All right - so It may not have been the greatest movie ever made, but The Beastmaster is one of those films one might refer to as a guilty pleasure. In fact, it is a film that a whole lot of people consider a guilty pleasure, and its cult following has kept it popular to this day. Filled with swords and sorcery, its flashy blend of action and magical adventure has made this quirky film a favorite among fantasy fans for decades.

The star of the film is a medieval dude named Dar, whose life got off to a tragic start as he watched his entire village, including his family, brutally attacked and killed by the Juns, an army of sadistic killers under the command of a sinister sorcerer named Maax. Dar vows revenge, setting out on a journey to find Maax and render justice. Along the way, he learns he has the ability to communicate with the animal kingdom, and also see various places through their vision. He rounds up an eagle, black panther, and two fuzzy little ferrets, Kodo and Podo, to travel at his side.

As the group travels through the barren landscape, Dar also makes the acquaintance of a few human helpers as well, including Seth, an intelligent and capable warrior, and Kiri, an attractive slave girl that quickly wins his love, especially since she happens to know where the city that Maax rules is located. Dar comes to find that his parents once ruled this city, and were killed by Maax. Furthermore, Maax is pretty darn interested in Dar’s whereabouts as well because the prophecy states that the son of the King will return to kill him.

The Beastmaster was truly in a class all its own, blending plenty of quirky elements into a classic sword and sorcery extravaganza. With a talented cast assembled, including Marc Singer (V,) Tanya Roberts, John Stamos (Good Times) and Rip Torn as the evil Maax, not to mention a wonderfully mystical atmosphere thanks to the cinematography of John Alcott (a veteran of many of Stanley Kubrick’s films,) and an intriguing score by noted jazz artist, Lee Holdridge, The Beastmaster had all of the elements necessary to create a cult following. It’s success led to two sequels, a television series, and the original film airs on TBS so often that anyone wishing to be indoctrinated should have no problem whatsoever hunting down this decidedly guilty pleasure of a film.