Crashing in to the craze set-up by "Conan the Barbarian" came quite an amusingly pulp sword and sorcery fable by Italian horror maestro director Lucio Fulci, which might be slender on story, packing a random, if stiff script and looking to be rather cheaply pulled off but he crafts out a lasting atmospheric air of odd imagery (as well as eerie sound effects) and hands out slabs of gusto violence (adding pulsating shocks of bloody violence --- especially to the head). In his latter career he would always be remembered for the excessive gore and nastiness in his features, but I what impressed me more anything is the moody atmospherics he brings aboard. I found "Conquest" to be quite effectively simmering in that regard. Helping out a lot is Claudio Simonetti ticking time bomb of an electronic score too. Rather unhinged, but extremely exhilarating and mystical. Fulci moves through one set-piece after another, either being a quick moving clip or a rather sluggish passage; nonetheless the primitive tailoring with its tacky make-up and chintzy special effects only add to this nightmarish air where a striking surreal edge is presented. Maybe taking away from the story's questionable developments. Some tripped out visuals of swirling mists and dark lighting compositions are caught by some innovative, flowing cinematography that's not afraid to get up close and personal, and also perfectly frames the picturesquely verdant backdrop. The performances are acceptable, but still on the plain side with the likes of Jorge Rivero, Andrea Occhipinti and Sabrina Sellers. I found the feature to get better as it went along, but it seems to make sure everything that occurs comes off too easy without much struggle and that goes for its anticlimactic final showdown. A fun and tatty exploitive tilt at the sword and scandal fantasy faze.
48 Reviews
Fulci's trashy, gory fantasy flick
Leofwine_draca14 May 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Here's an interesting failure: goremeister Lucio Fulci's take on a fantasy film is packed full of excessive and disgusting violence guaranteed to bring up the lunch. Otherwise, it's a poorly-shot, poorly dubbed and poorly edited epic which relays the most simplistic of stories and tells it like it's something phenomenal and important. Sadly Fulci's decision to shoot some of the film through a gauze - in order to give it an appropriately other-worldly look - means that it's difficult to see what exactly is going on for a lot of the time. This spoils what is otherwise a fun film to watch. It's not in the least bit original, however; Fulci's two main influences seem to be CONAN THE BARBARIAN (inevitably) and the little-scene prehistoric gore flick MASTER OF THE WORLD from which all the head-cracking and brain-scooping is inspired.
The show-stopping opening sees an innocent woman being captured by beast-men (who look like Chewbacca rather than anything resembling convincing) and then dismembered. Her severed head is taken to the evil chief, a woman known as Ocron who looks quite the part, naked, covered in gold paint and wearing a weird kind of mask. Ocron proceeds to bang a hole in the head and devour the brains inside - it's clear that Fulci puts his trademark gruesomeness into this film from the very beginning. From then on, we're introduced to the two leads, one a long-haired lout who is in touch with nature, the other a foppish kid who's handy with a bow and arrow. More baddies are spiked and clubbed than you can shake a stick at, often spilling blood as they do so. Any hits with blunt instruments also result in gouts of blood splashing everywhere.
For his fantasy landscape, Fulci tints the sky red and shoots in an eerie, desolate moor land – the isolated setting is one of the film's best aspects and to the film's credit, a lot of the atmosphere comes from the backgrounds. This does generate some atmosphere, and it's just a shame that the world Fulci and his fellow producers created is hidden behind a white mist (or looks to be) for much of the film. Some crisp cinematography would have done wonders for this film and lifted it no end. Still, there are a lot of basic thrills to enjoy here; plenty of battles between good and evil and even some cheesy computer effects thrown in, which is pretty much par for the course for any low budget fantasy or sci fi flick of the 1980s. Fulci even finds time to throw in a cool zombie interlude which sees a load of marsh-strewn corpses wake up to attack our do-gooders and then get staked (perhaps they got confused with vampires).
Other highlights see a poisoned man erupt with festering boils which then proceed to spill gooey slime everywhere - it's absolutely disgusting! The acting from the likes of muscle-bound Jorge Rivero (DAY OF THE ASSASSINS) and Andrea Occhipini (A BLADE IN THE DARK) is pretty hopeless, but Sabriana Siani (who made a career out of Italian fantasy flicks with this, THRONE OF FIRE, ATOR THE FIGHTING EAGLE and many others) is a pleasingly unconventional villainess. The blood is always flowing thickly and freely which make this bizarre outing worthwhile. It's not a good film perhaps, but certainly an entertainingly bad one just because it's so different.
The show-stopping opening sees an innocent woman being captured by beast-men (who look like Chewbacca rather than anything resembling convincing) and then dismembered. Her severed head is taken to the evil chief, a woman known as Ocron who looks quite the part, naked, covered in gold paint and wearing a weird kind of mask. Ocron proceeds to bang a hole in the head and devour the brains inside - it's clear that Fulci puts his trademark gruesomeness into this film from the very beginning. From then on, we're introduced to the two leads, one a long-haired lout who is in touch with nature, the other a foppish kid who's handy with a bow and arrow. More baddies are spiked and clubbed than you can shake a stick at, often spilling blood as they do so. Any hits with blunt instruments also result in gouts of blood splashing everywhere.
For his fantasy landscape, Fulci tints the sky red and shoots in an eerie, desolate moor land – the isolated setting is one of the film's best aspects and to the film's credit, a lot of the atmosphere comes from the backgrounds. This does generate some atmosphere, and it's just a shame that the world Fulci and his fellow producers created is hidden behind a white mist (or looks to be) for much of the film. Some crisp cinematography would have done wonders for this film and lifted it no end. Still, there are a lot of basic thrills to enjoy here; plenty of battles between good and evil and even some cheesy computer effects thrown in, which is pretty much par for the course for any low budget fantasy or sci fi flick of the 1980s. Fulci even finds time to throw in a cool zombie interlude which sees a load of marsh-strewn corpses wake up to attack our do-gooders and then get staked (perhaps they got confused with vampires).
Other highlights see a poisoned man erupt with festering boils which then proceed to spill gooey slime everywhere - it's absolutely disgusting! The acting from the likes of muscle-bound Jorge Rivero (DAY OF THE ASSASSINS) and Andrea Occhipini (A BLADE IN THE DARK) is pretty hopeless, but Sabriana Siani (who made a career out of Italian fantasy flicks with this, THRONE OF FIRE, ATOR THE FIGHTING EAGLE and many others) is a pleasingly unconventional villainess. The blood is always flowing thickly and freely which make this bizarre outing worthwhile. It's not a good film perhaps, but certainly an entertainingly bad one just because it's so different.
Vivid Fulci-fantasy!
Coventry16 April 2006
Warning: Spoilers
"Conquest" represents Italian director Lucio Fulci's quick cash-in on the Sword & Sorcery film; an adventure movie sub genre that got hugely popular in the early 80's thanks to such films as "Conan the Barbarian" and "The Beastmaster". The action in this type of films usually exists of rough macho fights and swashbuckling, but considering it's Lucio Fulci we're talking about here, you may also prepare yourself to see quite a lot of close-up gore and chopped off heads. The young and courageous adventurer Ilias leaves his safe home to go on a quest through the evil lands reigned by self-acclaimed Goddess Ocron, who pretends to own and operate the sun. Ilias' magical bow quickly attracts the attention of all Ocron's mythical servants. We've got wolf men, demons, big walking cobwebs and of course zombies! It wouldn't be a Fulci flick if zombies weren't involved, would it? Helped by the charismatic and experienced warrior Mace, Ilias tries to reach Ocron's hideout in order to destroy her for good. "Conquest" isn't nearly as good as any of Fulci's contemporary horror movies, but still an immensely entertaining and exhilarating little film. The screenplay written by all together FOUR people (!) often gets incredibly silly, like during the underwater dolphin rescue mission! The costumes and scenery are quite nifty, but the picture quality is poor and many sequences are over-lit. You can also easily look past the lousy dialogues and bad acting performances as long as you focus on the trashy gore (smashed open skulls!) and sleaze.
Fulci's career-killer.
nico-777 March 2000
In an unnamed pre-historic land, a gold-masked sorceress named Ocron (Sabrina Siani) rules all evil. A young archer (Andrea Occhipinti), equipped with a magic bow-and-arrow, sets out to kill her, teaming up with a hardened, animal-loving muscleman (George Rivero) along the way...
