Gave this movie 1 star - only for lack of negative stars. They have taken, possibly the worst actors known to man, located them in some castle (with all kinds of modern day give-aways) and dressed them in a mix of cheap roleplay costumes and stuff from a junk sale. Effects looks like they were made by children as well as the 'combat' sequences that are slow AND incompetent. The actors are completely blank both, in action- and talking scenes and the storyline is utter crap. A more satisfactory use of your time could be reorganizing your sock drawer or counting the dust bunnies under the couch.....
19 Reviews
Even Boobies Can not Save This
mani-nanna-650-15734829 June 2012
It is a rare gem. B-Movie with sword-fighting boobies and hot villain in it. What else would you want for "so-bad-that-its-good" type of thing? Apparently nothing, but the director put incredible effort to make it unwatchable.
Movie starts with a king (who looks more like aged, retired postman (No offense to the honest postmen)) sitting in a field moaning about all the sins he have committed. He asks God for forgiveness, but all he gets is creature in a cape who is supposed to sound scary. Creature proposes deal to the king and before the latter answers anything, creature seals the deal.
Bad, bad, cheater creature with a cape.
Now the postman... sorry, his highness postman, has to give all his children to the bad, bad, cheater creature with a cape, but apparently decides to cheat too with her daughter Luna.
Years after, His highness Mr. Cheater Postman celebrates something with annual gladiatorial fights, when suddenly her HOT lost daughter arrives.
Then there is CGI-blood, female gladiator with big bottom, big breast and big head, something waking up, ugly woman warning the king about curse, more CGI-blood, bad fighting scenes, bad sex scene and ending credits.
It INDEED is one of the worst movies ever made in any country.
Movie starts with a king (who looks more like aged, retired postman (No offense to the honest postmen)) sitting in a field moaning about all the sins he have committed. He asks God for forgiveness, but all he gets is creature in a cape who is supposed to sound scary. Creature proposes deal to the king and before the latter answers anything, creature seals the deal.
Bad, bad, cheater creature with a cape.
Now the postman... sorry, his highness postman, has to give all his children to the bad, bad, cheater creature with a cape, but apparently decides to cheat too with her daughter Luna.
Years after, His highness Mr. Cheater Postman celebrates something with annual gladiatorial fights, when suddenly her HOT lost daughter arrives.
Then there is CGI-blood, female gladiator with big bottom, big breast and big head, something waking up, ugly woman warning the king about curse, more CGI-blood, bad fighting scenes, bad sex scene and ending credits.
It INDEED is one of the worst movies ever made in any country.
The scenery was the high point
mike-ryan45525 September 2011
First, I will tell what was good. The backdrop was some really spectacular country. A huge castle, a beautiful lake, wonderful meadows and mountains.
That was the high point. From there, it all went down hill really fast. I barely could discern a plot. There was a lot of very poorly slashing and hacking by people who couldn't act.
There was no "gladiatorial" combat. That was a very specific tradition of fighting. I don't even know why they used the word.
A movie like this that teases you with "sensual" needs to have some good get down naked by the end. They didn't.
It was like the guy got access to the castle for a weekend and got his buddies to come in and shoot the movie. They wanted to make a Conan movie but what came off was a confusing mess.
That was the high point. From there, it all went down hill really fast. I barely could discern a plot. There was a lot of very poorly slashing and hacking by people who couldn't act.
There was no "gladiatorial" combat. That was a very specific tradition of fighting. I don't even know why they used the word.
A movie like this that teases you with "sensual" needs to have some good get down naked by the end. They didn't.
It was like the guy got access to the castle for a weekend and got his buddies to come in and shoot the movie. They wanted to make a Conan movie but what came off was a confusing mess.
Horrible
dschapin-224 September 2011
This is the reason I stopped working in Hollywood, amazingly awful movies like this. Please never watch it other than to realize what happens when you shot a film and no one on set has a clue what they are doing.
Please whoever made this film bury it and go find something worth while to do like ride a bicycle.
There is absolutely not even one shred of acting, directing or cinematography here. a monkey hanging upside down blindfolded would be better.
Thank you for wasting my time.
Please whoever made this film bury it and go find something worth while to do like ride a bicycle.
There is absolutely not even one shred of acting, directing or cinematography here. a monkey hanging upside down blindfolded would be better.
Thank you for wasting my time.
Is unprofessional the same as amateur ?
gariarto26 September 2011
B movies must surely now have a new "best of the worst ever" because this HAS to have been made as a dare. I beg for an explanation of how this got past censorship as being too cruel to an audience. Truly, movies are not these guys' strong suit. For those now curious to see this still, I feel like a guy waving his hands at oncoming traffic, warning them of the horrendous wreck just around the next bend. Slow down ! Don't go there ! You'll end up part of the pile-up ! If these people truly got financed to the tune of $3 mil to make this, then all I can visualize is a bunch of guys laughing as they skip the country with the cash. Oh, wait, they're in Italy... Do we have an extradition treaty with them ?
