made this list btw). The plot centres on two warring brothers fighting to control a flying ‘mindsword’ and the protagonist Hawk’s relationship with his allies. The witch, elf, dwarf and giant. Very PC. 40 years on, the very same director is planning a sequel. The tagline is “The Slayer returns. The Hunt begins”. I can’t wait.

Buy Hawk the Slayer HERE

2. The Beastmaster (1982)

Another fantasy classic that was not considered a commercial success during its original cinematic run. Since then, the sheer number of times its been shown on TV channels the world over has kind of made up for it. The story itself centres on a young boy stolen from his mother’s womb by an evil witch. It’s a typical revenge movie, with the main draw being that our (now grown-up) hero can communicate telepathically with animals, notably an eagle, a black tiger and a couple of lovable ferrets. The Beastmaster has a cult following and it even spawned two sequels. 1991’s Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time, and a third instalment, 1995’s TV movie, Beastmaster: The Eye of Braxus. For me though, it was all about Tanya Roberts. My first childhood crush. (Just google her).

Buy The Beastmaster HERE

3. Ator the Fighting Eagle (1982)

Ok, by today’s standards this really is a truly awful movie. But I still love it. Director Joe D’Amato was inspired by the Conan franchise and Ator was surely made as a piss-take. Ator is a warrior-cum-magician-cum-scientist who has to rescue his sister (who is also the main love interest – well, it was the early 80’s). As part of his epic quest, after learning all about his heritage, he battles gigantic spiders, he’s kidnapped by Amazonians, he’s seduced by a witch and he fights re-animated dead warriors. All in day’s work for Ator. It really is a mockbuster of epic proportions.

Buy Ator the Fighting Eagle HERE

4. Krull (1983)

Guess what, another one that was a commercial failure upon release yet has since achieved cult status among fantasy diehards. Although still considered a swash buckler, this film differs slightly from the others on this list as it is not, strictly speaking an epic/sword & sorcery fantasy. More a science-fantasy as the premise is that of a prince and a fellowship of companions set out to rescue his bride from alien invaders who have arrived on their home planet of…wait for it…Krull. Apparently, the movie underwent a very expensive (and dangerous) production process where the budget ballooned thanks to numerous set alterations because of a heavily evolving script. There were also appearances for Alun Armstrong, Robbie Coltrane and Liam Neeson no less.

Buy Krull HERE

5. Red Sonja (1985)

Is it one of Arnie’s finest moments? Probably not. But is it a bloody good fantasy romp? Hell yeah! It has an awesome cast including some surprises along the way. It’s well worth a watch. Yet another commercial failure upon release, these old fantasy films really didn’t capture the audience’s imaginations until much later. (Thanks Peter Jackson). But despite its ‘alleged’ poor visual effects, soundtrack, derivative and non-sensical plot, it has, as with all the movies in this list, gone on to achieve a global cult status. A remake was also touted with big-hitter Bryan Singer supposed to be at the helm until the alleged sexual assault against him put paid to that. The last we heard was in June 2019 when Jill Soloway (Director of Transparent) had supposedly been hired. I shall wait with bated breath.

Buy Red Sonja HERE

If this fantasy thing is your bag (you probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t), then be sure to grab the free prequel novella (book 0) from this website or get book one and follow William’s epic journey in the wondrous land of Syan…