Conquest

Film: Conquest

Year: 1983

Director: Lucio Fulci

Writers: Gino Capone, José Antonio de la Loma and Carlos Vasallo

Starring: Jorge Rivero, Andrea Occhipinti and Conrado San Martín

Review:

This was a movie that I didn't know about until getting in podcasts. I'm not even sure if I've ever heard it getting cover, but I know it was brought up when talking about director Lucio Fulci. He's a director that I grew up knowing his film Zombie. This is one that I decided to check out for Italian horror month and because it doubles as a Traverse through the Threes.

Synopsis: a young man, armed with a magical bow and arrows, embarks on a mystical journey through a mystical land to rid it of all evil and joins forces with an outlaw to take down an evil witch bent on claiming the magic for evil.

We start seeing Ilias (Andrea Occhipinti) as he begins his journey. His father doesn't want him to go but does bestow him with the magical bow from the synopsis. He leaves this kingdom that is safe from the wilds of this world.

I believe it is here that we meet our main villain, Ocron (Sabrina Siani). She has magical werewolves that marauder. They're led by Fado (José Gras). We see that they're depraved in their treatment of people. These beasts are fought off though by the wild outlaw from the synopsis, Mace (Jorge Rivero). What I like about him is that he's not a good guy. He doesn't like people much either. He also doesn't like seeing these monsters attack the helpless.

Mace and Ilias then meet. The former admires the magical bow that this younger man has. They decide to journey together. Orcon isn't happy to hear about the failure of Fado and demands her werewolves steal this bow. She is also haunted by a faceless person that wields this weapon. Orcon does what she can to prevent this prophecy from coming true. She even enlists the aid of a more powerful warrior spirit, Zora (Conrado San Martín), to defeat Ilias. Orcon’s offer is her body and soul to him if he succeeds.

Our heroic duo has run-ins with different monsters and creatures. Ilias learns who is behind these attacks and he wants to defeat her once and for all. Mace refuses to go with him, knowing how powerful she is. The two split up but come back together for survival. Mace needs to decide about breaking his nature or risking his life for strangers.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I'll start is that this is a wild movie to check out from Fulci. I've not seen him dive into a sword and sorcery movie like this, so I was intrigued what he'd do with it. This movie is a bit of a mess, but I had a good time. This has his signature violence and gore, which I appreciated. The story is a lacking a bit though.

Now let me start there. While watching this, it gave me vibes of like Hercules, Goliath or Maciste films. I've delved a bit into them while doing my podcast. What is funny is that I also got vibes of Quest of Fire with a woman that Ilias meets. I also saw that another reviewer compared this to Conan the Barbarian and Raiders of the Lost Ark as well. The last one I don't know if I get that, but the others for sure. I've also seen that this is Fulci loosely doing Hercules mythos. That would make me think his father was 'Zeus' and him staying in that kingdom would be that of the gods. This movie doesn't do great at fully fleshing out its story, so it is basic in what we get there. Ilias and Mace are faced with different monsters and creatures that they must defeat, which is what works for me.

What carries this is that action. We are coupling that with the gore effects which you didn't always see in movies like this from the United States. Now I'm a sucker for fantasy films. If I had seen this as a child, I'm sure I'd have heavy nostalgia vibes. Part of that could also be Siani is just in bikini bottoms so we're seeing her breasts every time she's on screen. I do think those fights scenes are fun. The blood and guts look good. I do think that the werewolves look a bit cheesy, but I have a soft spot there. I like the look of Zora and even though the true look of Orcon is also ridiculous while still making me smile.

Not all these were good though either. The magical arrows were on the cheap side. There is also this issue with the cinematography. A fog machine was used and we have soft focus. I know that part of this was to give it an ethereal feel. That is something I can understand will give leeway. My problem though is that it makes things difficult to see as well. Another thing was the soundtrack. It was done by Claudio Simonetti. I don't know if his score fully fits the vibes of the movie. I believe I've listened to this theme before seeing this to be honest. I love the music, but I'm not sure if it fit.

Where I'll then go to finish out this review would be the acting. I liked Rivero and Occhipinti. They are great as these traveling heroes. I love that Mace is this wild man who doesn't like people. Ilias softens him up and makes him into the hero we need. San Martín was good as Zora even though he has limited time. He wears a mask the whole time so there's that. Siani was also solid. If you want to see her body on display, it is here while she is also wearing a mask. Other than that, Gras, Violeta Cela, Gioia Scola and the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.

In conclusion, this is a bit of a mess of a movie. Despite all that, I had fun here. We have a simple story. Our heroes go on a journey to defeat an evil entity. This has solid gore and fights. Not all the practical effects look great though. There is charm to it still. I have slight issues with the cinematography and the soundtrack, but again, I just shut off my brain and ran with it. The acting was also solid. This won't be for everyone. If you dig the mindless, Italian cinema of the 1980s, then give this a go. If you want to see all Fulci's films, then I'd recommend it as well.

My Rating: 6 out of 10