Approach with caution (and possibly intoxication)
cheese_o24 September 2011
There are so few 'good' things about this film that I can count them with one hand: 1. Music/sound - In order to partially offset the painful torment of this film, I found myself closing my eyes for a large portion. However, in my blind contemplation, I was quite surprised to notice that some orchestration in this film was very well done. There are a few unsuitable choices for music (for example, some more modern music was used when this clearly did not suit the era of this film). Despite some occasional acoustic pleasantries, these were often short-lived, being crudely interrupted by the shrill voice of some of the actors (see comments below). 2. Scenery - In my few moments of bearing through this, there were some enjoyable choices of location. Some of the countryside shots were quite stunning and the castle shown were also very captivating.
That being said, it seems as if too large a portion of this film's budget was blown on film locations and/or orchestration. As an audience, it felt as if the director's idea of making a good film was spending an obscene amount of money.
My biggest strife with this movie is the "acting". I put the word acting in quotes here, because beyond the incessant muscle-flexing, skimpy-outfit wearing women and awkwardly corny scenes, there wasn't much of this "acting" going on.
Firstly, the accents of this film were incredibly annoying. On the one hand we had this king - who I presumed was English. Yet on the other hand, the returning crude yankee-American accents stood out like a sore thumb. Was it just too hard to ask the actors to attempt an English/British accent? The change of accent is not only incredibly disorienting to the viewer (are we in England or America?), it just reflects poorly on the actors/directors for putting up with it. I wouldn't have cared as much if they had just stuck with either one, but a mixture of both is just plain laziness.
Don't get me started on the role of women in this film. The poster looks promising, and I was expecting a mixed arsenal of skilled warriors and adept female assassins of some sort. What I got instead was a blatant over-the-top sexualisation of what should have been a graceful film in this regard. One of the scenes depicted the king's daughter pushing her breasts together exclaiming no one had "seen a body this good". I understand that 'sex sells' is a commonly accepted marketing tactic, but stuff like this just comes off as shallow and unnecessary. Furthermore, the very same female warrior as shown on the poster sports what I make out as being a skimpy chain-mail bra-like garment (designed primarily I suppose to as a cleavage-enhancing device). To me such costume designed just made no logical sense. What was the point of making the bra out of chain-mail and exposing as much skin as possible on the girl? Doesn't that just defeat the very purpose of wearing armour? This type of nonsense can also be seen on some of the other costume designs. Did they just spend too much on flying everyone out to the extravagant locations that they just ran out of budget on chain-mail costumes? I just wish the director spent as much time working on the authenticity of this film as much as he did on computer retouching every seen with banal transitions and effects (or perhaps even half as much time as the women in this play spent exhibiting their breasts).
I felt as if there was no real performance here: the actors just stuck way too precisely to the scripting. For example, there is also one scene in particular where the king struggles with one of his maids in which he forces her head down onto a table after she called his daughter a witch. This particular scene is just embarrassing to the industry of acting. The maid flinches too artificially and the entire act looks forced. I expect that attempting to ad lib some of the scenes would help eliminate this awkwardness, but that would require a brain-cell or two as well as some level of skill in acting. The fight scenes looked just as contrived and unpracticed as ever. These were often accompanied by the lousy gore effects of limbs being torn off, weapons piercing through heads/necks/torsos and generally disconnected fight scenes (it felt as if they were there just to claim the title of 'gladiator' as opposed to offering any worth to the plot/story of the film).
There are also numerous camera anomalies. Off the top of my head, one particular scene shows one of the gladiators dropping a dagger down upon a defeated enemy who is lying half-dead on the floor. Just in the nick of time the dagger is caught by a third gladiator. The scene is just cut and stuck together, one showing the dagger falling and the next showing it being caught (and suddenly one of the gladiators has disappeared in this cut scene). Once more, it's little things like this that reflect poorly upon the directors/editors for not picking it up.
My last knit-pick is the narration to this film. I'm as much for a mythical/enchanting/magical story line as the next guy, but this film just doesn't execute it right. It feels as if they took as many words pertaining to mythology as possible: demon, devil, evil, shadow, scar, hell etc. and just stuck them all together in what makes for a confusing and rather pointless story. There were various elements ripped off other classic stories (Excalibur) and numerous clichéd twists (guy succumbs to evil and must be vanquished by someone pure).
Overall, what I got was mixed assortment of crummy costumes, corny acting, eye-popping breast panoramas, confusing and contrasting accents, lack of genuine direction in terms of plot, poorly executed fight scenes which held next to no merit.
That being said, it seems as if too large a portion of this film's budget was blown on film locations and/or orchestration. As an audience, it felt as if the director's idea of making a good film was spending an obscene amount of money.
My biggest strife with this movie is the "acting". I put the word acting in quotes here, because beyond the incessant muscle-flexing, skimpy-outfit wearing women and awkwardly corny scenes, there wasn't much of this "acting" going on.
