The Slave and the Sorcerer

In another world, another time, in an age of wonder, I was a boy who loved swords and sorcery. Deathstalkers, Beastmasters, Wizards from lost kingdoms – it was all the sugary cereal from which I supped greedily. Then it seemingly vanished. But now writer-director Lawrie Brewster and co-writer Sarah Daly have given me back that happy comfort cinema I thought lost. This magical valentine to a once thriving genre is titled The Slave and the Sorcerer.

Brewster seems to have lovingly selected inspiration from all the movies that are close to my heart. He resurrects them in a tale that flashes with Frank Frazetta stylization and heavy metal undertones, whilst remaining gloriously faithful to the films it pays direct homage to. After an opening that’s a bit like The Sword and the Sorcerer meets Deathstalker 2, we are introduced to the wayward Princess Meyra (Briony Monroe), who is saved from molestation by a slave who is a warrior of legend, Tyrol (Chris Black).

Tyrol is briefly employed by the princess to be her guardian until her father sends him to the dungeon to be tortured. Why? Because the princess confesses to her love for the slave as opposed to her father’s favored suitor. Before you know it, the castle is under siege by a dragon who manifests as the king’s evil brother, Akaris (Jonathan Hansler). The dark sorcerer has long been planning his ascent to power and thus kidnaps Meyra, whisking her away to his castle. King Gerind (Richard Pate) is forced to recruit his daughter’s suitors, together with a thief and a purveyor of the magic, the mysterious and sexy Nemain (Megan Tremethick), to brave a labyrinth of doom to return his daughter. The team ventures into the black fortress only to find Tyrol waiting for them, ready to prove he is more than just a slave

“…the castle is then under siege by a dragon who manifests into the king’s evil brother, Akaris.”

The Slave and the Sorcerer captures not merely the spirit of what made this genre great, but the attention to detail takes it out of the arena of being just a quick cash-in, elevating it to something that deserves to sit alongside those cult classics of a time long ago. The script, direction, photography, editing, performances, and effects are solid and harken back to the fantasy films of yore. There are no weak links in this chain of awesomeness that is a feast of all your favorite treats that just keep on coming.

Brewster and his team deserve titanic praise, for not merely mounting but succeeding with this production. Whereas in past attempts to resurrect forgotten genres, the filmmakers merely use the tropes as decoration. That is not the case here. The filmmaker is more concerned with the heart and the joy infuses all those imitators trying to catch the wave following the success of Conan the Barbarian.

So, I say unto you, sword-and-sorcery fans who used to get their fix of this back in those be kind, rewind, VHS days, our hour has come. Only time will tell whether the remake of Deathstalker will continue the momentum, but for right now, Lawrie Brewster is king of the castle. The Slave and the Sorcerer is a triumph as much as it is a tribute. My God, I love this movie. It’s like that one dish your mother cooks up better than anyone else alive. And nothing else smells like mama’s home-cooking.