Corman/Argentina

 

 (imdb)

DEATHSTALKER-1983-Some warrior dickhead called Deathstalker (Richard Hill) is convinced by a witch to get an amulet of power from the stronghold of the evil Kang (Victor Bo) and reunite "the 3 powers". Along the way he meets another loser, Ogris (Richard Brooker; Jason in FRIDAY THE 13-PART 3) and warrior woman Kaira (Lana Clarkson; later the star of BARBARIAN QUEEN (1985)). Deathstalker saves a woman (Barbi Benton) Kang planned sacrifice. 

One of ten films Roger Corman produced in Argentina when he owned New World, it features outrageously bad sfx, acting and dialogue. 

Directed by John Watson who under his real last name Sbardellati was mostly an assistant director. Written by Howard Cohen, who besides writing a couple of sequels also penned VAMPIRE HOOKERS (1978) and THE UNHOLY ROLLERS (1972). Tragically, co-star Lana Clarkson was murdered by Phil Spector in 2003.

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Sequel?

 

 (imdb)

WIZARDS OF THE LOST KINGDOM 2-1989-Failed wizard Caedmon (Mel Welles) guides a young stupid kid Tybor (Robert Jayne) with a terrible haircut, to becoming a wizard so they can free three cities from the clutches of 3 wizards. They want a mercenary The Dark One (David Carradine) to help them but he doesn't want to leave his busy bar. Meanwhile Princess Amathea (Lana Clarkson) helps them and organizes an army. One wizard Loki (Edward Blackoff) tries to turn them to stone. A sorceress Freya (Diana Barton) and the wizard Donar (Sid Haig) have a sword the good guys want. Later The Dark One shows up to help them battle Zatz (outrageously overacting Henry Brandon in his last film role). 

It's basically a comedy, one of the handful of movies directed by Charles Griffith better known for this screenwriting efforts (LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, NOT OF THIS EARTH), many produced (and or directed) by Roger Corman who co-produced this filmed in Argentina “sequel” which has no characters from the first one! It also features stock footage from other sword and sorcery productions made by Corman's company Concorde. Co-star Clarkson was shot and killed by Phil Spector in 2003.

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Honey, I Shrunk The Budget...

 

 (imdb)

WIZARDS OF THE LOST KINGDOM-1985-This weird kind of kid oriented fantasy starts off with a narrator telling us about the age of wizards with scenes from other movies. Then in the kingdom of King Tylor, a wizard's son Simon (Vidal Peterson) is given a magic ring by his father just before their kingdom is attacked by the traitorous sorcerer Shurka (Thom Christopher) and his troops under the guidance of the evil queen, who kills the king and the wizard. Simon escapes with Wookie like companion Gulfax. Shurka imprisons the princess who's sweet on Simon and captures all the children. When Simon is trapped by some bad guys enter Kor (Bo Swenson), a sort of wino warrior/wanderer. Kor decides to help Simon despite the fact that he is being hunted by a cyclops who wants the warrior to marry his sister! At one point Simon comes under a spell of black magic and it's scenes from another movie (DEATHSTALKER; not unusual since this movie was produced by Roger Corman's Concorde which often incorporated clips from other movies). Later they meet a mermaid and Simon defeats Shurka.

 It's a very dumb story with terrible SFX written by Ed Naha who later penned TROLL and DOLLS for Richard Band and the big budgeted high profile HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS. He'd also written for many magazines including Starlog, Fangoria and Playboy. WIZARDS is one of a handful of movies filmed in Argentina by Concorde. Director Hector Olivera also made BARBARIAN QUEEN for Corman.

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Roman Zombies

 

(IMDB)

WAR OF THE ZOMBIES-1964-In ancient times Rome is facing a Zombie problem. They send Gaius (Ettore Manni) to infiltrate the place evil wizard Aderbad (John Drew Barrymore) is raising dead enemies and find some stolen treasure. He falls for Rhama (Ida Galli), servant to Tullia (Susy Anderson) wife of the no good King Lutetus (Mino Doro) who's actually in cahoots with Aderbad who worships a one eyed goddess. Gaius follows Rhama (who's under Aderbad's control) to their temple and is captured. After he escapes the wizard sends a "zombie army" of dead centurions to defeat The Romans. They are more like ghosts. Just when it looks bad Gaius comes to the rescue. 

Low budget sword & sorcery supernatural tale from Italy suffers from bad editing and sfx. Director Giuseppe Vari later directed an Italian production based on Jack London's “The Sea Wolf” starring Chuck Connors. Two years later the always in trouble John Drew Barrymore played Christ in another Italian production PONTIUS PILATE.

