Michael_Elliott Conquest (1983) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Fulci's cash in on the Sword and Sorcery genre, which was at that time was popular due to films like BEASTMASTER, is what many would consider a low point in his career but I call it a fascinating mess that contains a little bit of everything. A young man (Andrea Occhipinti) is given a magical bow and for some reason ends up traveling in a strange place where wolf like monsters and cannibals are. He teams up with an older man (Jorge Rivera) to try and destroy these monsters who are being led by a wicked princess (Sabrina Siani). I think the people who are going to have the biggest problem with this movie are those expecting a horror movie like ZOMBIE or THE BEYOND. It seems Fulci's non-horror films always take a beating an in some cases (MANHATTAN BABY) it's really not called for and I'd say that's the case here as well. This certainly isn't a good movie or a well made one but I have to judge what it is and that's an Italian rip off. There are so many campy and over the top moments that I can't believe the film doesn't have a larger camp appeal. The English dubbing isn't horrible but the dialogue certainly is and some of the lines spoken appear to have been written by ten-year-old boys. The performances are on the fair side but there's really not too much acting required. The gore is also here with some nice looking effects including top of heads being chopped off, body sores oozing pus, the werewolf like creatures getting their heads beat in, cannibals and even a stranger scene where zombies attack. As you can see, just about every genre is thrown into the mix here and on that level the film was mildly entertaining. The adventure aspect could have been pumped up and the movie certainly needs more energy but there's enough goofy stuff here to keep the movie going for its 93-minutes.

Scarecrow-88 A young man, Ilias(Andrea Occhipinti) ace with his bow and arrows(..both of wood and lasers), is sent by his people to execute an evil sorceress, Ochron(Sabrina Siani, under a mask, her breasts on display, only a g-string "shield" covering her vagina, often seen with a snake slithering all over her body) who is a viable threat to the rest of the human race. Ilias is quite brave, but notwithstanding green, despite his abilities as a marksman, he'll need help, receiving assistance from Mace(Jorge Rivero), a skilled warrior who understands Ochron's land and how to survive on it. Mace mentions how he cares little for his fellow man, having adopted a special relationship with the animals of all kinds, seemingly able to communicate with flying creatures(..birds and a bat, both which guide him to a kidnapped Ilias). Yet, he will eventually bond with Ilias as they escape numerous encounters with Ochron's furry, ferocious dog-men, dangerous pine needles which shoot from "angered bush"(!), "spider-web men"(..they look like humans cocooned in web, their eye sight visualized in a green tint), a magical "assassin" named Zora(Conrado San Martín, also under a mask, who is able to move from one place to the next, his body simply vanishing, also, at one point, taking the shape of Mace in order to surprise a sickly Ilias who was incapacitated, eventually losing a battle with the one whose form he "borrowed"), cavernous monsters(..barely visible, with long nails and glowing eyes), and dangerous bats. The humans are of a "tribal" variety..skin often colored with dirt, mud, and other materials, hair mangled and filthy, bodies covered with skins(..or not covered at all), feasting from flesh in the same way as the beasts they killed for their meal.Lucio Fulci creates an atmosphere that certifies that CONQUEST is pure fantasy. The creatures in his film are what you might read about in fantasy fiction..they are quite violent, often subservient to their queen's wishes, leaving nothing alive in their quest to secure Ilias at Ochron's command. Mace is always asking Ilias to return home due to his understanding of just how sinister and hostile Ochron is. Ochron has convinced the creatures that follow her lead(..they seem to all speak in English)that she has power over the sun. One major problem is that Fulci often stages action set pieces at night, Ilias and, particularly, Mace combating Ochron's forces, with a lot of the violence bathed in murkiness. There's a sequence in a darkened cavern, where monsters(..after successfully capturing Ilias)battle Mace and you can hardly see anything..also, Mace is warding off a swarm of bats. There are some really inspired moments such as Mace fending off swamp zombies and a diseased Ilias(..who was stabbed in the leg by a poisonous needle)suffering bulging puss oozing sores(..following a little later, Fulci displays ants throughout Ilias' body, crawling around his wounds!). The "Mace versus Mace" encounter is certainly surreal as is Ocron's orgiastic display with a snake as she envisions nightmares of Ilias blasting her with one of his laser arrows. Most of the weapons used are fashioned from rock or wood. Lots of wounds gushing blood. The real star of the film is Alejandro Ulloa's cinematography. There are some remarkable shots through the use of the sun. The most unexpected scene has dolphins rescuing Mace from a most certain drowning. The ending, Mace's revenge against Ochron, using his comrade's bow, her "unveiling"(..we have a chance to see the grotesque face under the mask), and what she eventually turns into as a result, is simply perplexing. Recommended pretty much exclusively to fans of the genre. CONQUEST's success will be based on how you approach the material. I thought the film was delirious, unpredictable, very strange, but entertaining with another pulsating, stimulating electronic score by Claudo Simmoneti.