Firstly, the accents of this film were incredibly annoying. On the one hand we had this king - who I presumed was English. Yet on the other hand, the returning crude yankee-American accents stood out like a sore thumb. Was it just too hard to ask the actors to attempt an English/British accent? The change of accent is not only incredibly disorienting to the viewer (are we in England or America?), it just reflects poorly on the actors/directors for putting up with it. I wouldn't have cared as much if they had just stuck with either one, but a mixture of both is just plain laziness.
Don't get me started on the role of women in this film. The poster looks promising, and I was expecting a mixed arsenal of skilled warriors and adept female assassins of some sort. What I got instead was a blatant over-the-top sexualisation of what should have been a graceful film in this regard. One of the scenes depicted the king's daughter pushing her breasts together exclaiming no one had "seen a body this good". I understand that 'sex sells' is a commonly accepted marketing tactic, but stuff like this just comes off as shallow and unnecessary. Furthermore, the very same female warrior as shown on the poster sports what I make out as being a skimpy chain-mail bra-like garment (designed primarily I suppose to as a cleavage-enhancing device). To me such costume designed just made no logical sense. What was the point of making the bra out of chain-mail and exposing as much skin as possible on the girl? Doesn't that just defeat the very purpose of wearing armour? This type of nonsense can also be seen on some of the other costume designs. Did they just spend too much on flying everyone out to the extravagant locations that they just ran out of budget on chain-mail costumes? I just wish the director spent as much time working on the authenticity of this film as much as he did on computer retouching every seen with banal transitions and effects (or perhaps even half as much time as the women in this play spent exhibiting their breasts).
I felt as if there was no real performance here: the actors just stuck way too precisely to the scripting. For example, there is also one scene in particular where the king struggles with one of his maids in which he forces her head down onto a table after she called his daughter a witch. This particular scene is just embarrassing to the industry of acting. The maid flinches too artificially and the entire act looks forced. I expect that attempting to ad lib some of the scenes would help eliminate this awkwardness, but that would require a brain-cell or two as well as some level of skill in acting. The fight scenes looked just as contrived and unpracticed as ever. These were often accompanied by the lousy gore effects of limbs being torn off, weapons piercing through heads/necks/torsos and generally disconnected fight scenes (it felt as if they were there just to claim the title of 'gladiator' as opposed to offering any worth to the plot/story of the film).
There are also numerous camera anomalies. Off the top of my head, one particular scene shows one of the gladiators dropping a dagger down upon a defeated enemy who is lying half-dead on the floor. Just in the nick of time the dagger is caught by a third gladiator. The scene is just cut and stuck together, one showing the dagger falling and the next showing it being caught (and suddenly one of the gladiators has disappeared in this cut scene). Once more, it's little things like this that reflect poorly upon the directors/editors for not picking it up.
My last knit-pick is the narration to this film. I'm as much for a mythical/enchanting/magical story line as the next guy, but this film just doesn't execute it right. It feels as if they took as many words pertaining to mythology as possible: demon, devil, evil, shadow, scar, hell etc. and just stuck them all together in what makes for a confusing and rather pointless story. There were various elements ripped off other classic stories (Excalibur) and numerous clichéd twists (guy succumbs to evil and must be vanquished by someone pure).
Overall, what I got was mixed assortment of crummy costumes, corny acting, eye-popping breast panoramas, confusing and contrasting accents, lack of genuine direction in terms of plot, poorly executed fight scenes which held next to no merit.
Swords & Sorcery's Answer To Plan 9 From Outer Space
knight110tim22 September 2011
In the Italian/American production Kingdom Of Gladiators the sword and sorcery genre has found its own Plan 9 From Outer Space.
Starring a trio of pro-wrestlers (Matt Polinsky, Leroy Kincaid and Annie Social) as its ad hoc heroes, a supporting cast of LARPers (I don't know they were LARPers, I'm just guessing) and an Italian tourist castle as its main location, this movie is a laugh-a-minute from its opening spiel to its closing rainbow (yes, it ends with a rainbow!) Although the acting is uniformly dreadful across the board (not helped by an overwrought script from Marco Viloa and director Stefano Milla that randomly pads out sentences with meaningless portentous wordage), special mention has to go to the dead-pan "comedy" stylings of Bryan Murphy as King Wolfkahn - who pretty much steals the show with his monotonous, emotion-free delivery.
If you're not already crying with laughter by the time you spot Matt Polinsky's distinctive bomb-shaped neck tattoo then you haven't entered into the right spirit - and surely the impromptu wrestling match between him and Leroy when they're searching for the magic sword with their magic sunglasses should have tipped you off that this isn't Shakespeare.
What passes for a story in Kingdom Of Gladiators is the aftermath of a secret pact between Wolfkahn and agents of the Dark Lord to secure peace in his kingdom, Keemok, at the cost of his offspring (we later discover the demons aren't particularly on the ball here), but after ten years the demon Hel returns with some vague plan of wiping out humanity by resurrecting a giant earth elemental creature called Guano (or something).
