In the 1980s and 1990s, the sword-and-sorcery fantasy film “The Beastmaster” was highly successful, earning it iconic cult status. A future version of the film was apparently planned by director Don Coscarelli, who is known for his horror films. At the same time, he also claimed that the movie’s original negatives were lost, and he asked all fans to share any information on the negatives.
The film is based on Andre Norton’s science fiction novel about a Native American individual who is telepathically linked to genetically altered animals in the future. Dar, the son of a king who grew up in another household, is pursued by a priest in this film. His new father was slaughtered by savages when he was an adult. He unexpectedly learned that he could converse with animals and set off on a mission for vengeance.
Coscarelli, on the other hand, shifted the plot back to the Bronze Age, which made Andre Norton very angry. Despite not being a critical favorite, the film was popular on HBO and TBS, and it was shown so frequently that watching HBO meant “Hey, Beastmaster’s on!” and watching TBS meant “The Beastmaster channel.” In the 1990s, the film was followed by two low-budget sequels and a syndicated television series.
‘The Beastmaster’ released in 1982: Explained
The movie commenced in the kingdom of Aruk, where the high-ranking priest Maax was prophesied by his witches to die in the hands of the unborn son of King Zed. The King became aware of his ghastly plan to sacrifice his unborn child, and banished the priest from the kingdom. One of the faithful witches of Maax went to the palace, paralyzed the King and Queen, and transferred the unborn child into a pregnant cow with her evil magic spells. Then she killed the cow, took out the newborn baby, and prepared to sacrifice him by stabbing and then hurling the baby into the fire. Fortunately, a villager passing by realized the graveness of the situation and rescued the baby after slaughtering the evil witch. Then he started raising the baby as his son in the village of Emir, naming him Dar.
His father stated that he was born with unforeseen power, and the burn mark on his palm inflicted by the wicked witch would guide him in the path chosen by God. Years later, Dar had grown into a man and was always followed by his faithful dog Kudo. One day, while practicing combat with his father, Dar encountered a fierce bear. But when he stood face to face with the bear, it seemed to communicate with him and turned away without hurting him.
On another occasion, a group of barbarians called the Jun, allied by Maax, attacked the village of Emur and initiated a havoc massacre, slaying each and every villager. Dar was the lone survivor as he was miraculously saved by Kudo, who was shot by an arrow and later succumbed to his injury. With a vengeful and enraged heart, Dar set out for the kingdom of Aruk with his father’s sword and bladed boomerang, accompanied by a golden eagle named Sharak.
On his way, two parakeets stole his armor belt, and while chasing them, Dar slipped fell into a pool of quicksand. Dar used his telepathic power and convinced the parakeets to save him, while he named them Kudo and Pudo and carried them along with him. Eventually, he saw some barbarians attacking and annoying a black panther who was tied with a rope. Dar ambushed the cruel men with the help of the eagle and the parakeets and saved the panther. Dar was happy to have the eagle as his eyes, the parakeets for their cunningness, and the panther who was named Ruh as his strength.
Eventually, he met a slave girl named Kiri and became infatuated with her. While following her, he arrived at a village where he was surrounded by a strange half-bird, half-human race who dissolved their prey. These people worshipped Eagles, and hence spared Dar when they found out that Sharak was his pet. Finally, Dar reached the kingdom of Aruk only to find that Maax had taken total control of the kingdom, and was religiously sacrificing children into the fire in front of all the villagers, who were restrained from protesting by Maax’s army men. Dar managed to save the second child from being sacrificed in the fire, as he used his power to convince Sharak to swoop down on the child and carry him away. When Dar returned the child to his parents, he was informed that Kiri was also meant for sacrifice.
