Overrated and overhyped

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I love portmanteau movies. From Tales from the Crypt to Asylum, The House that Dripped Blood and The Monster Club, a good part of our DVD collection is devoted to these films (mostly of the Amicus variety). 1984′ The Dungeonmaster attempts to be both a narrative and portmanteau all at the same time — to sometimes uneven results.Also known as Ragewar: The Challenges of Excalibrate and Digital Knights, this Charles Band- produced effort (Puppet Master, Subspecies, Re-Animator) made up of seven different segments, all connected by the battle between Paul Bradford (Jeffrey Byron, Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn ) and Mestema (Richard Moll, who played Bull from TV's Night Court, as well as The Sword and the Sorceror, House, Wicked Stepmother and more). Again, it's a film that struggles to find a tone — it wants to be Tron as much as it wants to be a filmed version of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign.Like any portmanteau, there are some good and bad parts in equal measure. Richard Moll is awesome in this, just chewing scenery and blasting out some insane dialogue. The zombie scene is good, as is the giant. But your life won't change watching this film. If you're looking for something to put on as a soundtrack to a party or some great visuals, it's certainly good for that.Read more at bandsaboutmovies.com/2017/07/14/the-dungeonmaster-1984

Nerdy computer expert Paul Bradford (a solid and likable performance by the hunky Jeffrey Byron) has both his mental and physical skills put to the ultimate test by evil wizard Mestema (robustly played with deliciously hammy brio by Richard Moll), who has been looking for a worth adversary to set his powers against. Paul must defeat seven challenges in order to save not only his own life, but also the life of his girlfriend Gwen Rogers (a luminous portrayal by the fetching Leslie Wing). The assorted directors that include Charles Band, stop-motion animation master David Allen, and make-up f/x expert John Buechler treat the gloriously loopy story with admirable seriousness. The challenges are quite colorful and entertaining: A giant stop-motion animation statue, a bunch of rot-faced zombies brandishing all kinds of weapons, pesky dwarfs, an ice gallery of notorious criminals, a homely cackling puppet demon, gnarly animated dragons, and even an ugly cave-dwelling troll. The variable special effects run the gamut from rather shoddy to really impressive. Moreover, it's the way the nifty modern technology versus ancient magic premise gets handled with tremendously engaging aplomb and imagination that in turn makes this picture so much fun to watch. A concert appearance by the hair band W.A.S.P. and an aerobics sequence featuring sexy gals in leotards provide a certain vintage 80's cheeseball charm. Mac Ahlberg's polished cinematography offers a wealth of funky stylish visuals. The lively score by Richard Band and Shirley walker hits the stirring spot. A total blast.

Charles Band's 80s production company, Empire, produced this odd assortment of "challenges" a computer nerd (played by geeky Jeffrey Byron who also had a chance to portray the hero in another Empire production, "Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn") must complete in order to rescue his girl (Leslie Wing) from the clutches of a demonic Richard Moll in some sort of hellish realm. If Byron loses any of the challenges Wing will be forced to remain with Moll's Mestema in Hell. Of course, Byron will be cursed as well, but this isn't an option, he must survive the "contest" where his very soul hangs in the balance. Seven directors contributed to "Ragewar" (an alternate title for "The Dungeonmaster"), including David Allen (the highlight of the movie for me personally as Allen has his most Harryhausen sequence, creating a giant stone temple creature come to life, pursuing Byron in a canyon), Band (with definitely the most surreal sequence, Byron having to contend with the psychotic lead singer of WASP during a concert as he threatens to mutilate Wing with a sword?!?!), make-up effects artist John Carl Buechler (his sequence features nightmarish looking zombies and a rat cave monster of some sort which threaten Byron's life), Steven Ford (the most dull of the sequences which is basically an uninspired slasher scene where a scalpel psycho targets Wing and Byron must elude police and stop the killer), Peter Manoogian (I have no idea what the point of this was, as Byron enters the cavernous dwelling of a little demon monster, discovering an angel of some sort imprisoned there), Rosemarie Turko (this sequence has an "ice gallery" of wax sculptures modeling events of the past as they come to life with Byron and Wing having to evade them), and Ted Nicolaou (yet another rip from "The Road Warrior" with Byron and Wing confiscating a junk-heap on wheels from marauders in a post apocalyptic world, which includes a cool graveyard of the skeletal remains of airplanes). While I had fun watching Moll of "Night Court" fame ham it up as evil incarnate, Byron is a weak hero, his challenges unconvincing. The film is a harmless fantasy for kids which is why it didn't necessarily thrill me all that much. The plot is really poorly constructed, particularly in how Byron and Wing find themselves in Moll's Hell and how the hero is able to escape certain doom time and again with help from a computer device located on an arm band. Byron's costume looks like it was made out of a fencing uniform. I must admit, although I can't say this is a very good movie, it has a certain charm that left its mark on me. Moll's theatrics, for one, I found irresistible and there's a sense of child-like wonder to be found..maybe that's why so many who grew up with the movie in the 80s still have a place for it in their hearts.

Oh, heavens. This is one of the most awful movies I've ever watched. My friend Kevin worked at a video store, and would bring home a free movie every night. We marveled at his horrible taste -- each movie was worse than the last. Years later, however, The Dungeonmaster still stands out in my mind as the worst. It has seven directors and eight writers, and while I'm sure it was meant as a collaboration, it really feels like every ten minutes they decided, "Ugh! This is ghastly!" and got another director and writer to do the next segment, without there ever being any improvement. Even the wonderful Richard Moll as Mestema wasn't enough to save this train wreck of a movie. Go ahead and rent it if you love to revel in the awfulness of really terrible movies… otherwise you might be better off with some of the directors' later works like Troll or Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter. Er, on second thought, maybe that's not such a good idea, either.