Hel shows up in the form of Wolfkahn's superhot missing daughter Luna (Suzi Lorraine), the movie's main eye candy, and at the start of The Grand Tournament (to choose Wolfkahn's heir); a slight misnomer as a succession of stunt men (and women) in ragged armour fighting in a castle courtyard in front of an audience of about 50 peasants isn't exactly what I'd call "grand".
There's some mutterings about the demon needing a blood sacrifice, but that doesn't stop Wolfkahn from continuing with the tournament - and it has to be said that there is, at least, one cool kill during the fighting. However, most of it unfolds at a lamentably slow pace that totally lacks the trendy "bullet-time" slo-mo I suspect they were trying to emulate.
Every so often, odd things occur that are completely unexplained - the strangest of which is when one audience member suddenly stabs another and no-one takes any notice. I wondered if it was part of the demon's great scheme, but it was never referenced again.
People wander around, talking heads pop up every now-and-again with a new bit of exposition to move the plot on, Annie actually wears a chainmail bikini, there's some titillation (although no nudity), people die and the storyline hangs together with the barest of threads, but ultimately it doesn't matter.
Twisted genius that would make Ed Wood proud, Kingdom Of Gladiators is truly so awful it has to be seen to be believed - possibly with the aid of large quantities of alcohol - because although played straight it is actually one of the greatest comedies of the year.
Starring a trio of pro-wrestlers (Matt Polinsky, Leroy Kincaid and Annie Social) as its ad hoc heroes, a supporting cast of LARPers (I don't know they were LARPers, I'm just guessing) and an Italian tourist castle as its main location, this movie is a laugh-a-minute from its opening spiel to its closing rainbow (yes, it ends with a rainbow!) Although the acting is uniformly dreadful across the board (not helped by an overwrought script from Marco Viloa and director Stefano Milla that randomly pads out sentences with meaningless portentous wordage), special mention has to go to the dead-pan "comedy" stylings of Bryan Murphy as King Wolfkahn - who pretty much steals the show with his monotonous, emotion-free delivery.
If you're not already crying with laughter by the time you spot Matt Polinsky's distinctive bomb-shaped neck tattoo then you haven't entered into the right spirit - and surely the impromptu wrestling match between him and Leroy when they're searching for the magic sword with their magic sunglasses should have tipped you off that this isn't Shakespeare.
What passes for a story in Kingdom Of Gladiators is the aftermath of a secret pact between Wolfkahn and agents of the Dark Lord to secure peace in his kingdom, Keemok, at the cost of his offspring (we later discover the demons aren't particularly on the ball here), but after ten years the demon Hel returns with some vague plan of wiping out humanity by resurrecting a giant earth elemental creature called Guano (or something).
Hel shows up in the form of Wolfkahn's superhot missing daughter Luna (Suzi Lorraine), the movie's main eye candy, and at the start of The Grand Tournament (to choose Wolfkahn's heir); a slight misnomer as a succession of stunt men (and women) in ragged armour fighting in a castle courtyard in front of an audience of about 50 peasants isn't exactly what I'd call "grand".
There's some mutterings about the demon needing a blood sacrifice, but that doesn't stop Wolfkahn from continuing with the tournament - and it has to be said that there is, at least, one cool kill during the fighting. However, most of it unfolds at a lamentably slow pace that totally lacks the trendy "bullet-time" slo-mo I suspect they were trying to emulate.
Every so often, odd things occur that are completely unexplained - the strangest of which is when one audience member suddenly stabs another and no-one takes any notice. I wondered if it was part of the demon's great scheme, but it was never referenced again.
People wander around, talking heads pop up every now-and-again with a new bit of exposition to move the plot on, Annie actually wears a chainmail bikini, there's some titillation (although no nudity), people die and the storyline hangs together with the barest of threads, but ultimately it doesn't matter.
Twisted genius that would make Ed Wood proud, Kingdom Of Gladiators is truly so awful it has to be seen to be believed - possibly with the aid of large quantities of alcohol - because although played straight it is actually one of the greatest comedies of the year.
Urp.
natashabowiepinky27 September 2013
Boy oh boy, what do we have here? To call it a steaming pile would be accurate, but as this is a SPECIAL type of bad film, we must dig deeper. The only possible reason for it's existence is that everyone involved lost some kind of major bet, or perhaps they were inflicted with some kind of temporary insanity. Either way, I bet they're disowned by their parents, grandchildren, pets etc. and quite right too. I would rather confess that one of my nearest and dearest was a chicken molesting hermaphrodite than admit they had any function in this...
But I'm getting ahead of myself... Where can I start? The opening scene is that of a very ugly man who OVEREMPHASISES EVERY WORD HE SAYS. He reminded me of a failed Shakespearean actor, who thinks talking in a loud, pompous voice shows emotion range. Guess what, it doesn't. We have to tolerate this idiot throughout, and it is my sincerest wish he is now reduced to playing the back end of a donkey on Brighton Pier.