Meanwhile, Maax discovered through his magical spell that Dar was the lost child of the imprisoned King Zed and sent his people to kill him. Luckily Dar escaped the inevitable death. He was saved by Ruh and was joined by King Zed’s younger son Tal and his bodyguard Seth in avenging the evil Maax. Dar found out that Kiri was not some ordinary slave girl but the King’s niece. Through his telepathic connection to Sharak, Dar discovered that five women, including Kiri, were being taken for sacrifice. Dar and Seth together saved Kiri from the priest and started planning to save the King and free Aruk from the clutches of Maax.
While Seth left to gather more forces to fight, Dar, Kiri, and Tal secretly entered the city of Uruk. After great difficulties, they managed to find the imprisoned King. But with a magical spell on the ring worn by Tal, Maax and his witches were already aware of their presence, and attacked them. Somehow, Dar and his team managed to get away from Maax and the witches, as they escaped through the tunnel and fought their way to safety. The King decided to attack Maax and take back Aruk and his position, but Dar disagreed as he knew how ferocious June was.
The King, enraged by the disagreement with Dar, referred to him as a coward and banished him from his group. As the King and Seth were discussing their plans for an attack, Seth realized that the magic eye on Tal’s ring was conveying all the information to Maax. He finally destroyed the ring and threw it into the fire. In the morning, Dar was informed by a friend that everyone, including the King, had been captured by Maax and taken to the temple for sacrifice. With Seth and Tal, Dar reached the temple and initiated fierce combat with the evil priests, while Maax revealed Dar’s relationship with Zed before he killed Zed by slitting his throat.
Eventually, Dar stabbed Maax. However, when he was carrying Kiri, Maax pulled the knife and was about to kill Dar when Koda sacrificed his life and caused Maax to fall into the sacrificial flame. Soon, they found out that June was approaching Aruk for the attack. They set up a huge trap for the Juns and managed to slaughter most of them while Dar, after a fierce battle, managed to ambush their chieftain. The remaining Juns were consumed by the birdmen who came to help Dar. The next day Seth invited Dar to be the next King, but Dar refused, explaining that Tal would make a better king. He set off into the wild with Kiri, Ruh, Sharak, and Pudo, who had given birth to two baby ferrets, following the path to new adventures.
The movie got a mixed response from the critics while crossing $14 million on its initial release. Marc Singer starred as the titular hero and acted quite well, while the remaining cast managed to support him in a basic way. Josh Milrad, featuring as Tal, was nominated for the young artist award for the best young supporting actor in a movie. Some critics felt that the film was slightly too long as it dragged on for twenty minutes after the main protagonist was ambushed in the climax. While many others thought that better sets and clever shots could have improved the standard of the film. By large, the film was enjoyable and received extensive success on cable networks.
Beastmaster 2 – Through The Portal Of Time Released in 1991: Explained
In the very beginning, the audience was notified that after the death of King Zed, darkness had grasped the land of Aruk, as the evil warlord Arklon had enslaved the people with his unholy magic. Their only hope lay with the rebelling forces of the Beastmaster, Dar, who was unfortunately captured by Arklon’s men and presented before the council for sentencing. Dar was found guilty of being a leading rebel to overpower the great Arklon and was hence condemned to death. Before he could be beheaded in the guillotine, his animal companions attacked the army men and freed Dar. After killing all the men accompanying Arklon, when Dar confronted Arklon, he threatened him with a deadly magic laser weapon which would have been fatal to Dar, had Sharak not attacked Arklon’s eyes, letting Dar escape with all of his animal companions.
Eventually, Arklon and his army men ambushed a clan of rebels; completely sparing a sorceress, Ursa, who claimed to possess a mysterious power, capable of making Arklon as powerful as God.
Meanwhile, as Dar traveled through the forest, he encountered a strange witch-like creature who happened to be his father’s sister, and she told him that she was being punished due to the evil magic of her past. She also informed Dar that before him, another unborn child was taken away from Zed, whose mind was corroded by the evil priests. The responsibility of finding and destroying him before the autumn solstice lay on Dar, or else mankind would not survive on Earth. Meanwhile, the sorceress took Arklon through a dimensional portal where a world existed on a parallel plane as their own world, and the parallel world was L.A. The sorceress showed Arklon a particular place where a neutron detonator was preserved, capable of destroying an entire continent.
