Taking a cue from Game of Thrones and Excalibur, writer/director Lawrie Brewster stays within the medieval genre for this ambitious sword and sorcery tale that mixes Shakespearian melodrama with Lovecraftian horror.
Queen Ginnarra (Megan Tremethick), an enigmatic, fearsome ruler who seized power from her father, fears her exiled brother, Prince Elderon (Andrew Gourlay), will return to de-throne her. She uses dark, cosmic magic (and dragons) to keep Elderon and his army from wreaking vengeance and taking his rightful place.
Boasting impressive fight sequences and plenty of ponderous, wordy dialogue, Brewster stretches the film’s modest budget as far as possible. The cast carries everything well, with Tremethick impressing with a captivating, subtle performance. The physical elements – sets, costuming, etc. – wouldn’t look out of place in a Hollywood blockbuster, with only the CG dragons showing the limitations of the movie’s finances. This also means crowd scenes and the extended armies are realised via AI, which can be a little jarring as they stand out against the rest of the film’s colour grading. These moments come across as surreal ‘living’ pictures, which add an otherworldly element. It’s a shame they’re overused.
With such a grandiose screenplay, it’s understandable that the film runs around two and a half hours. However, some people will have their patience stretched without the Peter Jackson budget or the benefit of a weekly part-work format. That said, it’s a bold endeavour that succeeds more than it falters and could easily sit in the pantheon of medieval epics.
