It's been said and shown a thousand times: at Hitek, we are big fans of fantasy. However, after several files where we took the time to defend forgotten films of the genre or to highlight projects that we wanted to support, this time we wanted to approach the genre with a little more lightness. So here you will find a list of films with much more dubious taste. Over the years, these projects have, despite themselves, become monuments of “nanar”. Be careful, here, the nanar is to be distinguished from the turnip. To cite the reference site on this subject, Nanarland, nanars are “bad, nice films” or even “so bad that they become hilarious”. Now that you've been warned, here are the biggest fantasy busts worth rediscovering (and why).
#5 King Rising, In the Name of the King by Uwe Boll (2006)
Released in 2007, King Rising by Uwe Boll is a very free adaptation of the video game Dungeon victories. After having committed the shameful adaptations of House of the Dead et Alone in the Dark, Boll this time destroys a fantasy-oriented license with the prestigious approval of the studio 20th Century Studios. Indeed, for a reason that still eludes almost all of those who have tried to understand; the producers of the film said to themselves that the best way to responding to the success of Lord of the Rings was to hire an already reviled director by three-quarters of the world's geeks and to entrust him with the adaptation of a franchise that only these same geeks know. Because yes, this luxury nanar was originally thought to be the best possible response to Peter Jackson's trilogy.
Here, there is no brave Hobbit or wise magician having to survive a thousand perils in a subtle metaphor of the dangers of industrialization and the quest for power over our environment, but Jason Statham who will distribute torgnoles to Canadian extras wearing armor that is too big for them and wielding, without much dexterity, foam swords. Despite everything, this non-sensical effort barely enters our top. Indeed, if theThe film is rich in some sequences that will give you a few laughs nervous and/or moments of incredulous consternation, it is above all a little too long. However, as we know, the shortest are the best, especially in this type of film. It is, however, interesting to note that the film warns spectators very early on of its true nature, since from its first appearance, the character of Jason Statham is shown growing giant turnips.
#4 Beowulf the Graham Baker (1999)
This film by Graham Baker attempts to revisit the legend of the Viking hero Beowulf, left to face the monster Grendel, but with Christophe Lambert, fresh from the success of the first Mortal Kombatin the title role. Clearly inspired by the techno, leather and kung-fu atmosphere of Paul WS Anderson's “masterpiece”, here the Scandinavian epic becomes an improbable spectacle which mixes as best it can (but still rather poorly) different genres. The film is a sort of mix between medieval fantasy and cyberpunk universe, treated with a seriousness that makes it unintentionally hilarious. Between a disjointed storyline and an artistic direction completely off the mark, Beowulf is also distinguished by its special effects that were already archaic when it was released and a soundtrack worthy of one of the compilations Techno Tuning (yes, it really exists).
The show lives up to the promise with a Christophe Lambert in leather outfit and over-invested, who sincerely seems to think he's playing Shakespearebut who spends his time limply confronting Romanian extras who have come to take advantage of the board table. The rest is to match, withc its share of topless actresses, its tiring soundtrack, its freewheeling supporting roles, its improbable dialogues and a Scandinavian mythology about as respected as a chick sexer at the careers forum (yes, this profession really exists). Faced with this great moment of anything, as disconcerting as it is confusing, After a moment the nerves give way and the stupor gives way to a laugh that is first nervous, then sincere.Once the aberration is accepted, the film even takes on a strange charm.
#3 Les Barbarians by Ruggero Deodato (1987)
Les Barbarians, directed by Ruggero Deodato in 1987, with its kitsch aesthetic, bulging muscles and unintentional humor is a fantasy film that perfectly embodies the spirit of the 1980s. This cult classic follows the adventures of two twin brothers, Kutchek and Gore, played by bodybuilders David and Peter Paul, who must rescue Princess Canary, kidnapped by the evil Kadar. The Paul brothers, unaccustomed to the subtleties of dramatic art, compensate with their imposing physique and a series of grimaces unfortunate errors that often make them look like 8-year-olds stuck in the bodies of hormone-doped weightlifters. For the fantasy lover, the main attraction of Les Barbarians ultimately relies on his uninhibited character and his almost supernatural ability to provoke involuntary laughter, despite the presence of a generous bestiary of monsters and wizards.
