What was this cheesy fantasy film where the antagonist rips his own face off?
January 1, 2013 6:26 PM Subscribe
Another "what movie was this?" question: a fantasy/horror film set at least partially in a castle, where the villain deliberately rips his own face off.
I saw this film probably sometime between 1983 and 1990 and have tried finding it several times in the last few years, even though I suspect it's not very good, but I haven't had any luck.
The film was a fantasy; it was in color; there were scenes in a castle; it might have been set in fantasy-medieval times; there was a scene where the hero swung from one place to another (off a chandelier? I don't remember); there was a love interest; the hero defeats the villain and <cliché>rescues the damsel in distress</cliché>; and as they're kissing in the foreground, in the background the villain rises up, tears his own face off, and laughs at them through the blood and gore. And then there was a second climactic fight.
I definitely saw the movie on HBO, though I don't imagine that's much help in finding it.
And that's all I can remember about it.
I'm not having any luck finding the movie's title through various searches or even through reading TV Tropes' page on works where someone rips his or her face off.
Horror of Dracula isn't listed at the TV Tropes page, but it's also not that one.
Do you have any idea what film this was?
I saw this film probably sometime between 1983 and 1990 and have tried finding it several times in the last few years, even though I suspect it's not very good, but I haven't had any luck.
The film was a fantasy; it was in color; there were scenes in a castle; it might have been set in fantasy-medieval times; there was a scene where the hero swung from one place to another (off a chandelier? I don't remember); there was a love interest; the hero defeats the villain and <cliché>rescues the damsel in distress</cliché>; and as they're kissing in the foreground, in the background the villain rises up, tears his own face off, and laughs at them through the blood and gore. And then there was a second climactic fight.
I definitely saw the movie on HBO, though I don't imagine that's much help in finding it.
And that's all I can remember about it.
I'm not having any luck finding the movie's title through various searches or even through reading TV Tropes' page on works where someone rips his or her face off.
Horror of Dracula isn't listed at the TV Tropes page, but it's also not that one.
Do you have any idea what film this was?
Best answer: I know I've seen this. Was it The Sword and the Sorcerer?
posted by cazoo at 8:23 PM on January 1, 2013
posted by cazoo at 8:23 PM on January 1, 2013
Best answer: Yeah, this sounds like The Sword and The Sorcerer to me too.
posted by KingEdRa at 8:55 PM on January 1, 2013
posted by KingEdRa at 8:55 PM on January 1, 2013
Response by poster: I've put The Sword and the Sorcerer on the Netflix queue and bumped it up to the top. I'll know soon if it's the one I saw, thanks.
posted by johnofjack at 5:39 AM on January 3, 2013
posted by johnofjack at 5:39 AM on January 3, 2013
Response by poster: Yeah, that was it. The villain ripped his skin off before the final battle, and they weren't kissing when he rose up in the background, and the hero killed him again (for good?) immediately, so there wasn't a second climactic battle, but I did see it somewhere between 23 and 30 years ago, so I guess some fuzziness in the details is to be expected.
posted by johnofjack at 9:50 AM on January 6, 2013
posted by johnofjack at 9:50 AM on January 6, 2013
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posted by axiom at 7:10 PM on January 1, 2013 [2 favorites]