And that's just for starters. Next up we find out that in this fictional world, everything is like in the Dark Ages. Except... there are tattoos, infra-red glasses... and BOOB JOBS. Yep, it's true... Check out the brunette 'warrior' when she walks in her scanty chain mail... them puppies don't bounce an inch. It's funny, but not hilarious as the accents, which vary between English, American and Gord-Knows-What. Strange place, these people inhabit. And just like the previously mentioned guy, none of them can act for toffee. If he's the rear of a donkey, perhaps they can play his manure. After all, they already stink at their job, so they're halfway there.
See the word GLADIATOR in the title and you think, there's gotta be some good fights, right? WRONG my friend. COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY WRONG. We're a long way from Russell Crowe here. We're talking more like fake WF wrestling matches here, with lots of cheesy little moves from fools in bad costumes. But even Hulk Hogan and co would be embarrassed by the terrible computerised blood and non-stop camera shaking going on, and the sum total is like one long self-made parody. If only it was...
And with the final revelation that the bad guy is one big Jim Henson puppet, the movie finally comes to a rest. Not me though... I'll be having nightmares about the experience for days. I would send the director the bill for my therapy, but on this evidence I doubt he could afford it. Maybe I'll be nice, and throw a penny into his tin cup on my way to the psychiatrist's. I know... I'm all heart... 1/10
But I'm getting ahead of myself... Where can I start? The opening scene is that of a very ugly man who OVEREMPHASISES EVERY WORD HE SAYS. He reminded me of a failed Shakespearean actor, who thinks talking in a loud, pompous voice shows emotion range. Guess what, it doesn't. We have to tolerate this idiot throughout, and it is my sincerest wish he is now reduced to playing the back end of a donkey on Brighton Pier.
And that's just for starters. Next up we find out that in this fictional world, everything is like in the Dark Ages. Except... there are tattoos, infra-red glasses... and BOOB JOBS. Yep, it's true... Check out the brunette 'warrior' when she walks in her scanty chain mail... them puppies don't bounce an inch. It's funny, but not hilarious as the accents, which vary between English, American and Gord-Knows-What. Strange place, these people inhabit. And just like the previously mentioned guy, none of them can act for toffee. If he's the rear of a donkey, perhaps they can play his manure. After all, they already stink at their job, so they're halfway there.
See the word GLADIATOR in the title and you think, there's gotta be some good fights, right? WRONG my friend. COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY WRONG. We're a long way from Russell Crowe here. We're talking more like fake WF wrestling matches here, with lots of cheesy little moves from fools in bad costumes. But even Hulk Hogan and co would be embarrassed by the terrible computerised blood and non-stop camera shaking going on, and the sum total is like one long self-made parody. If only it was...
And with the final revelation that the bad guy is one big Jim Henson puppet, the movie finally comes to a rest. Not me though... I'll be having nightmares about the experience for days. I would send the director the bill for my therapy, but on this evidence I doubt he could afford it. Maybe I'll be nice, and throw a penny into his tin cup on my way to the psychiatrist's. I know... I'm all heart... 1/10
Oh well: Why casting such terrible actors and in such a poorly executed plot
Icons7617 November 2012
I cannot even know where to begin or what to say here. Is this a movie? Uhm.. Maybe. There are some pretty gorgeous locations, but the script, the actors, the direction, SFX, and any technical support, including (ahi ahi!) editing are so plain awful, to look almost virtually amateur. I had heard good things about Stefano Milla. Well, this movie is truly something to stay away from. Most of all, Mr.Milla needs casting advisers! There are so many great,intense, driven, good looking actors, under unemployed and he gets these people? Let me tell you, we are on a "beyond awful" grade here. Juvenile can be fun in 8th grade, but, after that it becomes a place of no return. Felt sadness and disconcert, bore, and, finally,despair: why Italian genre movies have gotten (for the most part) so bad? The only one to stand out seems still to be Ivan Zuccon, who's always has great actors in his films, and, an extreme visual strength. These other guys.. are, well.. not truly able to deliver something professional, or even merely bad, yet.. Just amateur crap.
Terrible Movie, Awesome Location
BlackCrowSA11 December 2011
This was a terribly directed and badly put together movie.
Even with bad acting, a better script and better editing this could have been a great story, I really wanted to know more.
Was very drawn out, and full of over acting. So much so that it was hard to follow what was actually going on.
Fight scenes were slow, and very little for a gladiator movie.
The one and only good thing about this movie was its location, truly spectacular.
I would not recommend watching this movie, unless you like wasting your time. I am sorry I did.
Even with bad acting, a better script and better editing this could have been a great story, I really wanted to know more.
Was very drawn out, and full of over acting. So much so that it was hard to follow what was actually going on.
Fight scenes were slow, and very little for a gladiator movie.
The one and only good thing about this movie was its location, truly spectacular.
