DOCTOR MORDRID (1992)
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Full Moon flick is a complete rip-off of the Doctor Strange comic book character, though predating the hit MCU film by almost twenty-five years. It tells of modern day sorcerer Anton Mordrid (Jeffrey Combs) who teams up with pretty police occult specialist Samantha Hunt (Yvette Nipar) to battle an evil wizard named Kabal (Brian Thompson). Kabal plans to unleash Hell on Earth and Mordrid plans to stop him.
Rip-off or not, amusing comic book style flick is written by frequent Full Moon scribe C. Courtney Joyner and directed by the father and son team of Albert and Charles Band. It’s a direct to DVD feature and looks more like a TV show than a movie. At only 74 minutes it feels more like a TV show, too, one that never got past the pilot episode. Still, it is fun and tries hard, even if it’s inspiration is far too obvious. The FX are cheesy, though there is some stop motion animation from the late, great David Allen. With such a short running time, the simple story moves along fairly quickly and doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. The low budget deprives it of any real action sequences, other than the climactic throw-down, which is a fun scene at a museum complete with battling stop motion animated dinosaur skeletons.
The small cast get the material and take it serious enough. Combs is now a horror movie legend and here he gets to have a bit of fun as superhero type. He’s charming and does exude intelligence and power, which makes his Doctor Strange lite a fun character. Yvette Nipar is the smart and sassy Samantha and she isn’t given much to do, but at least is a strong willed heroine, even if only a second banana to Mordrid. Thompson is a fine enough villain as the evil Kabal. He looks like an 80s hair metal band member and has the appropriate swagger of a powerful being bent on world domination…at least one in a B movie like this. Supporting players are Jay Acovone as a hard nosed police detective, with Keith Coulouris and actress/stuntwoman Julie Michaels as Kabal’s minions.
In conclusion, this may be a way too obvious rip-off of a classic Marvel character, but it’s not all that bad. It is one of the better Full Moon direct to DVD productions and gives Combs a chance to have a little fun playing a hero type. The cast and filmmakers get the tone right for this kind of thing and it’s almost too bad budget restraints keep it from delivering some punchier action and more fitting FX. Some nostalgia also adds some fun, as it is from the early 90s, so, it still has a hint of 80s in it’s tone. Completely derivative, but still a good time.
-MonsterZero NJ
Rated 3 (out of 4) bargain basement sorcerers.
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