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Overall Rating : 5/10
Directed By : John Lechago
Ron Fitzgerald (The Thirsting)
Bill Steele
Lizzy Strain (Delta Delta Die)
Eva Derrek (Werewolf in a Women's Prison)
Supplied By : MTI Home Video
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : April. 16, 2008
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| PLOT Since the dawn of time, magicians have availed their mysterious power to ward off evil and heal the body. Throughout history, wizards, sorcerers and magicians have practiced in secrecy, keeping their powers hidden… guided by the Wizard's Code. But there are some who desire mastery over others and attain the highest level of magic to gain it . Even just one Wizard, obsessed with his own power, can threaten their secret world. This one is called the MAGUS. When Felix, a broken down healer learns that the Magus has abandoned the Wizard’s Code and is using his power for evil, he is forced to come out of reclusion and find a way to turn his healing energy into a killing force. |
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| THE REVIEW From the Director of BLOOD GNOMES comes a film that combines an old fashioned buddy film and one of the most popular subjects of the Sci-Fi genre at the moment, the subject of Wizardry and magic. Obviously shot on a low budget and with limitations intact. MAGUS tells a story that is simple and could be labeled as a classic story of defiance. The central story of the film focuses on an ancient Wizard code in which those who hold magical powers, otherwise known as "healers", swear to never reveal their powers to anyone and to never use them as a means of evil. So the thing that kicks off this film is that, as predicted, one such evil Wizard. known as "The Magus" chooses to defy the said code in the hopes of gaining all the power to himself....how greedy of him! When I first saw the trailer for MAGUS, I thought that it didn't really clue a viewer in on what to expect from it, but what was made clear was that the film had a LOT of flashy effects. Sure those effects looked cool to me, but then again, I still wondered if it had enough story to keep me interested....and me not necessarily being a fan of all of the things that is the Wizard craze, I hoped so. Well what I got with MAGUS was a half way decent film in the least. As I mentioned, the look of the film is that of a low budget, and the film's relatively simple plot, also hints at what may have been a limited shooting schedule. Unlike most of the bigger Sci-Fi flicks like it, MAGUS has little to no back-story to introduce of the any kind of history for our characters. There is a small mention in the films beginning, but it is still very little. I think a long drawn out back-story, would've been a little too much for this film, but I do think that just a little more could have been provided. During the course of MAGUS we switch between 2 different scenarios, one of which, The Magus is searching to claim the power he desires, from what we are guessing is the last known living healer(Felix). The other is the scenario of Felix and old healer who gave up using his powers after his wife's untimely death. He eventually becomes aware of them again and slowly begins to train them again along with his niece, a young Jiu-Jitsu student named Claudia. Through a series of horrific dreams, Felix is made aware of the doings of The Magus, and he knows that he will soon show up for what would be an inevitable final battle between the two. To get to that final battle the film would show The Magus go through a number of different individuals, along with his femme fatale companion Sen, we would also witness as Felix and Claudia become closer while Felix is rediscovering who he is, as well as train for defense. I must say that I was more interested in the buddy relationship between Felix and Claudia, rather than the part of the film that put The Magnus at focus. Speaking of the characters of Felix and Claudia, I though that the Actors that portrayed them, did a great job with each other. I have been a fan of Lizzy Strain(Claudia), since I first reviewed her film DELTA DELTA DIE back in 2005....a film that happened to be her first major role. The younger sister of B-Movie Queen Julie Strain(whom also has a minor role here), Lizzy surely has what it takes to be a fan favorite like her sister. She has yet to do many films, but I certainly like her, and I hope to see her in more roles. Playing the role of Felix is Bill Steele, whom I have never seen act prior to this, but I felt he was very likeable and was also a complement to Lizzy Strain's own young likeability. Overall, While MAGNUS may not be the best of it's kind, and have the biggest of budgets behind it, but what it does have some pretty impressive effects(again for it's given budget), it's story is less than perfect at times, yet there are times that are enjoyable(such as the final battle). |
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| GORE
METER 2/10 Not really gory per say, but it does have horrific images, such as melting flesh. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 3.5/10 The score was just ok, it doesn't really stand out, but the film does feature some pretty good rock tracks. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM I did not expect to enjoy MAGUS that much, but it is decent for what it is, it's slow at times, as mentioned, but it is it's special effects and some of the film's better moments that make the film worth watching. |
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