This was the first movie Fulci made after breaking his assocation with Fabrizio De Angelis, and is recognised as the one that would stop his career in its tracks. Fulci's quarrels with producer Giovanni De Clemente really show through on screen, with some particularly cheap special-effects and mangy-looking monsters.
To his credit, Fulci tries hard to work up an atmosphere (orange skies, fog, green mossy plains), but gives up towards the end. Some scenes are just plain stupid, such as the wolfmen attacks (they look like Dulux hounds!) and Rivero rescued from drowning by dolphins. As with his earlier CHALLENGE TO WHITE FANG, the sheer nastiness of what goes on weighs against the fantastical, magical backdrop Fulci was trying to create. But FANG had lovely locations, good acting, a pacey storyline and excellent photography to fall back on.
Gore fans do get their money's worth, however. An old man's brain is exposed after receiving a cranial axe-blow, Ocron whacking open a severed head to feast on its brains, various gore-spewing arrow hits, zombies being staked, several graphic burnings, and Ocron's heart blown out after receiving a laser-bolt to her chest. Not forgetting the notorious 'wishbone' sequence, where a naked girl is spread-eagled until she splits right up the middle.
Of course, many video-releases are cut, including the UK and Dutch tapes. Go for the Belgian or Greek release, they're both uncut and LBXed. That is, of course, if you care!
It's not surprising that the Italian spate of CONAN rip-offs only lasted about a year. This unimaginative effort, which is adequate at best, is actually one of the BETTER rip-offs. You don't even want to know what Lenzi's IRON MASTER and Tonino Ricci's THOR THE CONQUEROR are like!
This was the first movie Fulci made after breaking his assocation with Fabrizio De Angelis, and is recognised as the one that would stop his career in its tracks. Fulci's quarrels with producer Giovanni De Clemente really show through on screen, with some particularly cheap special-effects and mangy-looking monsters.
To his credit, Fulci tries hard to work up an atmosphere (orange skies, fog, green mossy plains), but gives up towards the end. Some scenes are just plain stupid, such as the wolfmen attacks (they look like Dulux hounds!) and Rivero rescued from drowning by dolphins. As with his earlier CHALLENGE TO WHITE FANG, the sheer nastiness of what goes on weighs against the fantastical, magical backdrop Fulci was trying to create. But FANG had lovely locations, good acting, a pacey storyline and excellent photography to fall back on.
Gore fans do get their money's worth, however. An old man's brain is exposed after receiving a cranial axe-blow, Ocron whacking open a severed head to feast on its brains, various gore-spewing arrow hits, zombies being staked, several graphic burnings, and Ocron's heart blown out after receiving a laser-bolt to her chest. Not forgetting the notorious 'wishbone' sequence, where a naked girl is spread-eagled until she splits right up the middle.
Of course, many video-releases are cut, including the UK and Dutch tapes. Go for the Belgian or Greek release, they're both uncut and LBXed. That is, of course, if you care!
It's not surprising that the Italian spate of CONAN rip-offs only lasted about a year. This unimaginative effort, which is adequate at best, is actually one of the BETTER rip-offs. You don't even want to know what Lenzi's IRON MASTER and Tonino Ricci's THOR THE CONQUEROR are like!
Visually splendid but......
HaemovoreRex29 April 2008
......A bit of an incoherent mess sadly. Still, with Lucio Fulci at the helm, what more could you expect? Yes, this is fairly typical of our Lucio's output; Beautiful to look at, with some outstanding, dreamlike imagery but as regards the actual substance, well, let's just say that it's muddled to say the very least. To be equitable, whilst the whole is somewhat of a bore to sit through, there are a number of well handled sequences which regular Fulci fans will delight to, such as one scene which is pleasantly reminiscent of the director's infamous zombie output, here featuring subterranean 'zombie' like creatures which slowly rise from a misty lake and amble menacingly towards one of our heroes.
True to Fulci form, there's the usual gore quotient including such wondrous sights as a woman torn in two down the middle(!), a magic arrow exploding through a woman's chest, a number of gooey head smashings and last but not least, some particularly off putting, pus oozing boils!
Without giving too much away, I must admit that I was taken by surprise by the fate of a main character quite late in proceedings - good old Lucio, he certainly doesn't mind sacrificing a main protagonist for the hell of it!
Overall, whilst gore fans will no doubt derive a kick from some of the films icky moments, there really isn't much else to recommend this on. Certainly, this is sadly far from Fulci's best work.
True to Fulci form, there's the usual gore quotient including such wondrous sights as a woman torn in two down the middle(!), a magic arrow exploding through a woman's chest, a number of gooey head smashings and last but not least, some particularly off putting, pus oozing boils!
Without giving too much away, I must admit that I was taken by surprise by the fate of a main character quite late in proceedings - good old Lucio, he certainly doesn't mind sacrificing a main protagonist for the hell of it!
Overall, whilst gore fans will no doubt derive a kick from some of the films icky moments, there really isn't much else to recommend this on. Certainly, this is sadly far from Fulci's best work.
Conquest of the Planet of the Wolfmen
Skutter-216 April 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Shlock-merchant Leo Fulci takes a change of pace by making a trashy, barely coherent sword and sorcery fantasy movie instead of his usual trashy, barely coherent horror.
A wimpy Orlando Bloom type called Ilias, from some society vaguely resembling Ancient Greece travels across the ocean to caveman territory on some vaguely defined quest to battle evil, where he joins up with a animal loving hunter to battle the wolf-man and mutant minions of a vampiric topless evil sorceress. Wackiness ensues. The sorceress, is oppressing the local cavemen and wants the magic bow for herself. She sends various minions, each weirder than the last, after our heroes who win through in the end, striking a blow for oppressed cavemen everywhere. This movie contains a steady stream of WTF? elements and moments.
For some reason the entire movie is shot in soft focus and the picture is further blurred by the constant presence of mist on screen. This may have been an attempt to create atmosphere or to hide how fake everything looks. Either way, it failed. There is no atmosphere, unless it is one of scuzziness and mild bewilderment and there is no hiding how lame everything looks. The wolf-man minions look like a poor man's wookie. For some reason the director fell in love with shots of them leaping through the air in slow motion, Six Million Dollar Man style, toward our heroes when they attack. There are probably about a dozen of these shots throughout the movie and it gets goofier every time. The other minions of the topless sorceress, other than the generic leather clad humans, are some lumpy white mutants who appear to be covered in cobwebs. Needless to say they are slow and unthreatening and when they speak sound like gay Hispanic, lisping Daleks. The fights are stilted and unconvincing and the special effects are woeful. Oh yeah, the music is cheap synthesiser stuff that the makers of Doctor Who would have been embarrassed to have used.
Ilias, our nominal hero is bland and forgettable. He also looks a complete wuss, especially with his midriff revealing leather outfit and big hair, and is clearly a moron. Sure, he's a dynamite shot with his magical bow but he only takes about three or four arrows with him in his mission to battle this entire continent of evil. Needless to say he runs out of arrows within a few minutes and has to be saved by more traditional sword and sorcery hero, Mace. When he meets Ilias he establishes himself as the taciturn loner type, claiming he has no friends but no sooner can you say latent homoerotic subtext they are bosom buddies, traipsing the misty hills together. Mace promises to take Ilias with him in return for bow related favours. Ilias asks where he is going. "Wherever my legs take me," is his reply. Good enough for Ilias. Mace is also animal lover and outrageous hypocrite. He proclaims his great love of and affinity toward animals, citing the usual stuff about how he prefers them to humans because humans can be soooo mean. He says he would never hunt and kill an animal to feed himself but he will steal meat off other people who have hunted down animals. He is also not above randomly killing innocent passers by for no good reason. Not long after they meet, he is testing out Ilias' bow and the movie cuts to some random caveman, minding his own business, walking along and Mace shoots him dead. There is no indication this poor soul did anything to deserve this and even Ilias, who supposedly hails from a more moral and civilised society doesn't even raise an eyebrow.
