I remember seeing The Beastmaster back in the early 80s on one of the free First Choice/Super Channel weekends. I liked it a lot at ten years old, and hadn’t seen it since. So I was curious if I was going to enjoy it.

The opening credits and title cards made me dubious, but over all, I had a really good time with this one. Watching it today, it’s a completely different experience from when I was a kid. The acting from both Marc Singer and Tanya Roberts isn’t stellar, though they both look great. And honestly, Singer will always be Mike Donovan for me, and Roberts will be Stacey Sutton.

But the film also features John Amos! And would you believe Rip Torn, with a prosthetic nose as the film’s evil baddie?

The sword and sorcery story is a tale of adventure and revenge as Dar (Singer) seeks out the evil cultists who killed his village and adopted family. Unbeknownst to Dar, he is the son of a king, and the central point in the prophecy that promises the death of Maax (Torn).

Dar is also blessed with a strange ability, he can see through the eyes of animals, and they come to his aid and join him on his quest. He has a pair of ferrets, a hawk, and a tiger (painted black).

Dar finds himself on a number of adventures through the course of the film, there’s a fair maiden, a slave girl, Kiri (Roberts) who is more than she seems, and strange creatures like witchwomen, and the Winged Devourers (I wanted more from this sequence, because these creatures were amazing).

All of it leading to a final showdown with Maax.

Looking back, you can see why this film achieved cult status. It’s also a great example of filmmaking, in that Coscarelli put everything on the screen. There is some fantastic location work, production design, and ideas, all brought to life on a restrained budget. Everyone is making the most of what they have, and sure, some of it is goofy, and sure it could have looked more epic with a larger budget, but for what it is… It still works. And it works well.

There’s also a stirring score by Lee Holdridge.

It’s not great, but damn it is still fun. And I honestly, didn’t expect that. I thought I would be disappointed or mock the whole thing, but there’s an earnestness to it, and it doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not.

Let’s forget about the moronic sequels and the television series, neither of which involved Coscarelli, and just celebrate this cult favorite for what it is, damned entertaining.