And after 20+ years, I finally watched it

I remember seeing this movie many times on Blockbuster shelves back in the late 80s as a kid. I was a huge Conan fan, I liked watching bodybuilders in WWF and American Gladiators, and I love the Fantasy genre, but I kept walking by this film without renting it because it just looked so bad. After years of putting it off Blockbuster had sold off their VHS collection, switched to DVD and my VCR has long since stopped working; after a few years of waiting for it to release on DVD with no luck I decided to watch it on Youtube streamed through my 360 on my big screen TV and the verdict is:

This movie is bad...AWESOMELY bad! Usually when people label a movie as "so bad it's good" I just see a bad film with no redeeming quality, but what makes this film truly enjoyable is that everyone making it is in on the joke, they know it's bad and have a great time with it. There are some absolutely hysterical lines in this film like when the bad guy says to the captured princess, "why don't you love me?" and she replies, "because you keep me in a cage!" LMAO, she isn't speaking figuratively like most housewife's say to their husband during a therapy session, he literally keeps her in a cage.

The humor isn't just simple slapstick, there is some irony and parody as well and at times you will see one actor putting in a serious performance while the other is obviously just goofing around - it all adds to the enjoyment of the film and is clearly intentional.

Just sit back and realize that this movie is meant to be funny and doesn't expect you to take it too seriously. They put in some deliberate plot holes and ridiculous scenes to assure you they are not trying to be serious, just have a good time with them. :)

There is some graphic violence, some nudity, some sexual situations, but I would have loved this as a kid. It is a million times better than Red Sonja because of the intentional humor, hell you'll probably enjoy it over Conan: The Destroyer.

Next up for me is Deathstalker, which is supposed to have a similar sense of humor.

And if you want some good serious Fantasy, just pop in LOTR Trilogy, Conan: The Barbarian, Dragonslayer, or Excalibur.

On a side note, check out the screenwriter's (James Silke) Death Dealer novels written in the late 80s, early 90s; they are actually very good Conan knockoffs with outstanding cover art by Frank Frazetta (the books feature his iconic Death Dealer character).

EDIT: OK I picked up the Roger Corman Collection which included Sword and Sorcery "cult hits" like Deathstalker, Deathstalker 2, The Barbarian Queen, and The Warrior and the Sorceress and all I can is Yeesh to those films. They are horrible and no where near as charming and genuinely funny as The Barbarians. The second Deathstalker fails at trying to be funny, the first is just a bad film in every respect but has some redeeming moments while Barbarian Queen and The Warrior and the Princess are just plain bad period. Please release The Barbarians on DVD, it's actually a good B movie with sword and sorcery!