I would not recommend watching this movie, unless you like wasting your time. I am sorry I did.
Please don't waste your time with this.
kylkky7 January 2020
After The Bell.
serovrulit2 January 2020
Scenic Splendour
regdyer-752-5895982 October 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Top marks to the location scout for finding such a superb collection of eye catching locations for this film shot in Italy. The local tourist board will be very pleased with the publicity. A large, majestic castle combined with sweeping mountainous landscapes, caverns, waterfalls and dungeons are effectively utilised in this fantasy adventure involving a concoction of weapon fighting warriors, sorcery, witches and demons. There have been a torrent of films based on similar ingredients in recent years and credit must be given to the writers for coming up with an interesting and new story line.
I would question the use of the word Gladiators in the film title which implies Roman gladiators taking part in arena combat. Usually, this provides the grounds for an anticipated epic. It should be pointed out that the story in this instance is set in a period later than that inhabited by Roman Gladiators and the combat setting is not that of a vast arena but a large Castle courtyard with a small spectator area surrounding it. Nevertheless, the combat sequences are well conducted in slow-mo style which effectively emphasises the sheer brutality of such occasions and quite frankly are better filmed than some of the ones that I have seen in much grander epics.
Apart from Suzi Lorraine, who is deservedly building up a very respected reputation within the horror genre, nearly all the cast names are new to me. The only other name that I recognised was that of Annie Social who is best known for her involvement in the wrestling scene. Annie plays a lead role as one of the fighters. Apparently, some of the other participants are also moonlighting from the wrestling world. They certainly enter into the spirit of the action with an abundance of enthusiasm and gusto and will probably be lined up to audition for the next remake of a Conan the Barbarian film. Suzie intelligently plays the part of a young lady with two names and a split personality. She certainly displays her versatility in this role by making a seamless transformation from being a pleasant, demure young lady to that of a wicked, but still beautiful, demon who relishes the vicious bloody battles of the fighters and develops a thirst for blood herself.
I would question the use of the word Gladiators in the film title which implies Roman gladiators taking part in arena combat. Usually, this provides the grounds for an anticipated epic. It should be pointed out that the story in this instance is set in a period later than that inhabited by Roman Gladiators and the combat setting is not that of a vast arena but a large Castle courtyard with a small spectator area surrounding it. Nevertheless, the combat sequences are well conducted in slow-mo style which effectively emphasises the sheer brutality of such occasions and quite frankly are better filmed than some of the ones that I have seen in much grander epics.
Apart from Suzi Lorraine, who is deservedly building up a very respected reputation within the horror genre, nearly all the cast names are new to me. The only other name that I recognised was that of Annie Social who is best known for her involvement in the wrestling scene. Annie plays a lead role as one of the fighters. Apparently, some of the other participants are also moonlighting from the wrestling world. They certainly enter into the spirit of the action with an abundance of enthusiasm and gusto and will probably be lined up to audition for the next remake of a Conan the Barbarian film. Suzie intelligently plays the part of a young lady with two names and a split personality. She certainly displays her versatility in this role by making a seamless transformation from being a pleasant, demure young lady to that of a wicked, but still beautiful, demon who relishes the vicious bloody battles of the fighters and develops a thirst for blood herself.
Bad fantasy movie...
paul_haakonsen1 January 2016
As much as I enjoy fantasy movies then "Kingdom of Gladiators" was not a movie that impressed. In fact, I should have taken heed to the many bad reviews and the very low rating that the movie had. But hand on heart, then I didn't find it fully as bad as the rating the movie had scored made it out to be.
The storyline in the movie was so simplistic that it bordered on stupidity and downright boredom. A king makes a pact with a demon to save his kingdom, but at the cost of his newborn daughter. Now the daughter has returned years later, but so had a brooding darkness.
There wasn't much appeal in the movie, and certain things were just ludicrous. For example, the performance of Bryan Murphy and the way he delivered his dialogue. It was just gruesome to witness. And some of the music was so wrongly picked for the movie; you can't have modern day music in a medieval fantasy movie. However, the worst thing was the guy with the tattoos, especially since he had a tattoo of a green colored bomb with a smiley face and the word "revolution" written across it. Seriously? They had done nothing to cover up his modern day hipster tattoos. It was so bad! That is one of the worst fails I have ever seen in a movie. And the fight scenes were poorly choreographed and very rigid.
However, it should also be said that the locations and scenery throughout the movie was quite spectacular. And for the most parts then the music was really quite nice.
All in all, not a memorable or impressive movie. And if you enjoy fantasy movies, take heed and stay well clear of "Kingdom of Gladiators".
The storyline in the movie was so simplistic that it bordered on stupidity and downright boredom. A king makes a pact with a demon to save his kingdom, but at the cost of his newborn daughter. Now the daughter has returned years later, but so had a brooding darkness.
