In a bit under ten minutes we're kicking off #monsterdon. This week we're watching Krull (1983), which is 121 minutes long; you'll want to set a timed mute for that hashtag for about 15 minutes longer than the film duration to dodge the majority of the chatter. Or you can grab a copy of the movie or pick a stream and join in the fun! (If you do, please make sure to use the hashtag so people can more easily filter out your own posts.)

Looks like cheesy 80s sci-fi/fantasy crossover!!

Per my usual #monsterdon habit I rented the DVD.
#monsterdon James Horner did the soundtrack for this movie, so be prepared for a lot of brass. Like A LOT a lot.
#monsterdon I see that the Krulliverse also has Star Destroyers.
#monsterdon This movie seems to be trying to take itself very seriously but this whole princess / king conversation is just giving me very strong Spaceball vibes.
#monsterdon That hallway full of theatrically flaring torchière polearms is terrifying when you consider the amount of extremely flammable hair spray in the princess's updo, there.

#monsterdon MONSTER ZAP! Not sure what that bright blue light was, exactly, but I'm sure it has something to do with The Beast™ attacking and interrupting the royal marriage.

Oh hey, those ominous soldiers clad in glossy black pointy armour can also just scale castle walls as if weightless? Uhhh and when stabbed they break apart like garthim from The Dark Crystal? OK, sure, got it.

#monsterdon I'm sorry, that shoulder poultice is being held in place with a single loop of gauze around the whiny king's shoulder, the dressing is going to fall off in about five seconds flat. Planet Krull obviously had no boy scout troops and therefore is doomed to lose its battle against The Beast™.
#monsterdon *boy king dodges a bunch of rocks rolling down the side of the mountain he's scaling to reach The Glaive* right, OK, so this is The Legend of Zelda and right out of the gate he's heading up Death Mountain, got it.

#monsterdon This protracted mountain climbing sequence could have been a swift montage.

*mountaineering boy-king's internal monologue* The hiiiiiills are aliiiiive / with the sound of muuuuusic

ALTERNATE CUT:

Lissa needs braces! / Dental plan / Lissa needs braces! / Dental plan / ...

#monsterdon boy king: *holds up the glaive, as if to throw it at... nothing? Like, off the edge of the mountain?*

old man: Do not use it until you need it!

We need to have a talk about the value of practice and the virtues of muscle memory.

#monsterdon Is that Liam Neeson‽

#monsterdon "You heard the man, we're a army now!"

_muttering_ "An unpaid army."

"Have you got a problem?"

"What, can't a man even talk to himself without being interrupted now?"

Heh, legitimately funny

#monsterdon "You cannot overcome the power of the beast..?"

"Not in this place, no."

"Then where?"

"The emerald tower."

One short day / In the emerald city..!

#monsterdon (tower? Temple? I got the word wrong, didn't I? Oh well, alea jacta est.)
#monsterdon This swamp fight is filling me with questions. If slayers can stay underwater, and if they are all armed with ranged weapons, why even bother advancing to hand-to-hand combat range? They didn't need to risk a single casualty in that encounter.
#monsterdon *cyclops reaches out to shake Corwyn's hand, bobbles the docking manoeuvre, quickly recovers to finish up the handshake* ah, you see, it's because of depth perception problem, nice world-building nod there. Definitely not just a bad take and too little budget for another crack at it.

#monsterdon "He gave his life for us."

"He... was my only family."

"We're your family now!"

ooooooof, it's not called an emotional beat because it's supposed to feel like being hit with a stick

#monsterdon Wait, what? Why do they suddenly have horses now? Were they magically dehydrated just-add-water horse pills or something in that burlap sack the quicksand dude was carting around??
#monsterdon The shots of Lissa wandering around this inside of this Black Fortress are very HR Giger meets Labyrinth. Fun set design.

#monsterdon Oh for pete's sake, are we about to have a giant spider scene? I could really do without one of those, please and thank you. (Nev don't read this toot.)

edit; YEP THOSE SURE ARE SOME STOP MOTION PEDIPALPS. Right then, I'll just be behind the couch for a little while, see you all again soon.

#monsterdon Why is Corwyn constantly smirking at completely inopportune moments, it is off-putting

#monsterdon *horses gallop by in a herd*

_extremely Laura Dern voice_ They do move in herds!

(Are these the fire mares that were coincidentally mentioned in the last scene? Is there a reason they are not apparently fiery in any particularly obvious way?)

#monsterdon *fire mares gallop straight off a cliff and into the sky* ah OK so now we're in full E.T. / "why don't the eagles just fly them to Mordor" territory

Really missed an opportunity to license Ghost Riders in the Sky for this scene

#monsterdon ...cyclops dude is blaster-proof..?

Sure why not

I guess it's narratively convenient, definitely doesn't completely invalidate the emotional beat of the previous scene where the merry band left him to die at the place and time he foresaw for his end.

...and it's all just so he can be stone-ground to cyclops peanut butter in this scene?!? Good lord, what a mess.

#monsterdon Oh no, Liam Neeson has been perforated! Time for some Acting™.
#monsterdon Again, pretty cool set design inside the fortress here. That spike pit was pretty ridiculous, but it looked nifty.
#monsterdon Oop it is boss fight time apparently
#monsterdon One hit?! Surely not. Second health bar?
Mindly.Social

@Configures @SnoopJ I happened to catch them while reviewing the hashtag after the film, yeah! Great captures, and just really excellent set design. I doubt I'll watch Krull again but I'm glad I saw it once. Thank you for pinging these my way!
@gnomon They sure were not dragging those horses through the quicksand! #Monsterdon #Krull
@Configures ...let's not bring horses and quicksand into the conversation 😬 #RIPArtax #tooSoon