A young man, armed with a magical bow and arrows, embarks on a mystical journey through a mystical land to rid it of all evil and joins forces with an outlaw to take down an evil witch bent on claiming the magic bow for evil.
After Fulci's best years of work in horror (1977-1982) came "Conquest", not at all a horror film. Some familiar names can be found here, though: actor Andrea Occhipinti (who appeared in Lamberto Bava's "A Blade in the Dark") and composer Claudio Simonetti, who had scored some of Argento's best films.
This picture suffers from the same low-quality video that we see in much of Fulci's work. Perhaps a better picture and budget and it could have been a contender for one of the memorable 1980s fantasy films -- "Legend", "Willow", et cetera. This is probably hoping too much, though. The film has other shortcomings.
While not a horror film in any strict sense, there is a definite Fulci style that horror fans may fine appealing: the same misogynistic treatment of women, with one nude woman getting split down the middle like a wishbone. Plenty of other nude women getting ravaged in various ways. A man getting his skullcap lopped off, revealing a moist brain within. Horror elements, set within a fantasy world. The same things happening in Rome and it would be horror -- a fine line, perhaps? Luca Palmerini puts this film in a genre called "peplum", and calls it "controversial", but praises the photography and special effects. Effects maybe, but outfits no. The masks and costumes of the invaders are better than the trolls of "Troll 2", but not by much. There is no level of realism to them -- the beasts' mouths cannot even move or close.
After Fulci's best years of work in horror (1977-1982) came "Conquest", not at all a horror film. Some familiar names can be found here, though: actor Andrea Occhipinti (who appeared in Lamberto Bava's "A Blade in the Dark") and composer Claudio Simonetti, who had scored some of Argento's best films.
This picture suffers from the same low-quality video that we see in much of Fulci's work. Perhaps a better picture and budget and it could have been a contender for one of the memorable 1980s fantasy films -- "Legend", "Willow", et cetera. This is probably hoping too much, though. The film has other shortcomings.
While not a horror film in any strict sense, there is a definite Fulci style that horror fans may fine appealing: the same misogynistic treatment of women, with one nude woman getting split down the middle like a wishbone. Plenty of other nude women getting ravaged in various ways. A man getting his skullcap lopped off, revealing a moist brain within. Horror elements, set within a fantasy world. The same things happening in Rome and it would be horror -- a fine line, perhaps? Luca Palmerini puts this film in a genre called "peplum", and calls it "controversial", but praises the photography and special effects. Effects maybe, but outfits no. The masks and costumes of the invaders are better than the trolls of "Troll 2", but not by much. There is no level of realism to them -- the beasts' mouths cannot even move or close.