The movie then shifted to a scene in L.A. where a girl, Jackie Trent, is seen over-speeding her car and was being followed by two cops. When the three vehicles were supposed to crash into a wall, the three cars crossed the parallel dimension instead and reached the spot where Arklon, Ursa, and the soldiers were present. The two policemen thought that it was a set for shooting some old age film, but when the soldiers attacked them, they assumed the people to be lunatics.
They jumped back to L.A. through the wall, leaving their patrol cars behind while Jackie drove away with her car, witnessing all the commotion. After a while, her car stops as it ran out of fuel, and she was forced to spend the night in the desert, totally confused about her whereabouts. In the morning, she met Dar and his companions and assumed they belonged to a circus. Without any option, she joined Dar on his quest and headed westward while getting acquainted with him. But Arklon’s soldiers managed to grab Jackie and take her back to Arklon and Ursa, where Arklon promised to free her if she would ensure his access to the neutron detonator.
Jackie promised him, and they entered the world of L.A. Eventually, Dar followed them and crossed over to L.A., and it was at that moment that he raised his hand. Arklon, upon seeing the symbol on his hand, realized that he and Dar were brothers. But Arklon moved on, leaving Dar stranded behind, and Jackie took them to be dressed in appropriate attire while the cops captured Dar and Ruh after tranquilizing them.
Taking advantage of Arklon in the dressing room, Jackie ran out quickly and reached home while Arklon vandalized the shop and left. While the cops were interrogating Dar, he somehow managed to flee from the police station and luckily was picked up by Jackie in her car and taken to her home. Meanwhile, Arklon hypnotized the appropriate person and retrieved all the information about acquiring the detonator, while Jackie and Dar went after him.
Arklon and Ursa forged false identities and entered the restricted area where the detonator was kept. After seizing it, they left the place, but wicked Arklon withdrew all of Ursa’s memories before forsaking her. Consequently, Jackie and Dar were joined by Ursa in the ensuing chase sequence. As Arklon was about to cross the time portal, Dar successfully stopped him, but he managed to escape to the city again by causing destruction with his laser wand. Few policemen chased Arklon’s vehicle while some chased Dar, who was saved by Jackie.
A confused Arklon landed in the zoo, shot Sharak as he was following him, and was also responsible for the scar on his face. In the following combat, Dar managed to kill Arklon, and the military General defused the detonator with only one second left. Dar bid farewell to Jackie, leaving Kudo and Pudo with her and returning to his world with Sharak and Ruh to find people traveling from distant places to offer pilgrimage to the Porsche car left behind by Jackie as a mark of God.
Marc Singer was back in the sequel with his perfectly toned body, appropriate as the Beastmaster, while Kari Wuhrer as Jackie looked cute as a spunky L.A. girl, though Wings Hauser as Arklon didn’t quite stand up to his standard. Jim Wynorski was meant to direct the movie and also wrote the screenplay with R.J. Robertson for Sylvia Tabet, who was the producer. But at the last moment, Tabet decided to direct the movie. Very few critics gave positive feedback to the film as most people thought that it was not funny or clever enough to overcome its silliness, although Singer was appreciated by most critics. Like its prequel Beastmaster, it was broadcasted regularly on cable television stations of America.
Beastmaster 3 – The Eye Of Braxus Released in 1996: Explained
The evil warlord and sorcerer Agon used a magical ceremony to temporarily regain his youth by sacrificing young prisoners and told his servant Maldor that he must seize the eye of the Dark Lord Braxus, which was possessed by young King Tal, in order to regain his immortal youth and his kingdom fully. He also claimed that his crimson warriors were scouring the land to locate King Tal and the eye of Lord Braxus.
