By Mark Hockley
The story revolves around Queen Ginnarra and her ruthless attempts to eliminate her exiled brother, Prince Eldoran, who threatens her throne.
This is an ambitious sword and sorcery epic with a runtime of over 2hrs and 20 minutes. Set design and in particular costumes, are impressive. However, some of the shaky camera work, whether deliberate or not, is less welcome. Given that the budget must have been relatively low, there is a lot of production value on the screen.
I recall seeing a much earlier work from director/co-writer Lawrie Brewster called Lord of Tears (2013). He has certainly progressed since then. This is a notable step up from that film and his influences for this feature, from Excalibur to Game of Thrones, are clear to see.
Megan Tremethick as the titular Queen Ginnarra is well cast and in terms of performances, overall they are serviceable. Supporting and smaller roles, where a presence or a certain ‘look’ is needed, are also well chosen. This is something I appreciated, as in lower budget productions, this is rarely the case.
Another positive is that the combat scenes are not bad. This might seem like faint praise, but in many small scale productions tackling similar subject matter, it’s the action that is often poorly staged. The special effects on the other hand are a mixed bag, ranging from believable bloody wounds to unconvincing dragons.
One aspect of the production that I found disappointing was the music score. A synthesiser-based pastiche, attempting grand gothic fantasy, this sadly fails to rise above the generic.
Producing a movie of this genre is no easy task, so it’s important to appreciate the efforts of the production team. Even so, it really is incredibly long and attention may sometimes wander. Perhaps Brewster struggles with ‘killing his darlings’, a familiar dilemma for many creative people. The film really could and should have been trimmed down, as there are some ponderous stretches.
It’s also worth noting that Brewster and Tremethick are among those behind the attempt to get Amicus back up and running. Amicus is a very fondly remembered British studio that made horror movies in the 60s and 70s (Dr Terror’s House of Horrors, Tales From The Crypt etc.). It’s a great idea to resurrect the brand and I wish them well with that endeavour. If they can produce films with similar strong production designs, there should be much to enjoy. A little more editing might be beneficial though!
Bloody Flicks 