At the end of the 1970s and start of the early 1980s, science fiction and fantasy films were all the rage on the big screen. Star Wars, Star Trek, Conan the Barbarian, Dragon Slayer, Clash of the Titans all proved their worth. In an attempt to mingle the two genres and make even more cash, producer Ron Silverman, director Peter Yates, and writer Standford Sherman created Krull. The movie had a gigantic production budget for its time. The story centers around a planet called Krull which is invaded by a race of Slayers that travel world to world in a castle like spaceship. These Slayers used energy spears instead of guns and watching them the viewer can’t help but be reminded of stormtroopers. This castle like ship, called the Black Fortress, is home to cosmic level entity known only as the Beast. Prince Colwyn survives the attack by the Beast’s Slayers in which both of the planet’s kings and their armies are wiped out. An “old one” finds him and helps him to recover. The Beast has taken the young prince’s wife to be. Colwyn sets out to save her with the old one’s help. Together with a band of thieves, a shapeshifter, and a Cyclops, they recover a long lost magical weapon, the Glave, and travel to the Black Fortress to destory the Beast.
Krull, despite all the effort put into marketing it, including a board game, a card game, and even a Marvel Comics’ adaptation, failed at the box office. None the less, it has become a cult classic. For all the movie’s cheesiness and campy feel, it was visually stunning with some insanely wild battle scenes. Krull was also unique for its time in being a true Science Fantasy film. The film is a colorful mish-mash of genres that does deserve to be remembered in spite of its shortcomings.