The films villainess is quite unusual. For the entire movie she is completely naked except from a g-string and a golden mask that encompasses her entire head. It's like Fulci included her to make the movies obligatory T&A quotient but decided she was bit too much of a butterface at the last minute. She spends a lot of time seemingly being pleasured by her pet snakes and dreaming about being shot by a faceless bow wielding man who is dressed like Ilias. Wow, such symbolism! Later on in the movie she wimps out when she can't beat Ilias and Mace and promises to make herself the sex-slave of some ancient warrior dude if he kills them for her. Hardly the world's most scary villain and not really a step forward for women's rights. I think he sic's the cobweb creatures on our heroes and impersonates Mace in a situation where there is no no-one else around but Mace to fool. Was he really worthy trading your self respect for, Ocron?
There are quite a few other WTF? moments. Most of them come toward the end of the movie. Ilias wusses out, I forget why, possibly his permed hairdo got mussed, but realizes the error of his ways and returns to aid Mace in fighting the forces of evil. All of a sudden, for no reason, his bow can suddenly fire out multiple target seeking bolts of energy. The bolts can also shoot through solid rock when necessary. Needless to say his makes short work of the hordes of bad guys who have captured Mace.
The climax is also rather nonsensical. Mace decimates Ocron's remaining forces using the bows targeted laser attack capability. He then is able to shoot Ocron from a kilometre away using its shoot through rock capacity. She starts dying. Her mask is ripped of revealing a hideous Muppet head. She staggers around screaming and turns into a dog and wanders off with another dog. Mace smiles. Roll credits.
Strangely enough as far as these dodgy low budget sword and sorcery movies this one is reasonably lucid and focused. Any one who has seen Wizards of the Lost Kingdom can tell you how nonsensical and meandering these movies can truly be.
A wimpy Orlando Bloom type called Ilias, from some society vaguely resembling Ancient Greece travels across the ocean to caveman territory on some vaguely defined quest to battle evil, where he joins up with a animal loving hunter to battle the wolf-man and mutant minions of a vampiric topless evil sorceress. Wackiness ensues. The sorceress, is oppressing the local cavemen and wants the magic bow for herself. She sends various minions, each weirder than the last, after our heroes who win through in the end, striking a blow for oppressed cavemen everywhere. This movie contains a steady stream of WTF? elements and moments.
For some reason the entire movie is shot in soft focus and the picture is further blurred by the constant presence of mist on screen. This may have been an attempt to create atmosphere or to hide how fake everything looks. Either way, it failed. There is no atmosphere, unless it is one of scuzziness and mild bewilderment and there is no hiding how lame everything looks. The wolf-man minions look like a poor man's wookie. For some reason the director fell in love with shots of them leaping through the air in slow motion, Six Million Dollar Man style, toward our heroes when they attack. There are probably about a dozen of these shots throughout the movie and it gets goofier every time. The other minions of the topless sorceress, other than the generic leather clad humans, are some lumpy white mutants who appear to be covered in cobwebs. Needless to say they are slow and unthreatening and when they speak sound like gay Hispanic, lisping Daleks. The fights are stilted and unconvincing and the special effects are woeful. Oh yeah, the music is cheap synthesiser stuff that the makers of Doctor Who would have been embarrassed to have used.
Ilias, our nominal hero is bland and forgettable. He also looks a complete wuss, especially with his midriff revealing leather outfit and big hair, and is clearly a moron. Sure, he's a dynamite shot with his magical bow but he only takes about three or four arrows with him in his mission to battle this entire continent of evil. Needless to say he runs out of arrows within a few minutes and has to be saved by more traditional sword and sorcery hero, Mace. When he meets Ilias he establishes himself as the taciturn loner type, claiming he has no friends but no sooner can you say latent homoerotic subtext they are bosom buddies, traipsing the misty hills together. Mace promises to take Ilias with him in return for bow related favours. Ilias asks where he is going. "Wherever my legs take me," is his reply. Good enough for Ilias. Mace is also animal lover and outrageous hypocrite. He proclaims his great love of and affinity toward animals, citing the usual stuff about how he prefers them to humans because humans can be soooo mean. He says he would never hunt and kill an animal to feed himself but he will steal meat off other people who have hunted down animals. He is also not above randomly killing innocent passers by for no good reason. Not long after they meet, he is testing out Ilias' bow and the movie cuts to some random caveman, minding his own business, walking along and Mace shoots him dead. There is no indication this poor soul did anything to deserve this and even Ilias, who supposedly hails from a more moral and civilised society doesn't even raise an eyebrow.
The films villainess is quite unusual. For the entire movie she is completely naked except from a g-string and a golden mask that encompasses her entire head. It's like Fulci included her to make the movies obligatory T&A quotient but decided she was bit too much of a butterface at the last minute. She spends a lot of time seemingly being pleasured by her pet snakes and dreaming about being shot by a faceless bow wielding man who is dressed like Ilias. Wow, such symbolism! Later on in the movie she wimps out when she can't beat Ilias and Mace and promises to make herself the sex-slave of some ancient warrior dude if he kills them for her. Hardly the world's most scary villain and not really a step forward for women's rights. I think he sic's the cobweb creatures on our heroes and impersonates Mace in a situation where there is no no-one else around but Mace to fool. Was he really worthy trading your self respect for, Ocron?
There are quite a few other WTF? moments. Most of them come toward the end of the movie. Ilias wusses out, I forget why, possibly his permed hairdo got mussed, but realizes the error of his ways and returns to aid Mace in fighting the forces of evil. All of a sudden, for no reason, his bow can suddenly fire out multiple target seeking bolts of energy. The bolts can also shoot through solid rock when necessary. Needless to say his makes short work of the hordes of bad guys who have captured Mace.
The climax is also rather nonsensical. Mace decimates Ocron's remaining forces using the bows targeted laser attack capability. He then is able to shoot Ocron from a kilometre away using its shoot through rock capacity. She starts dying. Her mask is ripped of revealing a hideous Muppet head. She staggers around screaming and turns into a dog and wanders off with another dog. Mace smiles. Roll credits.
Strangely enough as far as these dodgy low budget sword and sorcery movies this one is reasonably lucid and focused. Any one who has seen Wizards of the Lost Kingdom can tell you how nonsensical and meandering these movies can truly be.
Fulci's Conquest Of The Sword And Sorcery Genre
Witchfinder-General-66621 February 2008
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!
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!
Don't ask... just dive in
unbrokenmetal15 January 2007
"Conquest" is a typical case of a "love it or hate it" movie. The crossover which Fulci tried was: take some of the barbarian hero stuff popular in the 80s (Conan, Beastmaster), combine it with the splatter horror the director is well known for, and give this a psychedelic edge with blurred, constantly foggy visuals and haunting synthesizer music. Surely not everybody's taste, not even for many fans of Fulci's other works. However, if you are in the right mood, "Conquest" is an experience that compares to no other fantasy horror movie...except maybe Bava's "Ercole al centro della terra"! The story can be given in a few lines: Ilias, a young man from a comparatively civilized country, travels to a barbarian land of many terrors. He meets the warrior Mace, and together they fight an evil sorceress who claims to be responsible for the rising of the sun, and is worshiped like a goddess by everyone who believes her (surprisingly many).
Fulci doesn't give any explanations, but lets us dive in head first. Don't ask "why do those zombies exist in the swamp?", "why does Zora appear out of thin air?" or "how can Sabrina Siani be beamed from the mountain top into the cave without Scotty around?". This is not the point. What Fulci shows us is a dream where everything is possible. Meet the creatures that lurk in your nightmares, and when there are no more arrows for the bow, it shoots lightning beams. A dream does not require logic. Even death is not certain here. I perfectly understand when people don't like this movie, because it is opposed to what one normally expects from a movie. However, I don't see this as a dumb or sloppy script - to me it appears to be a purposeful experiment that did not succeed entirely, but is unusual and challenging. As I said at the beginning: love it or hate it.
Fulci doesn't give any explanations, but lets us dive in head first. Don't ask "why do those zombies exist in the swamp?", "why does Zora appear out of thin air?" or "how can Sabrina Siani be beamed from the mountain top into the cave without Scotty around?". This is not the point. What Fulci shows us is a dream where everything is possible. Meet the creatures that lurk in your nightmares, and when there are no more arrows for the bow, it shoots lightning beams. A dream does not require logic. Even death is not certain here. I perfectly understand when people don't like this movie, because it is opposed to what one normally expects from a movie. However, I don't see this as a dumb or sloppy script - to me it appears to be a purposeful experiment that did not succeed entirely, but is unusual and challenging. As I said at the beginning: love it or hate it.