Director Ruggero Deodato, best known for his horror films like Cannibal Holocaust, or his thrilling adventure films like Gungala, the virgin of the jungle and its sequel Gungala, the naked panther (yes, these films exist), seems here to have attempted to make a very serious fantasy epic, but clearly got caught in the trap. The film drastically changes course along the way, becoming a kind of voluntary comedy (or not), but truly disconcerting. And despite a rather convincing cast of supporting roles (on the scale of the project) and a nice success at the French box office (675,000 admissions all the same), the film is no less a sublime nonsense. Obviously, even today, the big attraction of the film remains the Paul brothers who never hesitate to fart to free themselves from a gallows or making animal noises to show their contentment.
#2 Kalidor, the Legend of the Talisman by Richard Fleischer (1985)
Released in 1985, after the already inglorious Conan the Destroyer, Kalidor East a failed attempt (and too many) to ride on the success of Conan the Barbarian by John Milius, released in 1982. The idea here is to feminize the genre by adapting the character of Red Sonja, a comic book heroine loosely inspired by a character created by author Robert E. Howard. Here, it is Brigitte Nielsen who embodies the one that the French public then knows under the name of Sonia the Redhead. Sonja is a warrior seeking to avenge the death of her family by taking on the cruel Queen Gedren. In her quest, she is occasionally helped by Kalidor (Schwarzenegger), a mysterious and muscular character. who, surely for a matter of rights, is not officially Conan, but no one is fooled.
And if, at this stage, you tell yourself that everything is fine, we can only advise you to dive into this disaster to realize the extent of the damage. Confoundingly naive dialogues, racist jokes, sexist remarks, special effects worthy of an Ed Wood filmand costumes with an SM evening atmosphere which reinforce the ultra-clichéd aspect of the 1980s. It's very simple: it feels like one of those videos generated by artificial intelligence that is asked to reinvent a film in an 80's dark fantasy version. However, it is difficult to deny your pleasure in the face of an often very funny result, which we highly recommend. Special mention for Schwarzenegger, who has never looked so sorry to be in a movie, and a fight sequence against a water monster that the actors move themselves to simulate the attack.
#1 Dungeons & Dragons de Courtney Solomon (2000)
The entire Hitek editorial team tries as regularly as possible to convince you to rewatch or discover Dungeons and Dragons: Thieves' Honorwhich is definitely one of the best films of 2023 and perhaps one of the best films of this first half of the decade. On the other hand, it is quite obvious that the same can never be said of the first adaptation of this famous role-playing game. Released 23 years earlier, in 2000, Dungeons & Dragons is probably one of the biggest failures in fantasy. But a magnificent failure! It's quite simple: nothing is going well in this film. If all the previous films in this top are certainly real nonsense, they all always have a little something to save: it can be a line a little less stupid than the others, a successful monster, a surprising camera movement, etc. . But here, nothing, absolutely nothing, is wrong.
However, This large-scale catastrophe is what makes this nanar strong today. We watch, with an almost morbid fascination, as the film sinks from scene to scene into an indescribable slump. It's very simple: we have the impression, throughout the viewing, that from the actors to the director via the technicians or the editor, everyone came to make a different film. No actor is ever on the same tone as the other. We could mention poor Thora Birch who tries to reproduce Natalie Portman's game in The Phantom MenaceMarlon Wayans who tries to impose the rhythm of his show In Living Color, Bruce Payne, about as expressive as Steven Seagal on Xanax, but the prize goes to poor Jeremy Irons, who overplays each of his lines so much that he gives the impression of trying to win a bet whose stakes are not well understood. Cherry on the Manticore skewer: all these little people are immersed in a film of sublime ugliness.
We will quickly move on to the uninspired production above all to invite you to enjoy the systematic wandering at each stage of artistic direction: systematically failed studio setsnatural settings systematically poorly chosen or poorly filmed, giving them a dizzying flatness; costumes never consistent with each other and special effects that are paradoxically as unsuccessful as they are ambitious. The film is definitely one of the ugliest you will ever see. To give you an idea, the Beowulf by Christophe Lambert, of whom we spoke a little above, may well be visually questionable, he at least has the advantage of being consistent in his “artistic” direction, something that this poor guy can’t even claim Dungeons & Dragons version 2000. Anyway, the film is now a must for modern cinema. On the other hand, we honestly cannot recommend the two sequels that it generated and which, there, are authentic and soporific turnips.
And if you liked this article, you can also discover 7 Fantasy films that flopped at the Box Office or 8 fantasy films and series that you will never see
