Schattenkrieger: The Shadow Cabal (2013)

Schattenkrieger: The Shadow Cabal: Directed by John Lyde. With Danielle C. Ryan, Richard McWilliams, Paul D. Hunt, James C. Morris. A secret cabal, The Shadow, works to bring about the return of Goth Azul – the Undead God – in the rich world of SAGA, populated by elves, orcs, dwarves and dragons.

“I visit IMDb for several years, but this is the first film I really feel the urge to comment on around here. I stumbled about u0026quot;Dragon Lore/Curse of the Shadow/The Shadow Cabalu0026quot; by pure chance (I think it was the lead Elfu0026#39;s iconic mask that initially caught my attention).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story itself isnu0026#39;t something to write home about, but isnu0026#39;t inferior to the stuff one gets served in most of the shiny Hollywood productions either. A High Elven bounty hunter, a human cleric/paladin and an Orc war chief team up — more or less reluctantly — to defeat the malevolent Order of the Shadow, which disciples plan to summon and materialise their demon master, the death god Goth Azul. Nothing new here.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNo, the strong points of u0026quot;The Shadow Cabalu0026quot; (Iu0026#39;ll stick with this title) lie within other fields.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn some parts the film is wonderfully trashy, but more than once we are granted well done sceneries, e.g. the vision sequences or the Orcu0026#39;s boating trip. It is also the Orc that is the triou0026#39;s most entertaining one, thanks to the actoru0026#39;s solid performance. The Elf, Nemyt, is established as a likable u0026quot;bad girlu0026quot;, albeit with an irritating habit for spitting (and sexy u0026quot;Underworldu0026quot; contact lenses). She has got an impudent attitude, indulges in animalistic hissings at times, but turns out to be loyal to the good side. Last but not least, she is pleasant to behold. Which leaves us with the paladin: He stays slightly anaemic, partly because he hasnu0026#39;t got as many strong scenes as the other two lead characters.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDigital effects are scarce, yet (or therefore) the final boss is rather impressive for an indie film. Furthermore, there is many a scene that sports a downright surreal atmosphere (for example the happenings at the Bleeding Stone). The locations are generally well chosen, but the footages of the Grand Canyon and other recognisable sites work against the immersion into a fantasy world. Make-up and props look good, often really good. However, the main Orc needs a nose job — right now he reminds me of the Grinch. The fighting scenes are mostly solid and never overdone. To top it off, there are a lot of lovely details, such as Nemytu0026#39;s aforementioned mask.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eUnbiased, this film would get a seven. But the indie bonus makes it an eight out of ten, hands down.”