Fulci does fantasy.
BA_Harrison5 September 2021
An old man in a dollar store Santa wig and beard bestows a magic bow on wimpy young adventurer Ilias (Andrea Occhipinti), who ventures into the smoke-shrouded wilderness to fulfil his destiny, which involves befriending barbarian Mace (Jorge Rivero), and fighting evil, topless sun-ruler Ocron (Sabrina Siani) and her beastly minions.
Lucio Fulci, the Italian 'godfather of gore', tackles the then-very-popular fantasy genre in his own distinctive style, keeping splatter fans happy with a wonderfully gory scene early on as Ocron's pig-faced henchmen attack a peaceful tribe, tearing a woman in half by pulling her legs apart and cracking open her skull so that their leader can feast on the brains. A later revolting scene sees Ilias struck by a poisoned dart, his body erupting with oozing sores (cured by a handy dandy magical flower that grows in a nearby valley!). Fulci also throws in not one, but two totally unexpected and gory demises for two of the characters, which makes up somewhat for the remainder of the film, which comprises of a series of not-very-thrilling altercations in which the bad guys launch themselves off trampolines in the direction of the heroes.
In addition to the gore and the tiresome fights, we also get a hilarious moment when a school of friendly dolphins rescue Mace from a watery grave - a silly underwater scene to rival that of the shark vs. Zombie in Zombie Flesheaters.
5/10. Not one of Fulci's better films, but worth a go for fans of the director and for those who enjoy dumb trashy movies.
Lucio Fulci, the Italian 'godfather of gore', tackles the then-very-popular fantasy genre in his own distinctive style, keeping splatter fans happy with a wonderfully gory scene early on as Ocron's pig-faced henchmen attack a peaceful tribe, tearing a woman in half by pulling her legs apart and cracking open her skull so that their leader can feast on the brains. A later revolting scene sees Ilias struck by a poisoned dart, his body erupting with oozing sores (cured by a handy dandy magical flower that grows in a nearby valley!). Fulci also throws in not one, but two totally unexpected and gory demises for two of the characters, which makes up somewhat for the remainder of the film, which comprises of a series of not-very-thrilling altercations in which the bad guys launch themselves off trampolines in the direction of the heroes.
In addition to the gore and the tiresome fights, we also get a hilarious moment when a school of friendly dolphins rescue Mace from a watery grave - a silly underwater scene to rival that of the shark vs. Zombie in Zombie Flesheaters.
5/10. Not one of Fulci's better films, but worth a go for fans of the director and for those who enjoy dumb trashy movies.
Only Bad If You're Dumb Enough To Take It Seriously
Steve_Nyland13 June 2006
Adults deserve to have their fairy tales & fantasies too, and I'd say Lucio Fulci cooked up a pretty potent adult pulp fairy tale here. I'll leave it to others to describe the plot: My first indication that this wasn't going to be your average CONAN ripoff when the four guys dressed up like Smokey the Bear rip a cave girl babe into quarters, snort drugs with a nude sorceress witch babe with a body from hell who then copulates (R-Rated style) with her companion python while having a vision of someone shooting her with TRON's bow & arrow. Talk about weird!
The film is an interesting combination of opposites that aims right at the atavistic, adventure-loving 14 year old with a desire to see bared breasts in all of us. While the narrative is somewhat confusing in your typical Fulcian kind of way the visuals are just as striking, with costume design by Mad Max and Larry Flynt, including oddball touches such as the Dog Men, the Gauze Men, Ape Guys and that far-out sorceress. She really is the focus of the film: The two guys out gallivanting around saving each other from imminent doom are more sort of there to give the film an excuse to have such an outrageously sexy harlot as it's force of evil, complete with a bestial contingent of half men half animals to do her evil bidding.
But seriously, if you go into this expecting anything other than complete dreck the movie *WILL* annoy you. For fans of be-headings, clever escapes, back-flips, fights to the death, mystical snake babes, ferocious howler guys, Atari era computer graphics, ridiculous cornball dialog and equal amounts of beefcake and cheesecake, this movie should be your priority rental next time you're in the mood for something other than a Global Warming movie. CONQUEST may not change the world, win any elections or even be that good, but I'd rather be confused by something that knows it's garbage & has fun with the idea than snookered by ideology disguised as entertainment.
7/10, even if it doesn't make much sense ...
The film is an interesting combination of opposites that aims right at the atavistic, adventure-loving 14 year old with a desire to see bared breasts in all of us. While the narrative is somewhat confusing in your typical Fulcian kind of way the visuals are just as striking, with costume design by Mad Max and Larry Flynt, including oddball touches such as the Dog Men, the Gauze Men, Ape Guys and that far-out sorceress. She really is the focus of the film: The two guys out gallivanting around saving each other from imminent doom are more sort of there to give the film an excuse to have such an outrageously sexy harlot as it's force of evil, complete with a bestial contingent of half men half animals to do her evil bidding.
But seriously, if you go into this expecting anything other than complete dreck the movie *WILL* annoy you. For fans of be-headings, clever escapes, back-flips, fights to the death, mystical snake babes, ferocious howler guys, Atari era computer graphics, ridiculous cornball dialog and equal amounts of beefcake and cheesecake, this movie should be your priority rental next time you're in the mood for something other than a Global Warming movie. CONQUEST may not change the world, win any elections or even be that good, but I'd rather be confused by something that knows it's garbage & has fun with the idea than snookered by ideology disguised as entertainment.
7/10, even if it doesn't make much sense ...
CONQUEST (Lucio Fulci, 1983) *1/2
Bunuel197618 July 2009
Despite being released on DVD by Blue Underground some five years ago, I have never come across this Italian "sword and sorcery" item on late-night Italian TV and, now that I have seen it for myself, I know exactly why. Not because of its director's typical predilection for extreme gore (of which there is some examples to be sure) or the fact that the handful of women in it parade topless all the time (it is set in the Dark Ages after all)
it is, quite simply, very poor stuff indeed. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it may very well be the worst of its kind that I have yet seen and, believe me, I have seen plenty (especially in the last few years i.e. following my excursion to the 2004 Venice Film Festival)! Reading about how the film's failure at the time of initial release is believed to have led to its director's subsequent (and regrettable) career nosedive into mindless low-budget gore, I can see their point: I may prefer Fulci's earlier "giallo" period (1968-77) to his more popular stuff horror (1979-82) myself but, even on the latter, his commitment was arguably unquestionable. On the other hand, CONQUEST seems not to have inspired Fulci in the least – seeing how he decided to drape the proceedings with an annoyingly perpetual mist, sprinkle it with incongruent characters (cannibals vs. werewolves, anyone?), irrelevant gore (we are treated to a gratuitous, nasty cannibal dinner just before witnessing the flesh-eating revelers having their brains literally beaten out by their hairy antagonists!) and even some highly unappetizing intimacy between the masked, brain-slurping villainess (don't ask) and her slimy reptilian pet!! For what it is worth, we have two heroes for the price of one here: a young magic bow-carrying boy on some manhood-affirming odyssey (Andrea Occhipinti) and his rambling muscle-bound companion (Jorge Rivero i.e. Frenchy from Howard Hawks' RIO LOBO [1970]!) who, despite being called Mace (short for Maciste, perhaps?), seems to be there simply to drop in on his cavewoman from time to time and get his younger protégé out of trouble (particularly during an exceedingly unpleasant attack of the 'boils'). Unfortunately, even the usual saving grace of such lowbrow material comes up short here as ex-Goblin Claudio Simonetti's electronic score seems awfully inappropriate at times. Fulci even contrives to give the film a laughably hurried coda with the surviving beefy hero going aimlessly out into the wilderness (after defeating one and all with the aid of the all-important magic bow
so much for his own supposed physical strength!) onto his next – and thankfully unfilmed – adventure!
Actually, one of Fulci's triumphs
glaur31 May 2011
If there's any movie Lucio Fulci made that inspires equal love and hatred, it must be this, the director's lone fore into the Sword and Sorcery subgenre. The general opinion of its detractors seems to be that "Conquest" marked the beginning of Fulci's descent into both commercial and artistic mediocrity, and while the former may be true, I'm not understanding the latter. In light of what Fulci's work aspires to be, "Conquest" can in many ways be seen as a culmination of his style, and if your best criticisms of the movie are that it's "plotless and cheap," I wonder why you're watching a Fulci movie in the first place.
