Stream it now The Beastmaster 1982

 

Great 80s action fantasy movie good story gotta watch it

Not an epic by decent standards, but it's a fun childhood favorite that works for me as a guilty pleasure to this day.

*1/2 (out of four)

You get what you expect with this kind of movie. Dar (Marc Singer) is the son-of-a-king who can talk to the animals (No, this is not Doctor Dolittle...Dolittle never wore a loin cloth!)

Bad acting, bad lines. It's fun to laugh at it, though.

A classic bad movie that you can't stop watching.

If movies could win academy awards for unintentional humor, this film would be a surefire nominee. Oblivious to its own high-school set designs and bargain-rack costumes, The Beastmaster tries to deliver a straight-faced, earnest piece of cinema. I suppose that's what makes it so charming. The tale opens with Dar (Marc Singer,) an animal-friendly clairvoyant who seeks to avenge the death of his family by destroying the evil cult that killed them. Armed only with a sword, two ferrets, a hawk, and a spray-painted tiger, Dar travels the wastes. He encounters bat-people, witches, bed-sheeted acolytes, bears, miniature ziggurats, and hordes of untrained actors. With a total budget comparable to a teenager's monthly allowance, The Beastmaster strives to wow its audience with a sincerity it has neither the competence to achieve nor the funds to afford. For all of these reasons, I rate the film 1 star and give it my solid endorsement. It's so bad, it's good!

Dar is the son of a king and the royal air to the throne. However, when an evil dictator discovers that Dar will lead to his demise, he casts Dar out of the kingdom and tries to kill him. Dar is saved by a local farmer and raised in a small farming community. The evil dictator assigns his three evil witches to kill Dar. In the witches efforts Dar is granted mystical powers over animals. Once Dar grows up into a healthy young man, with the aid of animals he will be unstoppable in gaining revenge against the evil dictator.

"All pilgrims share a deep love of life, especially their own."

Don Coscarelli, director of Phantasm 1-4, Survival Quest, Bubba Ho-Tep, and the upcoming Bubba Ho-Tep sequel and Phantasm V, delivers Beastmaster. The storyline for this picture was interesting and reminded me a little of Red Sonja. The acting was okay, but nothing special. The cast includes Rip Torn, John Amos, Tanya Roberts, Marc Singer, and Janet Jones as one of the witches (Wayne Gretzky's wife).

"Is he yours?"
"We fight together sometimes."

The child stealing and birth sequence, the village getting invaded, the ferrite thieves and rescue of Dar, the panther rescuing scene, the females bathing sequence, the bat like creatures, the children getting sacrificed, the magic ring with the eye, the panther rescuing Dar, the uncle rescuing sequence, Seth burning the ring's eye, the death guards creation scene, the ferrite rescuing Dar for the last time, the fight on the top of the temple between Dar and Maax and his men, the moat explosion, the fight versus the antler king, and the bat creatures to the rescue were amongst the better portions of the film.

"Face the animal on his own terms, you will find you are not so strong."

Beastmaster was a film I adored as a teenager. Beastmaster is in the same genre as Red Sonja, Conan, and Kull the Conqueror. This is a unique film that utilizes its animal elements brilliantly. Coscarelli did a brilliant job with the special effects to make the audience feel like it was seeing scenes from the animal's point of view. Overall, Beastmaster is a masterpiece in a genre that produces few quality films.

"Extreme torture turns a man into a wild beast."

Grade: B

The Beastmaster (1982)

This movie is a good 80s fantasy movie, but not spectacular. It actually starts off very strange and slow, but it really picks up towards the end and becomes your typical sword and scorcery fantasy flick.

THE BEASTMASTER
(DON COSCARELLI, 1982)
PG
1 HOUR 58 MINUTES

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