Hawk The Slayer Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
Hawk the Slayer, after seeing both his father and bride die at the hands of his malevolent brother, Voltan, sets out for revenge and the chance to live up to his title. Tooling himself up with the "mind-sword" and recruiting a motley band of warriors: a giant, a dwarf, a one-armed man with a machine-crossbow and an elf with the fastest bow in the land; Hawk leads the battle against Voltan to free the land from the forces of evil and avenge his loved ones.
| Jack Palance | Voltan |
| John Terry | Hawk |
| Bernard Bresslaw | Gort, Giant |
| Ray Charleson | Crow, Elf |
| Peter O'Farrell | Baldin, Dwarf |
| William Morgan Sheppard | Ranulf |
| Patricia Quinn | Woman, Sorceress |
| Cheryl Campbell | Sister Monica |
| Annette Crosbie | Abbess |
| Catriona MacColl | Eliane |
| Shane Briant | Drogo |
| Harry Andrews | High Abbot |
| Christopher Benjamin | Fitzwalter |
| Roy Kinnear | Innkeeper |
| Patrick Magee | Priest |
| Terry Marcel |
4.90 out of 10 (754 votes)
Visitor Reviews
So bad it's good
posted on 28 Oct 2008There are films that are great. Greatness oozes from every pore.There are films that are appalling. Their stink pollutes the entire house.Then there are those films that are so bad, so unutterably cheesy, but do it with such style that they cross over some invisible line and become truly great. Hawk the Slayer is one of these.Hackneyed dialogue? Check. Hammy acting? Check. Stereotypical plot line? Check. But in amongst all these is a true flair that has made Hawk one of the enduring films of the genre. You can't help but groan at the corny lines, chuckle at the dodgy jokes, and - yes - maybe tear up a little at the desolate fate of the last elf in this world.Hawk the Slayer isn't the Lord of the Rings. But best of all it knows it, and it never tried to be. It's a great ride, fantastic entertainment, and a film you'll come back to more than once.Get some friends in. Make a night of it. It's worth the effort.WATCH OUT FOR:Jack Palance, king of the B movie, in fine ham-actor form as the villain. John Terry, last seen as Jack's father in Lost, as the hero. Bernard Bresslaw, star of many a Carry On Movie as the nice but dim giant.
What a treasure!
posted on 01 Oct 2008Back when playing Dungeons & Dragons was all the rage in high school, many fantasy movies came out to cash in on the success of this craze. Remember "Krull", "Conan the Barbarian", "Dragonslayer", "Excalibur", "Ladyhawke", and "The Beastmaster" (and later "Willow")? Well, there's one film that was glossed over by many except the die hard D&Ders: "Hawk the Slayer".I cannot say the film is great. It's not. The production values and acting are at television level, despite some good talent. The special effects are often jarringly laughable. The attempts at creating character dynamics are pathetic.And HtS suffers from the tendency of fantasy films to get pretentious in the acting. That is, if the director wants to give a feel of other worldliness to the atmosphere, he tends to use archaic language or, in the case of HtS, have the characters behave one-dimensionally and stereotypically. The result just makes you shake your head.The music is actually appropriate in its anachronism. This was the 80's, remember, so synthesized music was still cool. The idea was to give the whole movie a "cool" feeling. Of course, it dates the movie completely.But I remember it fondly. At least *someone* was attempting to portray the D&D world up on the screen. Someone wanted to create the motley crew of multiracial adventurers and put them in an adventure kids could relate to. And truly, the director's heart was in making something halfway fun. That's probably why I remember it so well.
