Hawk the Slayer (1980)

Out of all of the (somewhat) obscure swords-'n'-sorcery classics, Hawk the Slayer is perhaps the most beloved. For me, this was a very enjoyable romp through a simple but effective story, perhaps not quite living up to the hype, but engaging enough in any case. Particularly good is the score, which combines the expected orchestral and epic tunes with 80's techno to create a fusion that sounds unbelievably over the top and impressive, especially during the scenes of Hawk riding his horse in slow motion in no particular direction. Of course, being the 80's, there are some aspects of truly momentous silliness, usually when the blind sorceress turns up with her magical silly string, and snow machine. The story is a classic story of vengeance, and follows a fairly expected path, although my theory for why it has endured as a fan favourite is the open-ended nature of the finale, in which Voltan's body is carried off by a mysterious and actually rather terrifying demonic entity, and Hawk and Gort ride off south to meet up with a gathering of wizards. This had the potential for a great sequel (and one was planned to be Hawk the Hunter, but never materialised), and so speculation among nerds has been rife. And as we all know, speculation among nerds is both serious business and an industrious past-time. Either way Hawk the Slayer is definitely worth a watch, even today.


Even the DVD cover has epic silliness!