Sure, the plot is a rudimentary blob that in the end amounts mostly to characters wandering back and forth as an excuse to get them into perilous situations involving traps and monsters, but Fulci's visual sensibilities are positively ON FIRE here, so much so that the limitations of the story become pretty much inconsequential. They take a back seat to the otherwordly mythic fantasy environment that Fulci is able to create with the most frugal materials. It is the foreboding fog-shrouded swamps, ancient stone temples, grotesque creatures and lurid-colored alien skies that will linger in the mind as the work of an artist who clearly has an eye for distinctive visuals. You could only accuse this of being a movie derivative of "Conan the Barbarian" if you completely ignored this aspect of it, because I can't think of another film that looks anything like this.
Other aspects of "Conquest" work to its advantage in subtle ways. The spare, monosyllabic dialogue helps to create the sense of a primitive and brutish world and the minimalist pulses of Claudio Simonetti's electronic score mesh well with the stunning visuals. Bizarre details - the villainess' gold mask and fascination with snakes, the enchanted bow that glows blue, the dolphin rescue - border on the surrealistic. The effect achieved, at least to this viewer, is hypnotic. I find myself wondering how so many filmmakers today, when they are given all the resources in the world and can't give us one interesting thing to look at, can be treated so leniently by critics who would jump on the bahnwagon to slam Fulci without a second thought.
Sure, the plot is a rudimentary blob that in the end amounts mostly to characters wandering back and forth as an excuse to get them into perilous situations involving traps and monsters, but Fulci's visual sensibilities are positively ON FIRE here, so much so that the limitations of the story become pretty much inconsequential. They take a back seat to the otherwordly mythic fantasy environment that Fulci is able to create with the most frugal materials. It is the foreboding fog-shrouded swamps, ancient stone temples, grotesque creatures and lurid-colored alien skies that will linger in the mind as the work of an artist who clearly has an eye for distinctive visuals. You could only accuse this of being a movie derivative of "Conan the Barbarian" if you completely ignored this aspect of it, because I can't think of another film that looks anything like this.
Other aspects of "Conquest" work to its advantage in subtle ways. The spare, monosyllabic dialogue helps to create the sense of a primitive and brutish world and the minimalist pulses of Claudio Simonetti's electronic score mesh well with the stunning visuals. Bizarre details - the villainess' gold mask and fascination with snakes, the enchanted bow that glows blue, the dolphin rescue - border on the surrealistic. The effect achieved, at least to this viewer, is hypnotic. I find myself wondering how so many filmmakers today, when they are given all the resources in the world and can't give us one interesting thing to look at, can be treated so leniently by critics who would jump on the bahnwagon to slam Fulci without a second thought.
Conquest
Scarecrow-8811 July 2009
Warning: Spoilers
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.
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.
worst movie i've ever seen
robwooten22 June 2005
This was a watershed event in my movie watching life. I went to see this in the theater when it came out. I was completely amazed at just how bad it was. Movies like this make you wonder who put the money up and who owed whom a favor - a very, very large favor. The special effects are absolutely first grade level, as in any first grader could have done them. Toy rubber bats on strings with no attempt to hide the strings, arrows that appear to be drawn on the film and look to be the shape of an arrow you'd find on a street sign, and a laughable story line. Ed Wood made masterpieces compared to "Conquest". Every film student should see this thing just so they'll know the very definition of a bad movie.
Weird beyond belief
MishaD11 September 2003
As can be gathered from previous comments, this movie is weird beyond belief. I could not really detect a plot, but my guess is it has something to do with naked she-barbarians with masks and bearskin strings. The film seems to be shot through some kind of filter, giving the effect of a constant fog hanging in front of the camera. The splatter is not as abundant as in Fulci's better-known zombie-films, but there's still the occasional bloodletting.
Worthwhile, but only of you're into cinematic curiosities.
Worthwhile, but only of you're into cinematic curiosities.
This is a joke, right?
Glurrk2 May 2004
Warning: Spoilers
Warning: This review contains a spoiler.
Wow. Almost impressively bad. Note I said, "almost". This is nothing more than lots of random scenes strung together in a loose attempt at a story. The protagonists (you CANNOT call them "heroes") shoot innocent bystanders for their food, and also rob same for similar reasons. There's also tons of homoeroticism, which was a turnoff for me. (SPOILER: It seems as if the villainess (who only is topless and not naked as other reviews claim) gets killed early on, but miraculously recovers, adding another 70 minutes of audience-torture.) I can't shake the feeling that animal abuse occurred numerous times in this cinematic abomination. If you're in a MST3K mood, you might find this watchable, but for the most part you can forget it. Go rent the original Conan DVD instead.
Wow. Almost impressively bad. Note I said, "almost". This is nothing more than lots of random scenes strung together in a loose attempt at a story. The protagonists (you CANNOT call them "heroes") shoot innocent bystanders for their food, and also rob same for similar reasons. There's also tons of homoeroticism, which was a turnoff for me. (SPOILER: It seems as if the villainess (who only is topless and not naked as other reviews claim) gets killed early on, but miraculously recovers, adding another 70 minutes of audience-torture.) I can't shake the feeling that animal abuse occurred numerous times in this cinematic abomination. If you're in a MST3K mood, you might find this watchable, but for the most part you can forget it. Go rent the original Conan DVD instead.
Swords, sorcery and gore from Lucio Fulci
The_Void26 February 2008
Lucio Fulci is and will always be best known for his work in the horror genre, but he's also a director who was happy to explore genres outside of horror (probably with money in mind) and this is his 'Sword and Sorcery' attempt. I have to say I'm not a fan of the whole Lord of the Rings style fantasy stuff in general, so obviously my only reason for sitting through this was due to the fact that it's Fulci in the director's chair. To my surprise, this is actually fairly decent stuff; it's got nothing on Fulci's best work and definitely won't encourage me to check out any more Sword and Sorcery flicks, but still. The plot is simple at its centre and follows a young man who goes on a journey complete with a magic bow and arrow but ends up having to fight off various monsters when his plight is discovered by some evil witch. The witch, of course, wants his bow to use for evil but the young lad has plenty up his sleeve as he joins forces with some outlaw and beats off the bad guys with his shiny bow and arrow.
While the plot is quite simple, there's a hell of a lot of ideas in there - far too many for the runtime and so things do still manage to get more than just a little bit confusing. Some of the ideas are really stupid too, which harms the credibility of the film. It's clear that this was never meant to be taken seriously, however, so I guess it can be cut some slack. The film is very much a product of the eighties and it's very trashy indeed. Despite being a genre that he's not best known for, Fulci still manages to bring in his trademarks as the film features some fairly graphic scenes of gore - a scene that sees a woman ripped in half being among the best parts. We also get to see Fulci's other trademark zombies, in another highlight sequence. The music is also very good and in fitting with Fulci's other stuff and is composed by respected musician Claudio Simonetti. The acting is not great and the guy in the lead role looks a bit too camp, but nevermind. Overall, I can't highly recommend this film; but fans of silly Italian movies will probably get a kick out of it.
While the plot is quite simple, there's a hell of a lot of ideas in there - far too many for the runtime and so things do still manage to get more than just a little bit confusing. Some of the ideas are really stupid too, which harms the credibility of the film. It's clear that this was never meant to be taken seriously, however, so I guess it can be cut some slack. The film is very much a product of the eighties and it's very trashy indeed. Despite being a genre that he's not best known for, Fulci still manages to bring in his trademarks as the film features some fairly graphic scenes of gore - a scene that sees a woman ripped in half being among the best parts. We also get to see Fulci's other trademark zombies, in another highlight sequence. The music is also very good and in fitting with Fulci's other stuff and is composed by respected musician Claudio Simonetti. The acting is not great and the guy in the lead role looks a bit too camp, but nevermind. Overall, I can't highly recommend this film; but fans of silly Italian movies will probably get a kick out of it.
Fantasy Mixed With Horror and Little Plot
gavin694214 April 2011
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 bow for evil.
