SYNOPSIS: In the early 80's, a nerdy computer geek has an AI computer model XCAL-BR8 ("Cal"). So of course Satan takes an interest in him. Seems "Mestema" (played by Night Court's Richard "Bull" Moll) is bored and wants to challenge an avatar of "the new magic": computers. He's devised seven "challenges." You see, the whole movie is an anthology: a series of short vignettes having little/nothing to do with one another aside from the basic theme of "Paul Goes In, Paul Gets Attacked, Paul Zaps Laser From Wrist-Thingy and Saves Day." Different writers for each of the seven mini-movies. The REAL premise is that they threw this thing together and called it Dungeonmaster to entice gullible young gamers (like myself) into the theaters by capitalizing on the height of D&D's popularity.
Bryan Cassidy
Smithee Award Nominations
Most Ludicrous Premise
Magic v2.0
In the early 80's, a nerdy computer geek has an AI computer model XCAL-BR8 ("Cal"). So of course Satan (Mestema) takes an interest in him. He and his girfriend get zapped into Mestema's realm, and he must pass seven "challenges" in order to rescue her. Viva the Excalibrate!
"Wanna Run That By Me Again?"
Awhoozah? Awhatzah?
Mestema (supposedly Satan, right?) waxes nostalgic about his "boyhood" and finding "a cat in an alley" with a lovely graphic description of torturing it. As you're trying to figure out how the Devil can have boyhoods and alleys, Paul suddenly breaks the maudlin mood by loudly and incongruously saying, "Ahimzah!" Then they have an incomprehenisble discussion about God and stuff, neither one really holding the same conversation with the other. But I was still trying to work out the "Ahimzah" part.
Worst Special Effect
Battlin' Sky Graphics
Even they don't buy it. Mestema and Paul have a battle using CGA computer graphics in the sky. I think the song's appropriately called "Tormentor."
Worst Picture
"Mesteeeemaaaaaaa!"
Nice bad special effects, some bad acting, a stupid act (challenging Satan to one-on-one combat), and some more bad FX topped off with a Crummy Ending. I'm thinking Worst Picture here.
Produced nearly every crappy thing that Roger
Corman didn't, and directed quite a bit of it.
Including perhaps the most tasteless, 2020's
Corona Zombies.
You'd think that with Anna Lee for a mother, novelist Robert Nathan for a stepfather, and director John Ford for a godfather, he could have done better than this...
Dave Allen
Charles Band
