Witchfinder General 666 As its 1985 predecessor, "Barbarian Queen 2: The Empire Strikes Back" of 1989 is once again an incredibly awful, and equally hilarious Z-grade Sword and Sorcery film that fans of bad cinema should have one heck of a time with. The whole film is a lineup of crappy battle sequences, hilariously stupid dialogue, bared breasts and (unintentional?) hilarity. The late Lana Clarkson once again plays the sexy eponymous heroine, Barbarian Queen Princess Athalia. Actually, I don't really see why the people in this flick are referred to as 'Barabarians' since it clearly takes place some time in the middle ages (although the first part took place in times of the Roman Empire). Both movies, of course, are actually set in some indefinable fantasy time, but while the first film equally mixed up medieval and more ancient elements, everything looks predominantly medieval here (well, except for the Amazon warrior chicks in buckskin mini skirts and tank tops). The battle sequences are extremely crappy, and so is the entire choreography. During fights, it always looks as if the 'actors' are going to drop their weapons anytime since they act so amateurish. The performances are plain awful and the dialogue is even worse (in a hilarious way though), not to mention that all the medieval 'Barbarians' talk in American English. Even though this film is about as awful as it can get, you can't really get bored. One hilariously awful fight literally hunts the other, and each time this seems to become monotonous Lana Clarkson bares her breasts for a change. Both the "Barbarian Queen" films are hilarious examples for movies that are 'so bad they're good'. This "Barbarian Queen 2" must be one of the silliest and most amateurish films ever brought to screen, but it sure is great fun to watch!

Hugh G. Rection (ElKabong-3) Let me say up front that this is NOT a great film. No Oscar nominations, probably none of the cast was ever in an award winning film. What this is, is your basic raunchy action flick, complete with bouncing bare bosoms. This is late night cable TV fare, watch it for free when you can, and be glad you're not watching the Ya Ya Sisterhood movie. Lana Clarkson is more than up to the task of providing the bouncing boobies frequently throughout the movie. The plot is stale and formulaic, the acting stiff, but there's still that charm of scantily clad amazon warriors led by their rather randy queen in a revolution against the Great Evil which is in power. This is from the eras before Hollywood became so concerned with accusations of smut mongering, the films of the last decade or so have been lacking the delightful skin scenes which used to be a standard component of such films. If this film were being made today, the amazons would be covered much more thoroughly and Ms. Clarkson would not share her bountiful charms with us. If it sounds like I miss those days, I do. Many a mediocre film was made worthwhile by a liberal splashing of young nubile skin. Don't watch this for an example of great cinema, watch it for young lovelies on display.5 out of 10 for obvious reasons.

the_match_maker Low-grade production values and only slightly better acting bring down an otherwise generic plot.The bottom line: a 'magical' princess leads a group of women warriors and peasants against her evil brother who seeks to take the kingdom's throne after the death of their father.As far as 'Fantasy' flicks go, there are three levels of production values. On the high end one has `The Lord of the Rings' trilogy. Below that one has `Conan the Destroyer'. And below *that* one has this movie. The production values here make `Xena: Warrior Princess' look like `Lord of the Rings'! They're horrible. The props look as though they came from the trunk of the local community theater. The weapons are especially laughable (and who know that one could be stabbed with a sword and not bleed!).And the acting, well, the best thing that can be said about the acting is that the thespians involved took the dialogue seriously (though I can't imagine the humiliation one must feel to have been a part of the making of this travesty). If I were to have worked on this film I don't think that I could have ever looked anyone straight in the face again.And to make matters worse, the movie tries to 'cater' to a certain demographic with gratuitous nudity. Even the sight of two bare-chested ladies fighting in mud is not enough to recommend this flick-that's just how poorly done it was. One has seen soft-core porn with better production values!And for nominally being a 'fantasy' film, no actual 'magic' is ever really seen.Everything about this movie is so poorly done one can't help but wonder *how* it ever got made. A film student and two chimps could have produced something better!There is a difference between low budget and *no* budget! Avoid this film if you can, though viewing it won't do one any long term harm. It's just bad. Not 'laughably bad', just bad. I don't think even `Mystery Science Theater' could make this one look good!

Kakueke This is a follow-up to Barbarian Queen, but certainly not a sequel, although Lana Clarkson is back as the female protagonist (slightly changed name, Amathea). This time she is rivaling her brother, who has unjustly usurped the crown on the basis of a presumed death of their father, but on a more mundane level his principal advisor Hofrax is her chief nemesis, along with her brother's daughter. The characters are different, but she is once again leading a few elite women warriors and peasants to justice. Greg Wrangler plays her love interest (Aurion). Pretty much the same stuff, with less often, less intense bondage etc. but a nice mudwrestling scene near the beginning. In movies like this, when I think some of the acting is pretty bad (this does not include Lana), I guess I have to be understanding in realizing they have programmed, wooden lines and delivery, so... Overall, I felt this one fell a bit short of the original.