Los bárbaros

The Barbarians is an unhinged knock-off of Conan the Barbarian where, instead of one bodybuilder in the lead role, there are two, twins no less, and they are even more wooden and clumsier than Arnold. Instead of the Nietzschean ethos, we get insipid cheerfulness, instead of an epic story of the birth of a legend, we get a fable of goofy mysticism, and instead of glorious bloody battles, we get squabbling along the lines of Spencer and Hill. Fortunately, The Barbarians, like all of Cannon Films’ Italian co-productions, and most Italian trash flicks of the 1980s, abounds with countless WTF moments, insane twists and grotesquely monstrous elements (from terrible mechanical effects to lavish sets – see the main antagonist’s throne). The result is delightful camp from Ruggero Deodato that fits precisely into the Munchausen line of Italian genre cinema based on the attitude that genre boundaries, logic and judgment are for bores. (29.03.2015)