LEE HORSLEY IN 'THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER'

year: 1982 rating: ***

When kids went to CLASH OF THE TITANS and teens to DRAGONSLAYER, grownups ventured into THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER, an exploitation fantasy with plenty of blood, guts, and naked women...

Lee Horsley is Talon, grownup from the vulnerable kid he once was: his family butchered before his eyes by villainous Richard Lynch. Thus Talon, now a womanizing mercenary, is given the task to retrieve the brother of gorgeous Alana, played by the wide-eyed beauty, Kathleen Beller.

Most of the action occurs from the halfway point to the ending, after weathering twenty minutes of a reanimated zombie and too many close-up battles that don’t matter to the plot/rescue, which, once underway, never lets up.

Talon’s sword, with a blade in the middle and two more on the side, shooting-out like missiles, is really cool, as are any scenes in dark lit taverns or dungeons. And thankfully it's not a searing epic: Running at a fast-paced ninety minutes, this bloody romp has just about everything – including a cocky hero that never takes the situation too seriously, even though death lurks... and even pounces... around every corner.