The Sword and the Sorcerer is all the worse for being the best of the worst of the really bad swords and sorcery films of the early 1980s. In the parade of fantasy films from this era, only a scant few accomplished a modicum of the sense of magic and wonder the genre requires. The others were mostly pathetic dreck. The Sword and the Sorcerer is in this latter category, but it's not as bad as most. In essence, it's "good dreck." And the reason I say the movie is all the worse for it is that there aren't the unintentional laughs that can cushion the pain inflicted by a truly wretched movie.

There are a couple of stupidities, the three-blade sword of the film's hero, for instance. The sword has many powers. It can shoot -- yes, I said shoot -- badguys, and there's a dagger hidden inside the sword's blade, should it ever break in combat. I'm also unclear about the elaborate opening scene in which a badguy quests into the tomb of an evil zombie, resurrects him, and enlists his aid, only to stab him and knock him over a cliff as soon as they get into daylight again. If only the movie were loaded with more insidiousness like this, at least it would have been good for something. As such, this is just a confusing, stupid, unimaginative, unengaging, bloodfilled bore.

During the closing credits, a comment is made that one should look for further adventures of the main character in an upcoming film called Tales of the Ancient Empire. I'm not the least bit surprised it never got made.