There wasn't much appeal in the movie, and certain things were just ludicrous. For example, the performance of Bryan Murphy and the way he delivered his dialogue. It was just gruesome to witness. And some of the music was so wrongly picked for the movie; you can't have modern day music in a medieval fantasy movie. However, the worst thing was the guy with the tattoos, especially since he had a tattoo of a green colored bomb with a smiley face and the word "revolution" written across it. Seriously? They had done nothing to cover up his modern day hipster tattoos. It was so bad! That is one of the worst fails I have ever seen in a movie. And the fight scenes were poorly choreographed and very rigid.
However, it should also be said that the locations and scenery throughout the movie was quite spectacular. And for the most parts then the music was really quite nice.
All in all, not a memorable or impressive movie. And if you enjoy fantasy movies, take heed and stay well clear of "Kingdom of Gladiators".
Terrible!
erendiz12 November 2017
Terrible. It's just terrible! God! It's... I'm sure it's not a movie. It's just... A big pile of crap. There are lots and lots and lots off better stuff out there. Please don't waste your time with this thing. It is the worst acting, worst directing, worst editing, worst of all cinematic etc. Oh Christ! What was that camera shaking constantly?! Are they try to cover all that scum going on in the screen? God!! I can't even say it's just amateur, 'cause there are a lot of good stuff in amateur movies, and this thing is just plain crap. Awful, awful crap...
Amazingly, this movie really has absolutely no redeeming qualities.
Uberhamster18 May 2020
Kingdom of the Gladiators... Sooner or later in everyone's life, there comes a time when you watch some crap. Either sorely disappointing A-listers; or B-movies that you watched on purpose. And usually they have some isolated talent in it that ended up there by mistake. An actor or a song or one plot idea.
It's very rare to find a film that really has no redeeming points at all whatsoever. This is that movie.
If I try really hard then I'd have to say that the sentences are gramatically correct. Just not making any sense at all when heard in sequence; and spoken with exagerated diction (king) or a super american accent (villainess). I wasn't expecting an intricate plot, but almost nothing is explained and what is, does not make any sense. Immediately from the start it's unclear why this king wants a deal to avoid bloodshed so that he can continue fighting, and how it's binding if he hasn't vowed to accept. Well, I say king, but it's some feeble elder man, wrapped in a curtain, left alone in some old rooms, with nothing that bears any resemblance to a royal court. Everyone is miscast - and that includes also a 19th century fortress which just can't double for a medieval castle. I might have overlooked that if that one fortress hadn't been their only location used for everything (and failing to convince at every turn). Of the two twin brothers mentioned, we see only one, i.e. twin brothers each from a different race yet from the same father.
Most amazingly of all, the DVD contains a deleted scene. Think about it - that means that it's possible for a scene to be so bad, as to be rejected from this movie. I would have thought that impossible. But on closer inspection, there's an explanation: It was an extended scene where an extra actually showed acting skill. So that obviously had to go.
Other pros scraped with difficulty from the barrel: I liked the woodcut that you see for 1 second. And at least it's not one of those predictable movies. It doesn't make enough sense to be that.
It's very rare to find a film that really has no redeeming points at all whatsoever. This is that movie.
If I try really hard then I'd have to say that the sentences are gramatically correct. Just not making any sense at all when heard in sequence; and spoken with exagerated diction (king) or a super american accent (villainess). I wasn't expecting an intricate plot, but almost nothing is explained and what is, does not make any sense. Immediately from the start it's unclear why this king wants a deal to avoid bloodshed so that he can continue fighting, and how it's binding if he hasn't vowed to accept. Well, I say king, but it's some feeble elder man, wrapped in a curtain, left alone in some old rooms, with nothing that bears any resemblance to a royal court. Everyone is miscast - and that includes also a 19th century fortress which just can't double for a medieval castle. I might have overlooked that if that one fortress hadn't been their only location used for everything (and failing to convince at every turn). Of the two twin brothers mentioned, we see only one, i.e. twin brothers each from a different race yet from the same father.
Most amazingly of all, the DVD contains a deleted scene. Think about it - that means that it's possible for a scene to be so bad, as to be rejected from this movie. I would have thought that impossible. But on closer inspection, there's an explanation: It was an extended scene where an extra actually showed acting skill. So that obviously had to go.
Other pros scraped with difficulty from the barrel: I liked the woodcut that you see for 1 second. And at least it's not one of those predictable movies. It doesn't make enough sense to be that.
A handful of nothing
ptsj-music18 May 2017
This absolutely has to be the worst movie with what seems to have been quite a high budget. There was a horrible film called The Strand back in the 1990's, and I thought that was as low as it's possible to get in film making, but I was wrong. Ed Wood is spinning repeatedly around in his grave, urging to come back and make a gladiator movie. But he won't ever be able to make one this bad. That's simply impossible.
I really don't get why anybody have bothered to create or take part in this, no more than I get why I even bother to write this review. Are Sharon Fryer's clearly visible bumps the whole idea behind making all this nonsense, and the only reason for giving it more than one star? Maybe so. 1,7 is the lowest score I've seen so far in IMDb.