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Corman In Argentina

 

 (IMDB)

WARRIORS OF THE LOST KINGDOM-1985-A young sorcerer Simon (Vidal Peterson) sees his king and father killed and his kingdom destroyed. His princess girlfriend Aura (Dolores Michaels) is imprisoned. Simon is given a magical ring that transports him and his hairy companion Colfax away but the dummy loses the ring. Along the way he meets drunken smart ass warrior Kor (Bo Svenson) who eventually helps him fight the evil wizard Shurka (Thom Christopher), free his girl and win back his kingdom. 

This was one of seven movies Roger Corman produced and filmed in Argentina. It was written by Ed Naha and directed by Hector Olivera (BARBARIAN QUEEN).

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Ator!

 

 (Wikipedia)

ATOR THE FIGHTING EAGLE-1982-Sword & Sorcery nonsense with barbarian Ator (Miles O'Keefe; fresh from playing the lead in TARZAN THE APE MAN with Bo Derek) fights Dagar (former Argentinean pro wrestler Dagar), the spider god after he was saved from death by a guy named Griba (Edward Purdom; in PIECES the same year). After he marries his sister Sunya (Ritza Brown) (she's not really his sister, they were just raised together) Dagar kills his adopted parents and kidnaps Sunya. Along the way he meets warrior woman Roon (Sabrina Siani) and sorceress Indun (Laura Gemser; from the “Black Emanuelle” series). 

This Italian production directed by Joe D'Amato (David Hills in US prints) is badly made. Obviously a rush job to cash in on CONAN THE BARBARIAN, although it did spawn a sequel.

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7 For One

 

RAGE WAR-(aka THE DUNGEON-MASTER)-1984-In this low budget anthology from Empire Pictures, a running guy Paul (Jeffery Byron) is obsessed with his talking computer Cal. His fiance Gwen (Leslie Wing) doesn't like it. After a weird dream, Paul is transported to some kind of cave where Gwen is chained to a rock with fire all around. A strange wizard/sorcerer Mestema (Richard Moll) likes Paul's "magic" (his computer is on his watch) and says he will make a worthy opponent. 

Later Paul and Gwen find a cave full of frozen people from the past including Einstein and Bloody Mary. They are attacked by Jack the Ripper, a mummy, a wolf man & some other creatures but an ice crystal destroys the bad guys. After Gwen disappears Paul meets the troll Ratspit (John Carl Buechler) then some cartoon dragons fight. When Mestema plays some of his music Paul counters with his own (the movie's theme). Paul is then transported to a heavy metal concert where a comical Ozzy clone sings. Gwen is a victim of their S & M show but Cal destroys them.

 In another land some dwarfs steal his computer watch. Then a giant stone statue comes to life and shoots a laser from its head. Paul destroys it and winds up in an alley with a dead woman, victim of a serial killer. Gwen is his next victim and Paul has to save her. Two dumb cops arrest him but he escapes. They elude the killer and are then menaced by a flaming devil head. Next in another cave a monster throws exploding rocks at Paul. Before it dies it turns into an angel like woman. In a graveyard of airplanes the pair are threatened by some hooded soldiers and a little guy who talks like Cousin Itt. At the end Paul and Mestema fight it out and somehow Paul wins. They are freed. 

Like most Empire junk it's imaginative but makes no sense, the acting (especially by Byron as Paul) is bad, the sfx so so and the script is dumb. It's in seven parts with each directed by a different person (including Buechler, David Allen, Charles Band, Peter Manoogian, Ted Nicolaou).

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Magic From Japan

MAGIC SERPENT-1966-This one starts off with a bang! Ninjas attack a castle and kill the master and everyone else except a small group that rescues the Master’s son. Unfortunately they are attacked by a dragon. Everyone is killed except for the son who is whisked away by a giant serpent. 10 years later, the young son Ichizuchi-Maru (HirokiMatsukata), is under the tutelage of an old man. While out in the forest, ninjas attack and one cuts off his head but he lives on and after interrogating one ninja his head rejoins his body. Then he meets Sunate (Tomoko Ogawa), a woman looking for her father.

 While this is happening the old man is visited by his former pupil, Orochi-Maru (Ryutaru Otomo) who killed Maru’s father. Although the old man is much more powerful than his pupil the pupil tricks his former teacher with a scroll that turns into a snake and kills him. We also learn during their conversation that the pupil can turn into a dragon. Maru and Sunate find the master dying. He gives Maru a scroll for “ninja invisibility” and clues him in on who killed his dad. Maru vows revenge! He and Sunate part ways. She continues the search for her father after her grandma gives her a pin with a spider on it. This fun fantasy from Japan has a little of everything. Underwater ninjas, a giant lizard, magic, sword fighting, a Kanju battle and a giant spider! And the monsters use Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan roars! It was directed by Tetsuya Yamaouchi.

SinBaaad...

