The Catalyst

By Joel Mashburn, Reporter

This 1982 sword-and-sorcery follows a young man on a quest for revenge and justice. Although the base of the plot may be worn thin by being the main idea of hundreds of books and movies, Beast Master has an interesting twist that is quite refreshing.

Dar, the main character possesses a peculiar ability that enables him to communicate with animals. Director Don Coscarelli portrays his adventure with breath taking emotion, considering the technology. Dar is the first son of the King Zed, but after the king angers a twisted priest; Dar is stolen from his mother’s stomach, and branded with the sign of the gods. Soon after the child is branded a kindly farmer rescues Dar and raises him as his own. As the farmer raises Dar as his own, they discover Dar’s ability, but it stays subdued until his village is destroyed by a traveling bandit working for the priest.) After he escapes from the raid, Dar joins forces with a panther, hawk, and two weasels to fight the forces of evil. Shortly after the group joined together they meet the Dar’s brother, Dar falls in love with a slave girl, and also allied themselves with hawk men.

The rag-tag-team rather easily rescued the king, but from there it goes downhill. The king was demented and he quickly kicked Dar out of the kingdom, gave away their location, and got his whole army captured. From there the story played out with and epic battle and many deaths, not to forget a few twists, and left the watcher feeling happy and at peace. Although Beast Master was remade in 1999, the original will always have a place in my heart.

Rating: 8 out of 10