Witchfinder General 666 Sword and Sorcery flicks had their heyday in the early 80s, with "Conan The Barbarian" as the absolute highlight of the sub-genre, and tons of mostly immensely crappy low-budget flicks to follow. These films were so popular then, that even the godfather of gore himself, Lucio Fulci, decided to dabble in Fantasy's trashiest, and most entertaining sub-genre. Fulci's take on the Sword And Sorcery genre, namely this "Conquest" of 1983 is definitely not one of Fulci's masterpieces (more precisely, it is probably his dumbest movie), but it nonetheless outshines most other contemporary low-budget films of the kind. The storyline is extremely silly, and in spite of its flatness it is often confusing and makes little sense. People shouldn't watch Sword'n'Sorcery flicks and expect logic, however, and "Conquest" certainly has its qualities too. The film is atmospheric, and often quite bizarre, even more so than most other films of the genre, which is a quality in my book. I also liked the (quite strange) characters. The main villain is a nearly naked woman wearing a bizarre golden mask, who commands an army of beasts who are something in-between bears, wolves and men. While one of the heroes, Ilias (played by Andrea Occhipinti) looks like a total wuss, the other main character, Mace (played by Jorge Rivero) is basically a trashier version of Conan the Barbarian. Director Fulci also implicates the trade-mark gore, among other things heads are being crushed and people are torn into pieces.What especially makes this film watch-worthy, however, is the ingenious score by Claudio Simonetti, known to Horror buffs and Progressive Rock fans as the creative head of "Goblin", the ingenious band responsible for some of the greatest Horror film scores ever, most prominently those to Dario Argento's masterpieces. Simonetti always stands for brilliant film scores, and the progressive Rock score fits in with Sword and Sorcery better than one might expect. I would even go further, and say that the score to "Conquest" may very well be the single coolest soundtrack to any film of the genre. All things considered, "Conquest" is well worth watching. Fans of trashy 80s flicks, especially lovers of Sword And Sorcery should definitely give it a try!

captainultimo Once when I was 15 after watching Conan The Barbarian I drank a bottle of jager, took 5 hits of acid, and spent a weekend in the woods. My only company was Giorgio Moroder's Greatest Hits CD I had in my Sony Discman, a fog machine, and my thoughts. I think the cast and crew of Conquest had a similar pre-production. An ass naked female priestess in a gold mask whose powers supposedly cause the sun to rise and fall has enslaved the people of the land (who appear to be 14 nomadic herders) with her army of coke snorting Wolf Men. Now let me make this clear. These are not were-wolves as they never transform from wolf to man. They are Wolf-Men. Men with bulky fur bodies and wolf monster faces whose masks possess just enough articulation of the jaw to spout such classic lines as, "I'll kill you, I'll kill your people" before tearing a fine maiden apart like a wishbone after Thanksgiving dinner. Enter young Hugh Jackman who is sent on one of those missions where the old sage tells the hero all this stuff he must do to fulfill his destiny but leaves it vague enough that you get the feeling he has no idea what he's talking about. The mission involves thwarting the priestess' reign of terror with a laser bow. Let me just say right now any movie that involves a laser bow is alright with me. Along the way Hugh Jackman encounters Armand Assante. Armand Assante is the world weary warrior to Hugh Jackman's inexperienced hero to be. They become a team after Armand Assante uses some pro-wrestling maneuvers and nun-chuks made from femur bones to dispatch some wolf-men attacking Hugh Jackman. Armand Assante philosophizes to Hugh Jackman that he is a friend to all animals and will never harm one. Wolf-Men are not part of this philosophy. He then kills a hunter and takes his meal for his own justifying the eating of the animal and killing of the man by stating it was already dead and the hunter was a murderer of his friends the animals. I think you can be acquitted in some mid-western states with this same defense. Along their journey Hugh Jackman and Armand Assante battle dopplegangers of themselves sent by the priestess, survive festering poisoned wounds, encounter zombies, and are rescued from death by dolphins. Just when Hugh Jackman seems to have gotten the swing of things he's decapitated (I knew that old bastard had no idea what he was talking about) leaving Armand Assante to take up the laser bow in a finale that showcases FX the like I have not seen since. Blue laser arrows decimate the wolf-men horde and destroy the gold mask of the priestess revealing she has the face of Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th Part 4. I would still do her. She then turns into a wolf proving she really was a bitch. My earlier discourse on Wolf-Men and Were-Wolves still holds up as she was in fact a She-Wolf. She runs away defeated leaving the people of the land, all 14 of them, freed. Armand Assante walks off into the sunrise as it freeze frames which I take as being a message that no woman has the power to make the sun rise or fall. At this point when the Italian Synth score kicks in for one last time I am confronted with the only problem I had with the movie and why I gave it 9 instead of 10 stars. The first credit reads "any similarities to persons living or dead is purely coincidental" which implies the makers of the film made the whole thing up. I felt a sense of betrayal after being presented with what I thought was a glimpse into our ancient history.