Viking epic with a tinge of horror

Rating: 8/10 (4 February 2013)

An Arab outcast joins forces wit a group of Vikings to protect a faraway kingdom that is under siege by an army of flesh-eating, horse-riding nomads who appear to have swept out of some forgotten homeland, perhaps central Asia. This is the same basic plot as The Seven Samurai and it is put together very well. Great battle scenes, moody cinematography (the cannibals only attack in fog), and lots of lusty, laughing, larger than life Vikings right out of a 1950s Hollywood epic. No helmet horns, thank God! We are meant to identify with Banderas' Arab, a learned man who is also handy with a sword. Omar Shariff has a small role at the beginning. Why this film tanked, I do not know. Was it the odd title? Lack of promotion and marketing? One can only guess. It also has been compared plot-wise to ancient epics like Beowulf, and borrows from Greek mythology, as the head Viking must confront the cannibals' Medusa-like queen in her underground lair. She is frightening as all hell, and the confrontation scene may remind some of the confrontation scene between Perseus and Medusa in Ray Harryhausen's Clash of the Titans.