SINBAD OF THE SEVEN SEAS-1989-Terrible “Hercules” like tale which according to the credits is based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe! 

Sinbad (Lou Ferrigino) has a mixed crew (a Chinese warrior, a viking, a dwarf, etc.) who argue with each other and occasionally fight but mostly the story is held together by a narrator, a mother (Daria Nicolodi) telling her kid a bedtime story. Maybe they lost the soundtrack or were too lazy to dub everything. An evil sorcerer (John Steiner; hamming it up more than usual) and a sorceress (Teagan) are the main villains and there's some unintentional comedy. 

Director Enzo G. Castellari made this Italian production after several movies with the words “The Bronx” in their titles.

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The Magic of Mr. BIG

THE MAGIC SWORD-1962-A sorceress named Sibyl (Estelle Parsons) lives with a chimp and her two headed servant in an underground cave. Also there is her adopted son George (Gary Lockwood) who falls in love with princess Helene (Anne Helms) who's image he sees in a magic pond. When he sees her menaced by a spirit with green eyes he wants to help her. She's then kidnapped by evil sorcerer Lodac (Basil Rathbone) who plans to feed her to his dragon as revenge on her father, the king (Merrit Stone). George insists on helping her but Sibyl says he's too young to take on such a powerful foe. Foolishly, she shows him some gifts he will receive when he's 21: a magic horse, a suit of armor and a sword and 6 knights from different nations. Wickedly, he traps her in the cellar and takes the items. He and the six knights travel to the king and announce they will save the princess despite having to face Lodac's “seven curses” on the way. The king's man Brandon (Liam Sullivan) goes with them and it's clear from the start he is up to no good (of course he's in league with Lodac). 

The curses include a giant ogre (not a good effect), a deadly lake, a French pleasant woman who becomes a vampire like hag (Maila Nurmi aka Vampira), extreme heat and creepy green ghost heads. All the knights are killed and George has to enter Lodac's castle by himself encountering mean dwarfs and weird bald servants who eat little people. Thanks to Sybil's meddling, George loses all his magic power and is imprisoned. While the princess is readied for dragon food, the little people escape their cages and free George who gets his magic back and slays the two headed fire breathing dragon (that looks like Gorgo). Brandon's head winds up on a trophy wall and Sibyl turns into a panther and kills Lodac. Somehow all the deceased knights show up alive at George's wedding to the princess.

THE MAGIC SWORD was directed by Mr. BIG himself Burt I. Gordon who after overseeing such low budget but entertaining 50's drive-in “classics” like THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN (and it's sequel) and ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE seems to have taken one giant leap with this technicolor sword and sorcery adventure tale. While the imaginative SFX (created by BIG and his wife Flora) aren't the greatest the inclusion of Rathbone, Lockwood, Winwood, Sullivan and Vampira make this seem like an all star cast! I think I saw Angelo Rossitto in one scene.

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D & D: Dumb and Depraved

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS:THE BOOK OF VILE DARKNESS-2012-A group of treasure hunters fight CGI dragons in this low budget fantasy which is actually the third entry in a D&D trilogy. The groups includes a young hero knight (but he's not much of a hero really), a guy with half a face and a long roving eye and the usual bitchy female warrior. They fight over a treasure and double cross each other. In the climax the hero is almost skinned alive to make a secret book. The acting and dialogue as usual are ridiculous. There are some cool looking knights in a forest and a lot of CGI. I suppose if you are a D & D fan you might like it. I've read this is better than the first two parts. I can't imagine how bad they must be. The director Gerry Lively also made DARKNESS FALLS.

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Gor! Rhymes with Bore!

GOR-1987-After a car crash, a nerdy college teacher (Urbano Barberini) is transported to the alternate world of Gor while wearing his father's magic ring. Once there he meets some desert warriors fighting to overthrow the oppression of it's evil tyrant (Oliver Reed; his overacting is the only highlight) as Sarm, who likes to torture people. Paul L. Smith turns up as a trader who roughs up a dwarf.

This stupid movie was made in Italy (with a mostly Italian cast) by American director Fritz Kiersch (CHILDREN OF THE CORN). It's based on the first novel in the adult fantasy series by John Norman but was obviously more inspired by Conan The Barbarian and other sword and sorcery shenanigans popular at the time. The acting is awful, the swordplay pretty pathetic but some might enjoy it for the "attributes" displayed by female lead Rebecca Ferratti.

Though Jack Palance is third billed he only shows up in the last few minutes of the movie to set up a sequel. Yes, there was a sequel called OUTLAW OF GOR (which also starred Barberini and Ferratti) which found a fitting place in history being used for an episode of MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000! Barberini was later in Dario Argento's OPERA. Arnold Vosloo has a small role in the modern day scenes.

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