After Fulci's best years of work in horror (1977-1982) came "Conquest", not at all a horror film. Some familiar names can be found here, though: actor Andrea Occhipinti (who appeared in Lamberto Bava's "A Blade in the Dark") and composer Claudio Simonetti, who had scored some of Argento's best films.
This picture suffers from the same low-quality video that we see in much of Fulci's work. Perhaps a better picture and budget and it could have been a contender for one of the memorable 1980s fantasy films -- "Legend", "Willow", et cetera. This is probably hoping too much, though. The film has other shortcomings.
While not a horror film in any strict sense, there is a definite Fulci style that horror fans may fine appealing: the same misogynistic treatment of women, with one nude woman getting split down the middle like a wishbone. Plenty of other nude women getting ravaged in various ways. A man getting his skullcap lopped off, revealing a moist brain within. Horror elements, set within a fantasy world. The same things happening in Rome and it would be horror -- a fine line, perhaps? Luca Palmerini puts this film in a genre called "peplum", and calls it "controversial", but praises the photography and special effects. Effects maybe, but outfits no. The masks and costumes of the invaders are better than the trolls of "Troll 2", but not by much. There is no level of realism to them -- the beasts' mouths cannot even move or close.
After Fulci's best years of work in horror (1977-1982) came "Conquest", not at all a horror film. Some familiar names can be found here, though: actor Andrea Occhipinti (who appeared in Lamberto Bava's "A Blade in the Dark") and composer Claudio Simonetti, who had scored some of Argento's best films.
This picture suffers from the same low-quality video that we see in much of Fulci's work. Perhaps a better picture and budget and it could have been a contender for one of the memorable 1980s fantasy films -- "Legend", "Willow", et cetera. This is probably hoping too much, though. The film has other shortcomings.
While not a horror film in any strict sense, there is a definite Fulci style that horror fans may fine appealing: the same misogynistic treatment of women, with one nude woman getting split down the middle like a wishbone. Plenty of other nude women getting ravaged in various ways. A man getting his skullcap lopped off, revealing a moist brain within. Horror elements, set within a fantasy world. The same things happening in Rome and it would be horror -- a fine line, perhaps? Luca Palmerini puts this film in a genre called "peplum", and calls it "controversial", but praises the photography and special effects. Effects maybe, but outfits no. The masks and costumes of the invaders are better than the trolls of "Troll 2", but not by much. There is no level of realism to them -- the beasts' mouths cannot even move or close.
Fantasy done Fulci style.
Hey_Sweden17 July 2016
A studly young man named Ilias (Andrea Occhipinti) embarks on a quest to vanquish evil. He's soon joined in his travels by Mace (Jorge Rivero), a Conan type lone wolf who saves Ilias' ass at one point basically because he admires his weapon, a magical bow. Together they fight the minions of evil witch Ocron (Sabrina Siani), some of them looking like bargain basement versions of Chewbacca, among other creatures.
There's barely a coherent story here, but people who just adore the trashiest and cheesiest of low budget fantasy features aren't going to mind very much. Celebrated Italian director Lucio Fulci puts his indelible stamp on this genre, completely saturating it with surrealism and atmosphere. Viewers will love all the details, especially the fact that Siani, although masked, plays her role almost completely nude, and sometimes has a snake slither over her body. Claudio Simonettis' score is simply perfect for this sort of entertainment. The soft focus photography by D.P. Alejandro Ulloa won't be to everybody's taste, but everything is filmed on some attractively exotic locations (Sardinia, Italy). The performances are appropriate to the occasion, with Rivero and Occhipinti as moderately engaging heroes, and sexy Ms. Siani, and Conrado San Martin as her equally diabolical associate Zora, functioning as amusing villains. The special effects are enjoyably laughable in their incredible tackiness. There's some wonderfully mean spirited gore here, supplied by Franco Rufini.
There's a lot of buildup here to a finale that is over a little too quickly, but "Conquest" does deliver the sleazy goods for those that like their fantasy as R rated (or unrated, as the case is here) as possible.
Fulci fans will recognize the mark between Maces' eyes.
Seven out of 10.
There's barely a coherent story here, but people who just adore the trashiest and cheesiest of low budget fantasy features aren't going to mind very much. Celebrated Italian director Lucio Fulci puts his indelible stamp on this genre, completely saturating it with surrealism and atmosphere. Viewers will love all the details, especially the fact that Siani, although masked, plays her role almost completely nude, and sometimes has a snake slither over her body. Claudio Simonettis' score is simply perfect for this sort of entertainment. The soft focus photography by D.P. Alejandro Ulloa won't be to everybody's taste, but everything is filmed on some attractively exotic locations (Sardinia, Italy). The performances are appropriate to the occasion, with Rivero and Occhipinti as moderately engaging heroes, and sexy Ms. Siani, and Conrado San Martin as her equally diabolical associate Zora, functioning as amusing villains. The special effects are enjoyably laughable in their incredible tackiness. There's some wonderfully mean spirited gore here, supplied by Franco Rufini.
There's a lot of buildup here to a finale that is over a little too quickly, but "Conquest" does deliver the sleazy goods for those that like their fantasy as R rated (or unrated, as the case is here) as possible.
Fulci fans will recognize the mark between Maces' eyes.
Seven out of 10.
What the hell was this?
JoeB1319 April 2010
It appears that Spagetti Fantasy has its fans. Obviously seeing the commercial success of movies like Conan the Barbarian, some Italians decided to make a bad copy...
An evil queen prances around with snakes while wearing a golden mask and a spiky chastity belt, fearing a wanderer... what we get is a lot of silly action scenes, some gross special effects made on the cheap with lots of butcher shop scraps. The narrative is incomprehensible, the acting awful.
I think that a condition of the peace treaty that ended WWII should have been Italy to give up all of its film cameras...
An evil queen prances around with snakes while wearing a golden mask and a spiky chastity belt, fearing a wanderer... what we get is a lot of silly action scenes, some gross special effects made on the cheap with lots of butcher shop scraps. The narrative is incomprehensible, the acting awful.
I think that a condition of the peace treaty that ended WWII should have been Italy to give up all of its film cameras...
Fulci does it again! Good Kills, Fun, Woman being torn apart, Beheaded Hero!
Bababooe30 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Fulci does it again! Good Kills, Fun, Woman being torn apart, Beheaded Hero! Good movie. Acting is OK. Dubbing OK, not great. Good music. Good camera work. The story slows in the middle. Maybe a few too many fight scenes. Good kills. A woman is torn apart. The hero is beheaded. In what movie will the hero be beheaded. What director/film maker will take this risk. Fulci does it. I'm not a fan of all Fulci movies. But I've seen some greats. Like Don't Torture a Duckling, and New York Ripper. Great quote "My enemies call me ---" "What do your friends call you?" "I don't have any friends". Good fun movie. The cartoon effects sucked. But all the kills and other effects work well.
This one didn't conquest me...
buchass25 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I must apologize all sword and sorcery fan's, but this films sucks! And i must say that is a pity. Im a fan of fantasy\sword and sorcery movies. But "Conquest" is on one of the most boredom sword and sorcery flicks i ever seen (when i say that, i don't even refer flicks like "Gunan il guerriero", "Wizards of the Demon Sword", "Ator 1 and 2" or even "Deathstalker" sequels, because after all, we must say that "Conquest" its much better movie!), the plot is horrible, the soundtrack is really, really annoying, the sound design (no comments), the narrative losses completely along the film. Yes, i known that the budget is really, really, really low, but sometimes is no excuse to do such bad plots and nonsensical narratives, that are so terrible in most of the "B" and "Z" sword and sorcery movies. One thing i must say, Lucio Fulci creates a great ambiance, he capt beautiful landscapes that emanate a strange mystic atmosphere, that sends us too a dreamlike fantastic world. But unfortunately is very few, and the rest of the movie fails completely. If you like this one i recommend: "The Sword and the Sorcerer"(Albert Pyun - 1982), in many ways have a similar aura.
A Trip
Kakueke15 November 2001
The atmosphere in this movie is like nothing I have ever seen. Absolutely bizarre, beautiful, and brilliant. The plot and acting are not important. Instead, they merely provide a stepping stone for Lucio Fulci's beyond-superb cinematography.