"Dungeons & Dragons" fantasy
posted on 10 Sep 2008"Hawk the Slayer" its a nice fantasy\sword and sorcery movie from the begin of the 80's, its a low budget production, but very well done, and well directed by Terry Marcel.Terry Marcel embraces all the "Lord of the Rings" ingredients; the warrior(John Terry play the role of Hawk), the thief, the elf, the giant, the witch,the evil warlord, etc, etc...the old story of the good vs evil, and the importance of friendship, honor and justice against the evil warlord Voltan (Jack Palance)and the powers of darkness..Its a film for fantasy\sword and sorcery fans, its a peculiar movie, with nice actors, nice ambiance, footages and a bizarre epic\comic electronic soundtrack.. If you like "Hawk the Slayer", i recommend: "Krull"(Peter Yates), "Willow"(highly recommended for fantasy fans)
Funny Funny Funny - but not meant to be
posted on 19 May 2008Please - I beg of you - do not watch this film unless you are willing to laugh. The acting is wooden, the dialogue so poorly contrived that it might have been written by a ten-year-old, the backdrops sometimes like a school pantomime, and it is all fantastic! This is one of those wonderful films that is so very bad, it is good.I have seen it six or seven times, and I marvel each time as to how it was ever released. It takes "The Lord of the Rings", "Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves", "The Princess Bride" and " Willow" and rolls them all into one, with dreadful special effects, unmitigatedly awful stop-go cinematography, and poor editing. It is a classic, whose whole is most definitely greater than the sum of its parts. Watch it and laugh.
Not the greatest but definitely should be a cult classic ...
posted on 28 Apr 2008... and I think that it will be. I didn't start gaming until much later. What got me to watch this movie originally was the appearance of Jack Palance. It was entertaining for what it was.The way I figure it ... if you can put your brain on hold to enjoy movies with buses jumping 200 foot gaps in bridges, a virtual shower of bullets flying everywhere with the main characters being left unharmed and cheesy lines from many many other movies... doing the same for this would be no different.Sure it doesn't have the flash of many tops, but the idea behind the movie has/had potential. It had the benefit of one thing - I had not seen a story similar to that - it was original. (rough, could use some touch up ...but original)
So bad it's good
posted on 25 Apr 2008If you're the sort who likes to do a roll-your-own kind of MST3K movie night -- and let's be honest, it's *much* more fun to come up with your own wiseass comments anyway -- then this film is on your must-see list. There's so much wrong with it that I hardly know where to begin. It'll help to categorize.-- The acting. Yoikes! There's some genuine skill involved in the portrayal of two or three of the characters, and there's some fun chemistry between Bernard Bresslaw as Gort the giant and Peter O'Farrell as Baldin the dwarf, but other than that this is all Golden Turkey material. John Terry in the title role could have been outacted by a dead cat, and Jack Palance as the villain is so over-the-top that he's ridiculous instead of menacing. (He's also supposed to be John Terry's brother despite being about 40 years too old to pull it off.) Everyone who tries to sound mysterious or wise comes off as stoned instead. Maybe they were.-- The script. There's not so much a plot as a series of contrivances that serve as an excuse for the actors to deliver their lines and the fight scenes. I think they used up their studio's entire Plot Contrivance Quota for both 1979 *and* 1980, which must have been a real hardship because it would have left them unable to film any of the teenage sex comedies that were so popular back then.-- The special effects. AAAAAGH! The Giant Executive Desk Toy that's supposed to be a magical teleporter! The cheesy glowing rocks! The hyperactive fog machines! The film loops! The... the... AIEEEEEEEEE! The horror!Bottom line is if you take this film as seriously as it presents itself, you'll hate it. But for a rollicking fun evening of derisive mockery, you'll have trouble finding a better. Unless you go out and get an Ator movie or something.
Hawk the Loogie more like
posted on 20 Mar 2008Can't believe this film was made in the 80's.MAY CONTAIN SPOILER(If you consider my vicious savaging of the SFX a spoiler)Have you ever considered Silly String as a ground breaking special effect ? Nor had I till I saw this film. In fact I hadn't considered Hari Cari until I saw this film - It was looking a more and more appealing option every minute. I decided to keep watching, naively expecting it to get better. It didn't. Though it was twenty years ago, and we can't expect miracles from three men and a roll of duck tape, they could have put a little effort in. As for the 'plot' (I use this word in the loosest possable terms) it was just an excuse for throwing togeather a bunch of generic steriotypes and shaking violently. I can't imagine how much money it made (Lost ?) or why it wasn't seized upon by MST3K. In fact I would only recommend this film to someone with a Mike Nelson like ability to make light of the bad situation they were put in.But the worst part, the very worst part, was the over use of soft focus. Just because so many other films of this period were filmed with some vaseline rubbed over the lens, why did they do it here ? I'll tell why, its because all the exterior shots were done in the same place.