Alright then, I actually think some of the light setting was quite good, but that's just because I pity those in this production who actually have some talent. With the size of the budget spent on this rotten egg, someone could really make something, but no. The director's touch in this is just a handful of nothing.
I really don't get why anybody have bothered to create or take part in this, no more than I get why I even bother to write this review. Are Sharon Fryer's clearly visible bumps the whole idea behind making all this nonsense, and the only reason for giving it more than one star? Maybe so. 1,7 is the lowest score I've seen so far in IMDb.
Alright then, I actually think some of the light setting was quite good, but that's just because I pity those in this production who actually have some talent. With the size of the budget spent on this rotten egg, someone could really make something, but no. The director's touch in this is just a handful of nothing.
A valiant effort
tpac0119 November 2011
While this movie has some very glaring flaws it does have it's positives.
I really enjoyed the fight scenes (especially the ones involving the wrestlers). The scenery was wonderful. And the effects and costuming were very good for a film that without a doubt had a very limited budget.I also liked how the director used animation to deal with exposition.
Overall, the movie fell victim to the sworn enemy of all young directors, the budget. Stefano Milla did what he could do with the resources he had and for that he should be commended.
I really enjoyed the fight scenes (especially the ones involving the wrestlers). The scenery was wonderful. And the effects and costuming were very good for a film that without a doubt had a very limited budget.I also liked how the director used animation to deal with exposition.
Overall, the movie fell victim to the sworn enemy of all young directors, the budget. Stefano Milla did what he could do with the resources he had and for that he should be commended.
Primo Swords and Sandals Eurotrash
daniel-mannouch26 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Shot back to back with Gladiator Games which was just over an eighth of this film's budget, Kingdom of Gladiators was more of what I was expecting from Stefano Milla and all i can say is holy Mary, what, the, oh, oh mamma mia.
Kingdom of Gladiators is in every way the Ator of our post capitalist times and i am so happy to declare it to be utter, authentic, primo Italian trash, highlighting both the agony and the ecstasy of Italian genre cinema. The cast is full of either attractive or intriguing faces, but their acting might be some of the worst that can be found in pre-game of thrones millennial fantasy filmmaking. The cinematography is really good and the locations were well scouted, but the after effects grading is cheap vignetting garbage. The art direction and costume design is eye catching, yet the soundtrack, not a score, soundtrack is totally compiled of the greatest hits from charity adverts over the last 10 years.
So it seems we have everything an Italian exploitation film fan could want, sampled music, amateur acting, cutesy gym bunny hons, fantastic production values and a mesmerisingly inept screenplay that all comes together to make a film that tows the very fine line between total cliche and utter insanity like only the purest eurotrash is able to.
But just because I am satisfied, doesn't mean it's a good film, which I've come to learn the hard way. Even though Kingdom of Gladiators is a wildly entertaining first watch with it's illogical story just too simple to be confusing and the directorial style too enthusiastic not be endearing, diminishing returns through the eye height rose garden would eventually conclude at a barren wasteland devoid of any engaging drama of arresting visuals.
Kingdom of Gladiators is amazing trash, the likes of which I thought could not be made anymore, but it is still an awful film. And it's painful to admit because the effort is evidently there on the screen, it's just incredibly misguided. Maybe you can irk amusement out of two viewings, but after that, I would say all that could be salvaged from Kingdom of Gladiators would be mirth inducing gauche.
Kingdom of Gladiators is in every way the Ator of our post capitalist times and i am so happy to declare it to be utter, authentic, primo Italian trash, highlighting both the agony and the ecstasy of Italian genre cinema. The cast is full of either attractive or intriguing faces, but their acting might be some of the worst that can be found in pre-game of thrones millennial fantasy filmmaking. The cinematography is really good and the locations were well scouted, but the after effects grading is cheap vignetting garbage. The art direction and costume design is eye catching, yet the soundtrack, not a score, soundtrack is totally compiled of the greatest hits from charity adverts over the last 10 years.
So it seems we have everything an Italian exploitation film fan could want, sampled music, amateur acting, cutesy gym bunny hons, fantastic production values and a mesmerisingly inept screenplay that all comes together to make a film that tows the very fine line between total cliche and utter insanity like only the purest eurotrash is able to.
But just because I am satisfied, doesn't mean it's a good film, which I've come to learn the hard way. Even though Kingdom of Gladiators is a wildly entertaining first watch with it's illogical story just too simple to be confusing and the directorial style too enthusiastic not be endearing, diminishing returns through the eye height rose garden would eventually conclude at a barren wasteland devoid of any engaging drama of arresting visuals.
Kingdom of Gladiators is amazing trash, the likes of which I thought could not be made anymore, but it is still an awful film. And it's painful to admit because the effort is evidently there on the screen, it's just incredibly misguided. Maybe you can irk amusement out of two viewings, but after that, I would say all that could be salvaged from Kingdom of Gladiators would be mirth inducing gauche.
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