OK, the "atmosphere's plot" revolves around the pursuit of the sorceress villainess Ocron (Sabrina Siani) by an archer, Ilias (Andrea Occhipinti), and Mace (Jorge Rivero), a sidekick picked up along the way. Sabrina is more of a form figure than a person, and has a fluid gold mask. However, Ilias and Mace are regular homo sapiens. The setting is, you know, sci fi, caveman outfitted, medieval, monsters and wolfmen and zombies, and a few more people.
Funny thing, the silhouettes of both Mace and Ilias -- most notably, their hairlines -- give them a resemblance to Jim Morrison. When the facial details are observed, the comparison lessens, but one almost thinks a crossing of those details would bring a nearer result. Plus, like other animal forms in the movie, snakes are prominent. And you know, that scene in Oliver Stone's flick with "The End," is there more coincidence...
OK, enough of that. Ocron's efforts to eliminate her stalkers seeking to end her evil rule center around beast and wolfmen attacks, and there are various other graphic scenes. For those who dislike violence and gore, graphic imagery, this film has them, yes, but they are mitigated by the atmosphere. "Cannibal Holocaust" and "Jungle Holocaust" are real (very), "Conquest" is surreal (equally as very).
To communicate what the atmosphere is like, I might initially say something like "darkly impressionistic." But first of all, it's not dark as in nightworld -- not really dark, but somewhat murky; Fulci enlists fog, as a matter of fact. Besides, "impressionistic" applies only in the broad association of the word of nonreproduction of realism, not the narrower definition involving use of light and uneven depth. For what makes the cinematography so fantastic is the depth of the backdrop--colors and form, and the blending of the colors. Motley, variegated? But don't these terms perhaps imply brightness and individual definition? Yet the brightness in "Conquest" is subtly refined, filtered within the nebulous atmosphere. The effect is nothing short of a dazzling work of art, a real treat for the viewer. For your eyes only.
Fulci is very successful in his efforts with broad, elaborate images -- the sky, the sun and moon, the sea and earth and vegetation. But he is also good on detail in the living beings and their surroundings. And although the movie's tale is only silly, the scenes are presented skillfully, well crafted and well edited.
So inferior are the pompous, amorphous special effects that viewers are barraged with by modern Hollywood movies (Mummy II, etc.) when measured against Fulci's work in "Conquest" that they come out as nothing but a joke by comparison. I wish to point out that I am no particular fan of European movies, preferring Hollywood overall, but I must say that in certain genres some Italian flicks represent the best of the Old World, with their exploration of basic human desires and instincts, their depth and bite, sometimes great humor, and, as here, atmosphere. See references above, plus "The Good the Bad and the Ugly," "The Sensuous Nurse," "The Legend of Frenchie King," "Farewell Uncle Tom," "La Dolce Vita..." For atmosphere and visuals, "Conquest" is triumphant.
OK, the "atmosphere's plot" revolves around the pursuit of the sorceress villainess Ocron (Sabrina Siani) by an archer, Ilias (Andrea Occhipinti), and Mace (Jorge Rivero), a sidekick picked up along the way. Sabrina is more of a form figure than a person, and has a fluid gold mask. However, Ilias and Mace are regular homo sapiens. The setting is, you know, sci fi, caveman outfitted, medieval, monsters and wolfmen and zombies, and a few more people.
Funny thing, the silhouettes of both Mace and Ilias -- most notably, their hairlines -- give them a resemblance to Jim Morrison. When the facial details are observed, the comparison lessens, but one almost thinks a crossing of those details would bring a nearer result. Plus, like other animal forms in the movie, snakes are prominent. And you know, that scene in Oliver Stone's flick with "The End," is there more coincidence...
OK, enough of that. Ocron's efforts to eliminate her stalkers seeking to end her evil rule center around beast and wolfmen attacks, and there are various other graphic scenes. For those who dislike violence and gore, graphic imagery, this film has them, yes, but they are mitigated by the atmosphere. "Cannibal Holocaust" and "Jungle Holocaust" are real (very), "Conquest" is surreal (equally as very).
To communicate what the atmosphere is like, I might initially say something like "darkly impressionistic." But first of all, it's not dark as in nightworld -- not really dark, but somewhat murky; Fulci enlists fog, as a matter of fact. Besides, "impressionistic" applies only in the broad association of the word of nonreproduction of realism, not the narrower definition involving use of light and uneven depth. For what makes the cinematography so fantastic is the depth of the backdrop--colors and form, and the blending of the colors. Motley, variegated? But don't these terms perhaps imply brightness and individual definition? Yet the brightness in "Conquest" is subtly refined, filtered within the nebulous atmosphere. The effect is nothing short of a dazzling work of art, a real treat for the viewer. For your eyes only.
Fulci is very successful in his efforts with broad, elaborate images -- the sky, the sun and moon, the sea and earth and vegetation. But he is also good on detail in the living beings and their surroundings. And although the movie's tale is only silly, the scenes are presented skillfully, well crafted and well edited.
So inferior are the pompous, amorphous special effects that viewers are barraged with by modern Hollywood movies (Mummy II, etc.) when measured against Fulci's work in "Conquest" that they come out as nothing but a joke by comparison. I wish to point out that I am no particular fan of European movies, preferring Hollywood overall, but I must say that in certain genres some Italian flicks represent the best of the Old World, with their exploration of basic human desires and instincts, their depth and bite, sometimes great humor, and, as here, atmosphere. See references above, plus "The Good the Bad and the Ugly," "The Sensuous Nurse," "The Legend of Frenchie King," "Farewell Uncle Tom," "La Dolce Vita..." For atmosphere and visuals, "Conquest" is triumphant.
Sword and Witchery Italian/Spanish/Mexican co-production , concerning two warriors against an evil sorceress who seeks world dominion
ma-cortes22 February 2021
Sword and sorcery tale of two powerful hunters from a future World trapped in prehistoric times , confronting a nasty witch : Sabrina Siani bent on taking the fantastic bow for evil . In a place beyond time, comes a terrifying challenge beyond imagination .At the beginning a young hunk , Andrea Occhipinti, with a magic bow sets out into searching for a villain sorceress . On his trip he meets another mighty warrior : George Rivero , and both of whom join forces to battle horrible creatures , creepy zombies , weird apes and anything else. He is the only hope for a dying race , he is the beginning which will destroy all but the boldest warrior !.
A nice sword and sorcery tale about a terrifying odyssey into the unreal , featuring brutality , strange production design , ethereal ambience by means of a foggy photography and attractive musical score. A camp fun with fights , violent confrontation , lots of blood and gore , beheading and somewhat silly finale . Being a Spain/Italy/Mexico coproduction , here appears Italian actors : Andrea Occhipinti , Gioia Sscola , Sabrina Siani , Spanish : Conrado San Martín, Violeta Cela, Jose Gras and Mexican player : Jorge Rivero . Special mention for the dark but colorful and foggy cinematography by cameraman Alejandro Ulloa who used peculiar filters , soft focus as well as a fog machine . This splendid cinematographer Alejandro Ulloa had a long international career including films as House of Garibaldi Street , Manaos , The Amazons , California , Pancho Villa and Horror Express . A rare but very atmospheric musical score composed by Claudio Simonetti by means of synthesizer , he is the composer of the soundtrack of several Dario Argento's pics , besides being a music composer and keyboard player of the Italian rock bands Goblin and Daemonia.
The motion picture was uneven but professionally directed by Lucio Fulci in his usual style , including some regular tics and ordinary marks. Fulci was deemed to be the godfather of the gore , making decent films as Zombie Flesh Eaters or Zombie 2 , City of the Living Dead , The Beyond , The House by the cemetery , The Black Cat, New York Ripper and many others .
A nice sword and sorcery tale about a terrifying odyssey into the unreal , featuring brutality , strange production design , ethereal ambience by means of a foggy photography and attractive musical score. A camp fun with fights , violent confrontation , lots of blood and gore , beheading and somewhat silly finale . Being a Spain/Italy/Mexico coproduction , here appears Italian actors : Andrea Occhipinti , Gioia Sscola , Sabrina Siani , Spanish : Conrado San Martín, Violeta Cela, Jose Gras and Mexican player : Jorge Rivero . Special mention for the dark but colorful and foggy cinematography by cameraman Alejandro Ulloa who used peculiar filters , soft focus as well as a fog machine . This splendid cinematographer Alejandro Ulloa had a long international career including films as House of Garibaldi Street , Manaos , The Amazons , California , Pancho Villa and Horror Express . A rare but very atmospheric musical score composed by Claudio Simonetti by means of synthesizer , he is the composer of the soundtrack of several Dario Argento's pics , besides being a music composer and keyboard player of the Italian rock bands Goblin and Daemonia.