Lackluster Sword & Sorcery from the 80's
posted on 26 Jan 2008Well intentioned sword and sorcery adventure has a few things going for it but there are far too many shortcomings to overcome.Our hero Hawk (John Terry) has inherited the "Mind Sword" from his father after he is murdered by his other son the evil Voltan (Jack Palance). Voltan has an army behind him while his brother gathers the stereotypical small band of hero's to help him defeat his brother. The small band includes a giant a dwarf and an elf and each gets a suitably stilted introduction.John Terry is ineffective and seems out of his depth at times, the fact he had some subsequent success seems to indicate either; poor casting, the obviously poor dialogue he was saddled with or a lack of direction. The largely British supporting cast is somewhat subdued and while they don't stand out they also don't embarrass themselves, they include; Annette Crosbie, Harry Andrews, Bernard Bresslaw (Carry On films), Roy Kinnear, W. Morgan Sheppard and Cheryl Campbell. Jack Palance as the villain of the piece is way over the top.The film sticks with many fantasy archetypes but strangely flips other on their heads. The result being that when these variations on the fantasy staples occur they are glaringly incongruous.The story is absurdly straight forward and simple as is the structure of the film, perhaps given a better budget it could have achieved more. The special effects are straight out of the era in which the film was made, and having a limited budget means they are somewhat embarrassing especially when they are poorly executed. We get big puffs of smoke to hide things, fairly cheap matte paintings for all the buildings, sped up film and spliced cuts to give the impression of speed.The films score is a very odd mix of orchestral and disco and while it may be appreciated my some it was far too strident and obtrusive to my ear.Despite the problems a true aficionado of fantasy might enjoy the film if they aren't too discerning.
Dork the Slayer! But you know you love it!
posted on 07 Sep 2007**POTENTIAL PLOT SPOILER....OR IS POT BOILER?!?!?** Hah! Hawk the Slayer...I recall seeing this film when I was growing up in England, possibly in the late eighties, on the BBC? What can I add that most other reviewers haven't; it's difficult, Hawk the Slayer fails on so many levels, but the potential was there to explore the darker themes and warrior-esquire macho throb of the title with a more cooler originality than any other generic fantasy adaption or concept yet (excluding the sweeping L-O-T-R, we all know that's entirely different), but the misplaced taciturn American actor in the lead is like a early version of the metro-sexual hero with tussled dark hair and an obsession with the enigmatic 'stare-out' before launching his Mind-sword (the last Elfin one of its kind, no less!) into the rather slow, slipshod villains that 'rogue' the woods, like bad warrior versions of a Carry On movie, and string up hapless Ranulf for a game of Tomahawk hair-tweaking! "It's you.. that will be cut down!" baulks one amusingly in typical highbrow fantasy-laden dialog.Still can't imagine, looking back, anyone else playing Hawk than John Terry, so amazed to see him wizened in Lost recently. What happened to our beloved Hawk?!?! Don't get me wrong, I love Hawk for all the reasons other fans do, it's cheese personified in a sword and sorcery (no sandals - no beaches, no Hercules and Italian style dubbing - but dubbing yes!) so you take it seriously at your peril. Visually it's acceptable and the wood-be (lame, I know) premise is potentially excellent, the forest's supposed ethereal concept is a great backdrop for the recruiting of old comrades that have very thinly exposed backgrounds - of course 'Crow's' is the longest, as he's the monotone superstar of the show, can't help but love the guy who can leap into trees and run like the wind (even in slow mo to the sound of highly bizarre folkloric Celtic-esquire music that I find as cheesy and enchanting as the main 'disco' flute absurdity that just adds to the abstract proceedings, more so than any other British made fantasy melodrama)."Crow.....find the Woman!" And then there's a plethora of ham