7 Obscure Fantasy Movies From the 80s So Bad They're Actually Good

Conquest (1983)

IMDB Rating: 5.2

Where to Stream: Amazon Prime, YouTube

The only thing fans agree on about Lucio Fulci’s Conquest is that the classic fantasy movie doesn’t really make any sense. Ilias is a handsome young man on a quest to rid the land of evil, but that’s just an excuse for a psychedelic plot-jumble of werewolves, magic bows, zombies, super-intelligent dolphins, and drug trips.

Don’t be put off by the weird soft-focus over everything. Looking like the lens was constantly smeared with Vaseline is part of the Conquest’s charm.

​​Yor, the Hunter from the Future (1983)

IMDB Rating: 4.3

Where to Stream: Nowhere

In a seemingly pre-historic time (for a clue about the big twist, just read the title of the movie), Yor is a muscley and surprisingly well-waxed warrior who fights dinosaurs, pig-dinosaur hybrids, and blue people. At one point he hang-glides to the rescue by holding onto a giant bat. The movie itself is very hard to find, but you can get a taste by enjoying the theme song. Good luck getting it out of your head, though.

Hawk, the Slayer (1980)

IMDB Rating: 5.3

Where to Stream: Apple TV, Plex

The evil Voltan kills his own father when the old man refuses to hand over “the last elven mind stone”. Voltan’s brother Hawk is gifted a sword whose pommel is a hand… and the hand grips the elven mind stone, giving the sword magic powers. So Hawk has a hand that holds a hand that holds a magic rock.

That’s just the tip of the weird iceberg that is Hawk, the Slayer, and it only gets more bonkers from there. Like most of the films on this list, the movie was bashed by critics and audiences but has gained a “so-bad-it’s-good” cult following.

Sorceress (1982)

IMDB Rating: 4.4

Where to Stream: Amazon Prime, Plex

Twins Mara and Mira were raised as warrior boys in order to hide them from their evil father. Of course, that doesn’t stop the movie from constantly showing them half-naked and bouncing around as they use a form of magical martial arts. (But it’s NOT the Force, okay guys? This is something totally different.)

Gor (1987)

IMDB Rating: 3.4

Where to Stream: Cultpix

Loosely based on a series of sci-fi/fantasy novels, Gor is classic camp. When a mild-mannered professor of physics accidentally activates a magic ring, he ends up becoming an unlikely hero on the planet of Gor. Although the movie was absolutely panned on its release, that didn’t stop an equally terrible sequel from being released the next year.

The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984)

IMDB Rating: 4.2

Where to Stream: Amazon Prime, Tubi, Plex

On a desert planet, two warlords are having it out over their village’s only source of water. A mercenary and a beautiful priestess join the fight with the help of a magical sword.

All of the films on this list feature scantily clad warrior women (or scantily clad princesses, cavewomen, etc.) but this one takes it a step further by having leading lady María Socas fully topless for most of the movie. The scandal may have made some audiences curious enough to head to the theater in spite of the fact that The Warrior and the Sorceress was absolutely panned by critics.

The Barbarians (1987)

IMDB Rating: 5.0

Where to Stream: Amazon Prime

The Barbarian Brothers Peter and David Paul were bodybuilders who acted in a number of films together. Perhaps the most famous is this silly romp, about twins who grow up separately but meet as adults when they are sent to an arena to fight to the death. Their escape launches a quest to free a beautiful woman, recover a magic ruby, and get revenge on the man who separated them. Oh, and there’s a dragon in there too.