The motion picture was uneven but professionally directed by Lucio Fulci in his usual style , including some regular tics and ordinary marks. Fulci was deemed to be the godfather of the gore , making decent films as Zombie Flesh Eaters or Zombie 2 , City of the Living Dead , The Beyond , The House by the cemetery , The Black Cat, New York Ripper and many others .
A Simple Story To Be Simply Enjoyed.
P3n-E-W1s34 July 2022
Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Conquest; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 0.50 Direction: 1.00 Pace: 1.00 Acting: 1.00 Enjoyment: 1.00
TOTAL: 4.50 out of 10.00
Conquest is a strange little film. There's hardly any story, though there are lots of decent concepts. And it's entirely filmed in soft-focus, making all the shots indistinct, though there are some pleasing and engaging composed segments under all the fuzziness.
The writers give us the tale of Ilias - The Wanderer. After being bestowed with a mythical bow, he leaves his people and sets off into the world. On his journey, he saves a strange girl from a snake ready to strike. As she runs off, Ilias is attacked by other men with spears and bizarre dog-like creatures, though they walk upright. A stranger comes to his assistance, and they defeat the assailants. Mace is a man who doesn't like other men and is nobody's friend, except for the beasts. He grudgingly lets Ilias walk with him as long as the youth shows him how to use the bow. Unbeknown to the duo, a God-Like mystical character, Ocron, has received a premonition that The Wanderer will kill her with an arrow of light. She immediately sends out her troops and followers to kill The Wanderer and bring her the weapon. And, so the mystical action and adventure begin. And, that is about it for the plot - it's not too complicated, and no rocket scientists are required to spell it out for you. Along the way, a few intriguing concepts get bestowed upon us. I particularly liked the "Mind Reading" technique Ocron employs. Her army decapitates her victim, and she cracks open the bodiless head and drinks deeply from their skull. This dark feast allows her to devour and digest some of their power and soul. It's nasty and disgusting...and I loved it.
Lucio Fulci is an excellent director: Even his turkeys - City Of The Living Dead, for one - possess some decent cinematography. And that is the case with Conquest. For some unknown reason, Fulci shot the entire movie in soft-focus. It could be that he believed it would give the picture a mystical essence. Sadly, the focus effect is too strong and tends to diffuse the light too much. Unless you're in a close-up shot, you lose the definition of the characters. Though on a certain level, it works. It's ideal to add haze to the landscapes, and there's one particularly splendid image of our two heroes. Mace kneels on the left, and Ilias is standing behind him centre screen while the sun and blue sky shimmer on the right. Fulci makes this perfect by filming at an upward angle. It's one of the best compositions in the movie, and the soft-focus aids in adding power to the vision. Unfortunately, the fogginess of the scenes hinders his usual filming style. Lost to the diffusion are the crisp, dark, ominous shadows and the pools of illumination. What he usually used to create his atmosphere of dread and tension is no more, and it shows. The sneak attack on the sleeping heroes would have been more powerful had Fulci utilised his regular style. And there are a couple of similar scenes that cried out for familiar Fulci. Another thing lacking in the picture is the pacing. It's a steady walk throughout. The action scenes screamed for faster cutting and a speedier tempo. Ocron's "Mind Reading" would have been more ominous had Fulci slowed the sections down a tad more - stretching them out to display their full gruesomeness.
Since we have a simple story, the cast doesn't have much to accomplish. The Heroes have to be bold and confident: Both Jorge Rivero (Mace) and Andrea Occhipinti (Ilias) nailed it. And Ocron needed to be bold, confident, and naked, and Sabrini Siani, superbly hits the mark.
Conquest is a Sunday afternoon or evening movie, Something to disconnect your brain for and sit back, relax, and enjoy. It's not a complex story, though it is undoubtedly entertaining. After watching the first five minutes and realising the soft-focus was not going anywhere, I grew a little disheartened and nearly hit the off button. However, I'm glad I didn't. It's not as good as other mystical fantasies of the time, but it's worthy of your time, especially if you see it streaming somewhere for free - or included in your subscription.
Now your quest is over, pop on over and check out my Obsidian Dreams list to see where I ranked Conquest.
Take Care & Stay Well.
Story: 0.50 Direction: 1.00 Pace: 1.00 Acting: 1.00 Enjoyment: 1.00
TOTAL: 4.50 out of 10.00
Conquest is a strange little film. There's hardly any story, though there are lots of decent concepts. And it's entirely filmed in soft-focus, making all the shots indistinct, though there are some pleasing and engaging composed segments under all the fuzziness.
The writers give us the tale of Ilias - The Wanderer. After being bestowed with a mythical bow, he leaves his people and sets off into the world. On his journey, he saves a strange girl from a snake ready to strike. As she runs off, Ilias is attacked by other men with spears and bizarre dog-like creatures, though they walk upright. A stranger comes to his assistance, and they defeat the assailants. Mace is a man who doesn't like other men and is nobody's friend, except for the beasts. He grudgingly lets Ilias walk with him as long as the youth shows him how to use the bow. Unbeknown to the duo, a God-Like mystical character, Ocron, has received a premonition that The Wanderer will kill her with an arrow of light. She immediately sends out her troops and followers to kill The Wanderer and bring her the weapon. And, so the mystical action and adventure begin. And, that is about it for the plot - it's not too complicated, and no rocket scientists are required to spell it out for you. Along the way, a few intriguing concepts get bestowed upon us. I particularly liked the "Mind Reading" technique Ocron employs. Her army decapitates her victim, and she cracks open the bodiless head and drinks deeply from their skull. This dark feast allows her to devour and digest some of their power and soul. It's nasty and disgusting...and I loved it.
Lucio Fulci is an excellent director: Even his turkeys - City Of The Living Dead, for one - possess some decent cinematography. And that is the case with Conquest. For some unknown reason, Fulci shot the entire movie in soft-focus. It could be that he believed it would give the picture a mystical essence. Sadly, the focus effect is too strong and tends to diffuse the light too much. Unless you're in a close-up shot, you lose the definition of the characters. Though on a certain level, it works. It's ideal to add haze to the landscapes, and there's one particularly splendid image of our two heroes. Mace kneels on the left, and Ilias is standing behind him centre screen while the sun and blue sky shimmer on the right. Fulci makes this perfect by filming at an upward angle. It's one of the best compositions in the movie, and the soft-focus aids in adding power to the vision. Unfortunately, the fogginess of the scenes hinders his usual filming style. Lost to the diffusion are the crisp, dark, ominous shadows and the pools of illumination. What he usually used to create his atmosphere of dread and tension is no more, and it shows. The sneak attack on the sleeping heroes would have been more powerful had Fulci utilised his regular style. And there are a couple of similar scenes that cried out for familiar Fulci. Another thing lacking in the picture is the pacing. It's a steady walk throughout. The action scenes screamed for faster cutting and a speedier tempo. Ocron's "Mind Reading" would have been more ominous had Fulci slowed the sections down a tad more - stretching them out to display their full gruesomeness.
Since we have a simple story, the cast doesn't have much to accomplish. The Heroes have to be bold and confident: Both Jorge Rivero (Mace) and Andrea Occhipinti (Ilias) nailed it. And Ocron needed to be bold, confident, and naked, and Sabrini Siani, superbly hits the mark.
Conquest is a Sunday afternoon or evening movie, Something to disconnect your brain for and sit back, relax, and enjoy. It's not a complex story, though it is undoubtedly entertaining. After watching the first five minutes and realising the soft-focus was not going anywhere, I grew a little disheartened and nearly hit the off button. However, I'm glad I didn't. It's not as good as other mystical fantasies of the time, but it's worthy of your time, especially if you see it streaming somewhere for free - or included in your subscription.
Now your quest is over, pop on over and check out my Obsidian Dreams list to see where I ranked Conquest.
Take Care & Stay Well.
See also
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