villains, notable a pre "Dalziel and Pascoe" Warran Clarke who probably has cringe inducing moments when he looks back at his "macho-stint" at being a wood-be (can't help it!) opponent for the invincibly static Hawk (great name, shame about the lack of being charismatic). Like the best of the worst, Hawk works as a film because it takes its self serious as an entry and therefore provides us with sporadic moments of borderline genius comedy and entertaining themes and ideas, a good old (totally hackneyed, but 'avant-garde', this ain't..) fashioned good vs.evil plot with some wonky special effects and plenty of scrapping (fair enough, there's a few bit, even if some of it's ludicrous or lost in-fog-translation). The storyline is fairly generic yes; but aspects of this are not (the sandpaper wearing, cyclops crayon-eyed witch-woman and her cavern of colour-changing hula hoop transporting beams are just imaginatively hilarious) of course the symbolic heroes of the genre are present: Giant, dwarf, elf as well as wounded average warrior with the best crossbow in the history of Fantasy and a mysterious eponymous leader with an emblematic fairly wicked weapon (a rather huge green-glowing sword - almost phallic, good job Baldwin didn't have to 'wield' it!!), it has to be said (although the one in Krull maybe just pipped it - how it didn't slice up their fingers I'll never know!) Some things about this film could have really propelled it. For instance Drogo is lame and lasts about 5 mins, killed in less than in a minute after challenging Hawk. He could have been tougher, especially after he bullies that wimp and then treacherously stabs him - oh... evil personified! This battle sequence is I suppose ruined by Crow and Ranulf's rapid fire mowing down (in a frigging Church no less...anyone else think this was highly sacrilegious! Just kidding peeps, we all know sanctuaries make the best decor backdrops for explicit mini-Armaggedon fraught battle fests!) akin to Gatling gun spray-outs! Poor Baldwin hardly gets a look in with his paltry whip, probably slowed up due to his excessive lifestyle in the 'Iron Mountains with buxom wenches and tavern (Fantasy's bar-room hovels) fights. Sounds like Stoke on Trent when the World Cup is on! Also when they ride through the forest who is the creepy looking demon-worshiper thing on the floor, sat with candles....he might have made a good villain, or something...maybe. What d'ya reckon, or did I hallucinate it? In the darkened forest scene, they could have A) had a brawl with some cool looking bandits (not those knuckleheads who Gort dispatches with the ease of a fly spray swipe!) or B) encountered some demonic beasts they had to scrap, not those tepid blob moles that gawp at the screen - scream and then the guys suddenly flee...what the freakin' blazes?! Hawk the Sayer is fairly woeful. However when I first bought a DVD player, this was the DVD I bought first! For a fiver...it had no extras on it but the transfer was good, and the good old days of cheesy adolescent Fantasy and those Steve Jackson and Ian Livingston (I think it was?) series of solve-it Fantasy books came flooding back! Ahhh, the days of having no friends or girls to ask out - pure innocence, pure bliss! "Voltan! You will DIE!! By the sword!" Truly superb, classic 80s fodder and entirely memorable and surprisingly quotable and catchy...and still fairly terrible. But you know you love it....why wouldn't you? WINK! THEY SHOULD REALLY HAVE MADE A SEQUEL...what a total shame....
Its so bad its good
posted on 17 Aug 2007Similar to the reputation Showgirls has received in the "its so bad its good" category, upon repeated viewing of this film you can only just marvel on how crap this film is. The acting is diabolical, the story is terrible and the special effects were done by the local primary school.It is because it suffers from almost every cinematic angel it becomes entertaining to watch.Kids will love it and adults will laugh at the semi-serious attempt in making a fantasy film with elves, dwarfs, giants (or rather the very large man from the carry on films) and a witch whose special powers include fire balls that look remarkably like ping pong balls painted in luminous colours.
