In the 80s, there was hope for the rise of fantasy as a genre when big-budget CONAN THE BARBARIAN took the concept seriously and made a bunch of money. Sadly, its sequel CONAN THE DESTROYER decided that putting its tongue firmly through its cheek was the way to go and doing it on the cheap couldn't hurt. That trend was continued in RED SONJA, which is cheap in almost every aspect of its production and doesn't take anything seriously at all.

The story is threadbare; a quest with some random threats thrown in along the way to allow for some lacklustre sword shenanigans. All of the events of an epic nature take place off-screen as we are told about the sacking of cities rahter than being shown anything. A monster so unconvinving it has to be hidden underwater for most of its screen time doesn't help matters. The sets of the temple at the beginning and the Queen's castle at the end are impressive (the candle bill alone must have been a fortune), but everything in between is filled in with bare landscapes and even barer effects.

It's not just the actors' fault, however, because the script is terrible and the direction is both leaden and uninterested. The fight scenes underwhelm on every level. The only positive thing to say about the whole endeavour is that the music is by Ennio Morricone, who couldn't write a bad score if he tried.

Failures like RED SONJA and KRULL (a superior film in almost every way, which isn't setting the bar very high) effectively killed off sword and sandal fantasy as a screen genre for a very long time. Even at less than 90 minutes in length, this tedious, amateurish tosh manages to outstay its welcome long before the end. It is a mystery why anyone would want to carry out a 4K restoration of this when there are so many other films so much more deserving of it.