Can we talk about how bad old 80s sword-and-sandal movies actually were?

I watched Beastmaster again last week after not seeing it since I was a kid, and man, the special effects are worse than I remembered. The ferret sidekick had more screen presence than the main actor. Anyone else revisit a childhood favorite and realize it's actually terrible?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_robert12d ago

The sincerity part is huge and I think that's what people forget about these movies. Nobody was trying to be ironic or wink at the camera when the guy swung his sword at a guy in a rubber suit. They were giving it everything they had even if the budget was like twelve bucks and a pack of gum. The scene in Beastmaster where he's talking to the ferret like it's his best friend is so deadpan earnest that it circles back around to being genuinely moving. You don't get that kind of raw commitment in movies today because everyone's too busy trying to be clever or self aware. These things have a heart that bigger movies just can't fake.

nina_hall12d ago

Are you sure you didn't just catch it on a bad day? I watched Beastmaster a couple years back and honestly, I still had a good time with it. Yeah the effects are hilariously bad now, but that's kind of the point for me. The goofy charm and that weird sincerity is what makes those movies better than a lot of the polished stuff today. They're not "good" in a normal way, but they're a lot more fun to watch than something boring and well made.