The Scream Factory double feature releases have always been a lot of fun. They usually pair two lesser films together that add up to create one stellar release. When I ranked my 5 favorite double feature Blu-ray releases in 2015, three Scream Factory titles made the cut. One of those was their release of The Dungeonmaster and Eliminators.

The Dungeonmaster

I’ve had a weird relationship with The Dungeonmaster (Ragewar) over the years. The first time I saw it, I kind of hated it. I just couldn’t get into it. I tried, but I felt bored by it and thought it was a missed opportunity. I finally got around to re-visiting it a few years after the first viewing and it completely flipped on me. I loved it. I’m not entirely sure what caused that change, but my guess is that I didn’t focus on it enough the first time. So when Scream Factory announced the Blu-ray release, I was excited to give it another go.

Jeffrey Byron stars as Paul Bradford a computer programmer who invented X-CaliBR8, which is basically an early version of Apple’s Siri. Paul uses X-CaliBR8 for everything, no matter how small or large. This causes some problems with Paul’s girlfriend Gwen (Leslie Wing), who grows jealous of X-CaliBR8. This jealously is probably due to the fact that Paul chose to give the computer a female voice. Good job, Paul!

Paul is able to convince Gwen she has no reason to be jealous and things seem to be working themselves out. This all changes one evening when Paul and Gwen are both transported to another realm, which is looks an awful lot like Hell. The person responsible for this transportation is a demon-like sorcerer named Mestema (Richard Moll). Mestema consider himself to be the most powerful sorcerer in the world and is looking for someone that poses a challenge. He catches wind of Paul and thinks Paul’s use of technology is sorcery and that Paul’s sorcery may actually give him a run for his money. Mestema challenges Paul to a series of battles with Gwen on the line.

The Dungeonmaster is an anthology, although I don’t think anyone would pick up on that if they weren’t told. The story is broken down into 7 different segments, each one serving as a different battle between Paul and Mestema. Each segment is written and directed by a different person: Dave Allen, Charles Band, John Carl Buechler, Steven Ford, Peter Manoogian, Ted Nicolaou and Rosemarie Turko. Despite having 7 different creative voices shaping one film, it all feels pretty cohesive. I don’t think you can ever notice a change in director, which I think works to the film’s advantage.

This was a Charles Band production under his Empire Pictures label and that’s exactly what the movie feels like. The movie has a lot of what you’d find in other releases from Empire Pictures back in the day. The film looks cheap, but it’s fun. There are some quality practical effects and some early use of computer generated stuff. What the film lacks in polish it more than makes up for in energy. There’s a score by Richard Band, which was always mandatory. And there’s at least one recognizable name/face, in this case Moll.

One segment features the metal band W.A.S.P. and they actually serve a fairly large role in that segment’s story. Not much to say about that, but I think it’s worth noting.

I think the best thing about The Dungeonmaster is that it’s pretty cutting edge. Along with Evilspeak, this was the second movie from the early 80’s that featured Moll in a role that used technology in a way seldom seen at the time. Like I said at the start of my review, X-CaliBR8 is basically Siri. Paul is able to ask X-CaliBR8 any question at any time and she delivers an answer. That’s pretty cool stuff. I’m still waiting on Siri to help me shoot lasers and destroy monsters, but I’m sure the time is coming.

The Dungeonmaster is one of the few movies that I hated but my opinion completely turned around after multiple viewings. I can’t quite put my finger on what exactly caused the switch, but I’m glad it happened. It’s a fun movie. If you’re into the old Empire films, you’ll more than likely dig this.

Rating: 3/5

Eliminators

Eliminators is a movie that I had never heard of, let alone seen before this set came out. Much like The Dungeonmaster it’s another 80’s Charles Band production from Empire Pictures. While I’d say The Dungeonmaster is the better movie, I think Eliminators is the better representation of what Band and Empire Pictures were all about.

Roy Dotrice plays an evil scientist named Abbott Reeves. Reeves rescued a pilot who crashed in South America and turned him into a half human, half machine known as Mandroid (Patrick Reynolds). Using a time machine he also invented, Reeves sends Mandroid back in time to do his bidding. After sending Mandroid back to Rome to retrieve a Roman centurion shield, Reeves determines he no longer needs Mandroid and orders his assistant Takada (Tad Horino) to destroy him.

Takada is unable to do the job. He has a heart and knows under the machine there is still a real human. Instead of killing Mandroid, Takada helps him escape and advises him to locate scientist Colonel Nora Hunter (Denise Crosby), a former associate of Reeves. During the escape Takada is killed but Mandroid makes it out and begins his journey.

Mandroid eventually finds Hunter and the two team up with Harry Fontanta (Andrew Pine), a riverboat captain, and Kuji (Conan Lee), a ninja and son of Takada. Together they form the Eliminators and head out to stop the evil Reeves!

Eliminators is not great. It just isn’t. It’s a very cheap, cheap looking film. Mandroid especially looks bad. His robotic costume looks like the cheapest plastic you could ever find. The film also features one of the worst boat races you’ll ever see. It’s supposed to be high speed, I think, but it’s not. It all looks so ridiculous. Yet that’s part of the Empire charm! Despite what they have to work with, everyone just goes with it. Nobody involved in the film is being deterred by effects and props that look like crap. They’re rolling with it, full speed! This definitely isn’t something for everybody, but I kind of love it. So even though I’m only going to give it a 2.5 out of 5, I totally think it’s fun and worth watching.

Rating: 2.5/5

Overall both these movies may just be so-so at best. With that said they remind me of the fun Charles Band productions used to be. They never let their limitations hold them back. These days, I don’t think you can say that about the new stuff coming from Band. And that really bums me out. Fortunately, we have these older Empire Pictures releases to remind us of the better days.