Legendary
posted on 12 Jun 2007Some would say this film is one of the poorest ever made. They would be correct. However it is also one of the most amusing. Such classic moments as 'a bit falls off the set really obviously' and 'the baddies lair is a skanky old tent', and of course the cheesy sound effect/soundtrack make this a great movie, especially when drunk. To assist this, the Hawk the Slayer Unofficial Drinking Game is as follows: Drink when: Anyone says 'Hawk'; Anyone says 'Voltan'; Every time they show a picture for the backdrop instead of a real set; Every time they use the ridiculous electronic sound effect (first used at the start with the sword); Every time someone dies (can be limited to 3 drinks for a fight scene as its hard to keep count); Every time the crazy disco soundtrack starts up; Every time there are poor special effects; Every time there is a cheesy flashback Every time the top of the set is visible.Enjoy!
I would've loved this more in 1980.
posted on 08 Mar 2007Back when this was released, when I was 9 years old and into Star Wars and Clash of the Titans and Beastmaster, a movie like this would have been right up my alley. I just saw it a couple days ago, as I am now proud owner of it on video, and let me say even now I was pretty impressed. Hawk was a very cool hero and his cohorts were all equally as unique, especially Crow the bowsman. Jack Palance puts in an over-the-top performance as Voltan (great name) the villain. I was also proud that I recognized Patricia Quinn (Magenta from Rocky Horror!) as the witch and Patrick Magee (from Clockwork Orange) as a fanatical priest who has a great little scene in the middle. The highlights: the cool rapid fire bow effects, the uzi crossbow (needs to be seen to believed), everything with Crow, the glowing elfstone sword, the hilarious disco music that swelled up whenever Hawk rides through the forest (its like Vangelis meets KC and the Sunshine Band, not kidding) and the interaction of Hawk and his friends. The lowlights: the bad acting, the crappy editing, the obvious painted matte of the abbott's castle, the slow sword fights, and the whiny nun who is way too trusting of Voltan and not of Hawk. Duh! He's saving you! Idiot.I should say i would have overlooked all the bad points if I were a kid, anyone 7-12 would dig this flick. Overall, if you have a chance to see this, and its hard to find I understand, enjoy it for what it is and nothing more. You'll definitely get some laughs out of it at least. 8 out of 10.
Great B movie
posted on 28 Jan 2007As you watch this film, you will more than likely sit back and say, "This is so silly." Remember this is an 80's film. I remember first watching this film as a teenager and saying it was so cool. Well many moons later, I can see the aweful special effects, and the obvious mistakes made. The interesting things about "B" movies is that if actors know they are in one; it comes through in their acting. With this film, they try to act as seriously as possible, which makes it more believable. For people with a poor budget, they did quite well. The score is still some of the coolest music ever. It sets the tone for the film, and encompasses Hawk's mysterious nature.As a regular film, it is aweful. As a "B" film, it does quite well. Cult classic.
ahh the late 70's early 80's
posted on 20 Dec 2006Frankly I've always been fascinated by the short wave of fantasy films which came out the early 80's, even though admittedly most were awful. They still have more interesting and charming qualities than many 'later' fantasy efforts (Willow, LOTR) yes you heard me right, I HATED Jacksons Lord of the Rings, and I find campy low bug fantasy films from the early 80's much more interesting any day. Why? This is hard to pin down but I feel it has much to do with the time they were made in, in the way a creepy well made horror film or TV episode of Night Gallery or 6th Sense was best suited for the early 70's late 60's era of organic disturbing-haunting "wierdness" (which no other era could capture as effectively) somehow the early 80's were suited for mythic, organic sword and sorcery fantasy. And they captured the ambience better (Dark Crystal, Dragonslayer) than anything made in later years. It really is hard to define logically but there is something else unconsciously going on. Someday I hope to make a trully great fantasy film which captures the mythic ambience of the early 80's.
