Maybe it’s because of a sense that we are expendable parts in the great capitalist machine, that the endlessly repeating death trope has been increasingly respawning in movies – from Edge of Tomorrow to Mickey 17 and now this Canadian sword’n’sorcery caper. With its sisyphean vibe and implacable mood, it also owes a fair bit to the Dark Souls video games; though it’s not a masterpiece on that level, it nevertheless has a grim self-conviction that grips despite its low-budget limitations.
Paladin Bhodie (Jeremy Ninaber) – who apparently asked the barber for the Gondor bob and beard trim – agrees to enter a cursed realm to rescue red-haired maiden Avalon (Kristen Kaster), who is central to a humanity-saving prophecy. Needing to collect three magic stones to open up an exit portal, he makes a pact with the Keeper demon (Shane Nicely) for a magic talisman that can resurrect him enough times to beat the stones’ guardians. It turns out Avalon – no slouch with the steel herself – has made the same arrangement, only to die multiple deaths at the hands of the first adversaries: a pair of bloodthirsty witches.
