After "Conan the Barbarian" became a surprise hit, there were literally dozens of imitations made of it, all across the budgetary range. As a fan of these types of movies (the "sword and sandal" genre), I have seen quite a few. Even in the most cheaply produced ones, I can point to at least something I liked in the movie.However, with "Barbarian Queen", there is not a single good scene or even one bit of dialogue that distinguishes the film. An hour into the film, it still has not advanced beyond the "warrior women being pursued by lusty men--interspaced with swordfight scenes".One of the most annoying things in the movie is the unconvincing nature of the lead actresses. Basically they are Playboy Playmates pretending to be Amazons. They can hardly lift a sword, and deliver unconvincing and wobbly strokes against men who are twice their size.The music contains excerpts from other Corman films, like "Battle Beyond the Stars" and "Deathstalker". The costumes of the evil guards and soldiers (such as the headware) are lifted also from the latter film.Of course, with a Corman-produced film you aren't expecting Ingmar Bergman-like quality. But even a low budget swordfest like "Deathstalker" was much more enjoyable than this. Zero effort seems to have been put into making even a passable script.This movie is sure to put you to sleep.

A decent pace, mildly amusing violence, entertaining if not accomplished acting, a rousing score (credited to James Horner and Christopher Young), and abundant female nudity mix in this fantasy action flick. It's really no more than average for the genre, but it does deliver the goods for undemanding fans of sword and sandal schlock.Set during the days of the Roman Empire, it stars the buxom Lana Clarkson as Amethea, one of just a few survivors when her peaceful village is attacked. The men are killed, and the women likewise dispatched, or taken away to be slaves. Amethea teams up with her friend Estrild (played by future director Katt Shea) and the innocent Taramis (Dawn Dunlap) to take on the depraved bad guys, assisted by an underground rebel movement.One has to give these filmmakers credit, as they know exactly what kind of movie they're making. The first shot of a womans' breasts occurs no more and no less than 37 seconds into the story, as two creeps aim to have their way with Taramis. Although there's not a great deal of actual story here, "Barbarian Queen" moves along fairly well and clocks in at an acceptable 72 minute run time. Things never get particularly gory, with doses of the red stuff being somewhat limited. The attractive cast all look very nice in their assorted skimpy costumes. The aforementioned score is pleasing, even if the compositions from Horner are lifted - in typical Roger Corman fashion - from the earlier "Battle Beyond the Stars".Clarkson is an appealing heroine, and Shea does well as her equally strong friend. The studly Frank Zagarino is a decent hero. Armando Capo snarls adequately as our thoroughly evil antagonist, Arrakur. Tony Middleton is fun to watch as the torturer Zohar, in a sequence that's sure to delight viewers.Filmed on location in Argentina, this can boast some respectable production value.Six out of 10.

Set during the days of the Roman Empire. A simple village is raided by Roman troops, and most of the people are whisked off to be slaves or killed. Three women survive and set off to liberate their people. When they arrive at the Roman city, they team up with the local underground to seek vengeance and liberation of the slaves.What do you get when you mix Roger Corman and Argentina? Apparently a bad knockoff of Conan the Barbarian. Not that this is all that terrible -- a group of tough women (before Xena came along) who take on the Romans. A little bit of butt-kicking...The reason I have given this a lower mark than it might deserve is because I found the nudity to be gratuitous even by Corman's standards. The film opens with a sexual assault that can possibly be defended, as it kicks off the revenge plot. But the topless torture and random nudity continues throughout... it is clear the goal here was not to tell an adventure story, but merely to get women naked.

I was in college when this film was released and it really made an impression on me. Now, I'm not saying that it moved me to deep philosophical thinking. Rather, this movie is one that can be seen in fast-forward mode on your VCR and you won't miss a bit of the plot (which I'll give in a bit). The impression it made on me was one of Lana Clarkson, who plays the lead role, topless and tied to an upright rack while she's tortured with a needle by a smallish man with large glasses.Now the reason she's there: Amathea (Lana Clarkson) was about to be married to the prince of her village when soldiers charge in and slaughter just about everyone. The prince is captured and Amathea escapes into the woods where she joins up with 3 other warriors. They plan to go to the city and rescue the prince. Along the way they manage to kill a few straggling soldiers, rescue a woman tied to fence who's topless and has been whipped, and make friends with rebels seeking to overthrow the local ruler. Amathea's sister allows herself to be captured by the ruler so that she can be his concubine and Amathea is captured while trying to rescue her. The king thinks Amathea is part of the rebel movement and orders her to be tortured until she identifies the rebel leaders. After the 5 minute torture scene, Amathea throws the torturer into a vat of acid and escapes, freeing the gladiators and the prince and creating a mediocre fight scene wherein the ruler is overthrown and the people are free.Don't see this movie for the plot. Don't see it for the dialogue. You'll want to see it because the 4 main actresses in the film eventually have nude scenes in this order: rape, nipple play, wrestling, woman on the fence topless, rape, stripped topless, Lana's torture scene. The rape scenes are weak, the wrestling is short. I'm convinced that the only reason they made a sequel was to show Lana Clarkson on a rack again (see "Barbarian Queen II"). Unless you're into bad barbarian sword-and-sandle movies, mild rape, Lana Clarkson, and/or bondage, you can skip this movie. Me, I saw it for Lana Clarkson.