Who edited this film???
posted on 21 Sep 2006This simplistic "good vs. evil" fantasy tale would be quite harmless, if it weren't for the appallingly bad editing. The fight scenes are so badly shot that you'll have to watch them about four times to figure out what happened and how, and the way they portray the elf's skill with his fast-throwing bow (quick successive takes of the same shot) is just plain ludicrous. At least John Terry, who plays Hawk, keeps his dignity....(*1/2)
Hawk the Slayer: loved it then, love it now
posted on 11 Jun 2006Hawk the Slayer: a wonderfully cheesy fantasy without pretense! It was awesome when I was a child and I find I am just as happy to see it now. I am tired of empty Hollywood crap packaged as art. I want my empty crap to come without pretense (like it does in HTS).I'm 35 years old. I first saw HTS when I was in middle school. I loved it then and I love it now.I spent years looking for a copy and finally completed my quest when it was released on DVD.I'd spent far too long searching through musty old VHS tapes in old video rental places! :)BTW, what is "Spaced"? Is it a comedy set in a Comic Book and Hobby shop? If so, I can't WAIT until it comes to America!Peace, Awesomo4k
I agree!
posted on 23 Feb 2006Suffice to say the other review here is spot on. This is possibly one of the funniest films ever made. (for all the wrong reasons) I am in fact, at time of writing, watching Hawk the Slayer on BBC1! Nice to know we pay the ever rising license fee for a good reason. Sorry however to the the other reviewer but I have to correct you about the repeating crossbow. It did actually exist (another side affect of the BBC....bloody learning zone)Other than that, very accurate. A collection of wooden sets and gold sprayed tin foil. Also this film wins the award for the most polystyrene looking hammer....ever! I seriously recommend this movie purely because you will laugh/cringe so much, even though you most likely won't last all the way through.P.s. does anyone else think the sound track is like a porno/western?
Sooooo bad....it is good.....
posted on 21 Jan 2006My old VHS copy is almost worn out watching it so much. It is sort of like Dr. Who....only with swords. The cheap backgrounds and special effects just add to the enjoyment.During nights out with the boys, we've been known start quipping off a few memorable lines from this show for absolutely no reason at all. The Elf/Vulcan's lines are especially fertile grounds for one-liners. Just the mentioning the rubber lizard in the forest scene can send peels of laughter through all who have enjoyed this wonderful piece of work.Jack Palance had to have done this movie as a favor for someone and all the better for us that this stinker/gem was created.There is a reason this flick is a cult classic. If you like bad movies, don't miss this gem.
Terrible but brilliant
posted on 10 Dec 2005This film is terrible. It's actually possibly the worst film ever. But that's why i give it 10/10. It is just SO bad that it's hilarious. Don't expect it to be something like Lord of the Rings. I has a cheesy disco-synth-80s-crap-pop-knockoff soundtrack for a start. Also, to my knowledge only two of the actors in it have gone on to do...well, anything. Annette Benning, who's a minor character really, went on to do One Foot In the Grave (TV), and John Terry went on to play centre-back for Chelsea and England. Wait, no, different John Terry. This one went on to play Bob Warner in series 2 of 24.This film should be watched with a bunch of mates and some beers (as long as you're old enough of course. If not, the mates are fine). Just sit back and enjoy it. Pick holes in it, laugh at the cheesy dialogue, and then FEAR the bow-and-arrow ability of Crow. Orlando Bloom wishes he was that guy....possibly.I can't recommend this film as itself. It is simply terrible. But that is why you HAVE to watch it if you get a chance. If you laughed your way through Independence Day or The Day After Tomorrow (and any other films of a similar ilk) you will love this. I guarantee it*.*Guarantee does not constitute a guarantee.
So bad it's good
posted on 17 Apr 2009I voted a 5 for this movie simply because depending on your mood or the company it can be viewed as really really terrible or really really hilariously brilliantly rubbish. There's the cast, including the Giant - or as we call him "Slightly Taller Than Everyone Else Guy" and Slightly Shorter Than Everyone Else Guy - the Dwarf. And who can forget the amazing acting talents of the robot-elf? The writing is as clichéd as the characters, the fighting direction is laughable and the whole thing seems to have been made up as it goes along. I'm not saying that's such a bad thing. What's particularly funny is that they obviously left it open for a sequel.. Don't expect anything approaching Lord of the Rings.. This is not that kind of a film.. it doesn't have a budget or anything like that. No.. just expect something to laugh at.. and you won't be disappointed.