A family traveling through the woods was attacked by a group of thugs, when Dar and his animal friends came to their rescue. They narrated the tyranny of Lord Agon, who compelled them to seek refuge from King Tal, who was portrayed as a kind and just leader. The family visited the royal encampment of King Tal, who was ecstatic to see Dar. They were informed about Lord Agon, a powerful sorcerer who had conquered their kingdom Ahmbeth, looking for the stronghold of Lord Braxus to achieve the power he needed to rule the world. King Tal decided to leave at dawn with Seth, his powerful counsel, and a group of powerful warriors to liberate the land occupied by Lord Agon.
At nightfall, the crimson warriors bombarded the encampment and kidnapped King Tal. On his way to rescue Tal, Dar was confronted by the crimson warriors, where he was joined by Seth and his animal companions to shatter the villains. Meanwhile, Tal revealed an amulet given to him by his father which he swore to protect with his life, and though Tal never discovered its purpose, he presented half of it to Dar to share the responsibility and remind him of the bond between them.
King Tal was taken before Lord Agon, who seized the amulet and ordered to imprison King Tal. Agon snatched the amulet as it was the key to opening the tomb of Lord Braxus, only to realize that it was only half of the whole amulet. Following King Tal’s trail, Seth, Dar, and his animals lost their way in the supernatural fog created by the crimson warriors. They were helped by Sharak and found their way out of the fog. Soon they encountered four men accompanying a woman who tried to attack them but fled as they realized that they were no match for Dar and Seth.
The enraged woman informed them that they were not thugs but her warriors and introduced herself as Shada, a member of the warrior tribe. At first, she refused to show them the way to Ahmbeth, but after noticing Dar’s amulet, she changed her mind and decided to show them the way. That night Shada attempted to steal the pendant, but Dar grabbed her hand only to find that the pendant was missing. He found it in Kudo and Pudo’s bag and finally placed it around Ruth’s neck for protection. Back in the fortress, Agon investigated Tal about the other half of the amulet and on refusing, Agon put him in the torture chamber.
In the morning, Shada misled them to fall into the trap of native tribal men while Ruh was captured in a net. Shada approached the trapped Ruh, obtained the amulet, and left with it and Dar’s sword. Dar was about to be shot with a poisoned arrow, but he was saved by a thug who was spared by Dar earlier. The thug informed them that Shada worked for Lord Agon and was looking for an amulet which was actually the eye of Lord Braxus. Dar and Seth freed Ruh and went looking for Shada, with Sharak leading the way. They captured Shada, who told them that she had no choice but to steal the amulet for Lord Agon or else she would also be sacrificed like the other people of Lambeth.
Meanwhile, Agon retrieved Tal’s memory and learned that he had given the other half of the amulet to his brother Dar and sent soldiers to find him while Dar, Seth, and Shada arrived outside the city. Shada tried to escape and tripped and fell before a cobra. Dar saved her life and let her go as she was not trustworthy. They headed towards a gypsy camp, hoping to enter Ahmbeth with them, and met Bey, the chief acrobat of the camp’s leader, Morgana.
Seth recognized Morgana, the witch, as his former lover and wanted to leave, but Dar convinced him to talk to her for help. Morgana agreed to help them enter the city and used her powers to transform Ruh into a cat, Sharak into a dove, and the ferrets into mice. Apparently, Morgana summoned the crimson warriors and handed over Dar to them as she thought that was the best way to enter the city. Dar is handed over to Agon, who grabs the amulet and hangs him over a pit filled with wild animals, from where he is saved by Shada.
Morgana, Seth, and Bey enter the stronghold and meet Dar and Shada, where she transformed the animals back, and while Dar and Shada went to free Tal, the rest confronted the crimson warriors. After freeing Tal, Dar requested Shada to carry him to safety while he was determined to confront Agon.
Meanwhile, Bey was captured by a Magon to be sacrificed by Agon. Dar managed to stop Bey from being sacrificed, but Agon trapped Sharak in a cage and compelled Dar to surrender. He placed the whole amulet together causing Lord Braxus to take over his body and transform to his own shape. Braxus then killed Maldor and other guards and started summoning fellow-creatures from the pit. Dar managed to rip off the eye and destroyed it while pushing him into the pit.
In the end, Tal recovered with Morgana’s potion and dismissed Seth from his charges asking him to join Dar in his quest to help the people in need. Dar kissed Shada goodbye as she decided to stay back as a guardian to Ahmbeth and Bey desperately wanted to join Dar and Seth on their quest, to which Dar reluctantly agreed, and they rode off.
Marc Singer, though aged, appeared quite charismatic, but the actions of others were a mixture of barely decent to some terrible moments. A major drawback of Beastmaster movies was the clarity of continuity. For example, Ruh was a black panther in the first movie, a tiger in the second, and a lion in the third sequel. Again, Kudo died in the first film, he reappeared in the second film where they were left behind in L.A., but they were back again in the third film. Change of directors might be the reason, as the third film was directed by Gabrielle Beaumont. The film would have been rather entertaining if the special effects and camera editing were done properly, but if anyone has started watching the sequels, then one should complete all of them.
Beastmaster Television Series: Explained
There was a television series named ‘Beastmaster’, that aired from 1999 to 2002. The series was loosely based on the original movie Beastmaster, which in turn was loosely based on Andre Norton’s novel. The series aired 66 episodes, completing three seasons. The series was nominated for Open Craft Award under the category of cinematography and Saturn Award for best-syndicated Television series but did not win any award. In the series, Dar, played by Daniel Goddard, was presented as the last survivor of his tribe.
He had lost his love Kyra played by Natalie Jackson Mendoza and wandered everywhere looking for her while protecting the animals and needy people. His friend Tao starred as Jackson Raine, a fearful young man but also a scholar and medicine man helping Dar on his quest. Dar met another orphaned warrior named Arina, who became a faithful companion of Dar. All of them were the last survivors of some lost tribes. The series also starred Monica Schnarre as the sorceress, Grahame Bond as the Ancient One, Emilie de Ravin as the forest demon, and many more. The human antagonist was played by Steven Grives. Marc Singer, the original Beastmaster from the movie, was seen in the third season as Dardanus, the spirit warrior who helped Dar on his quest.
The story of the series was about the advanced technology-oriented world being threatened by the supernatural power Balcifer, the Dark One, who also killed Dar’s father, King Elder. In order to defeat Balcifer, Dar had to locate and unite his family, who had been transformed into animals to hide from Balcifer. Balcifer’s agent on Earth as King Zad, who was in constant enmity with King Donan. Dar had the ability to communicate with animals and was dedicated to protecting the wild animals of the world. Thus, Dar, Tao, and Arina are in conflict with any person or tribe who mistreat the animal kingdom.
One of the interesting themes of the series is the conflict between nature and progress in technology. Though this concept is ideal for today’s generation, it appeared less critical for the timeline of the series, which was centuries ago when nature dominated science. The series was quite action-oriented in the beginning but somehow lost its tone in the latter parts. As the series was filmed in Australia, there is plenty of wildlife footage that is simply mind-blowing.
Future of the Franchise
After 38 years, writer-director Don Coscarelli has acquired back the rights to his original make of Beastmaster. Though the original negative of this classic movie is missing, Coscarelli is desperate to get it back, and he has launched a website appealing to the audience to reveal any clue regarding it. But the good news is that the original copyright to the screenplay of The Beastmaster has been reclaimed by the initial creator, and is hopeful for a reboot of the film to entertain the worldwide audience. There is a generation of Fanclub of the original movie who would heartily welcome the reboot of the sword and sorcery classic, and hopefully, this will happen very soon.