Despite its all-star cast (Christopher Lambert, Brian Blessed, James Faulkner) this film falls flat. And it happens right from the opening scene. Thereafter, it's caught in a never ending free fall. Last glimpse, this trash production spiraled straight into the abyss.This should have been an interesting tale. After all, at its core theme is the Spanish Inquisition. How can you muck that up? Well, the Mexican director did. As an excuse he proffered."We in Mexico knew about the Inquisition. Europe on the other hand much rather chose to hide it."Uh, sure you did. And if he had such esoteric knowledge which he wanted to share, it didn't appear on film. Instead he offered us the usual: porn, bloody gore and much stilted acting even dreadful humor.The script was fine. The problem was that the actors/director failed to 'execute' (scuza the pun). This failure of epic proportions is most noticeable in the dialog. Unfortunately the speeches were well, oh so wooden.Here's a prime example. Ruy (Lambert) a main character the town's honest but too much of a wine-imbibing servant addresses his mother."There you go again. You speak in a mystery language. I'm confused."Want another one? The new Governor (Brian Blessed) tries to act contrite in the confessional with the Inquisitor's much prying (real) priest."Bless me father for I have sinned. Blah, blah, blah...(he does say these banal words). In the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit."Holy Cow! Even at that early 'flash' point, I wanted to puke.Too late. The Inquisition was in session. It had to get better, but I was wrong. Make that, the director took another tangent. It seems he sailed back to Mexico, where he belongs.The film though did have a few redeeming qualities. One came in the form of a Hungarian mercenary (played by a real Magyar). Blessed hired him. So, how could he not be good/bad?The second was in the costume and set designs. Both were masterpieces. And its no small wonder. Again, real Magyars worked behind the scenes. Like me, they would not settle for anything less than all world perfection. At least the Magyars got their act together.You may already have guessed: the author too is a real Hun, by the way of Sicily though.

I'm not sure where people are coming from when critiquing this movie. One review sounds like a group of frat boys rented it to make fun of and were disappointed that it wasn't funny? It's a costume/period piece about the Spanish inquisition! What are people expecting? Action? Comedy? This movie moves very slowly in parts, but it is simply telling its story. You've got to be patient to watch a movie about the Spanish inquisition in the first place, so be forewarned. Other than that, Lambert gives a good performance, the costumes are excellent. I love the little twists and turns.Is it suspenseful? No. Is it supposed to be? I never got the idea that it was. I guess the bottom line is: What are your expectations of a movie before you watch it? If you go into it with none, then you are a lot better off. This movie doesn't fit a lot of people's expectations, but that doesn't make it a bad movie. In fact, what I liked about it was that it doesn't fit into the normal American movie genres of: action, comedy, buddy movie etc. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the stark beauty of many shots and could accept its low-budget shortcomings because the story and acting were good enough for me to enjoy.

This would have been good if this was made in the mid 80s and it stared somebody like Rutger Hauer. Also if the likes of Paul Verhoven had handled the direction, it would be more promising ala Flesh & Blood. I love the original Highlander, but Christopher Lambert has gone down hill big time. He plays his role in all round terms a chump & his swordplay is pitiful- I don't think he even kills anyone!! In Highlander, he would have made mincemeat of the baddie- he gets humiliated by him. As for the bad guy, he is actually the good guy- huh ? The DVD Cover is misleading as you see him with a sword, thinking your in for a Highlander type swordfest- hell no !.

A 16th century Spanish town is plagued by some mysterious murders involving important town figures and when the sheriff Ruy de Mendoza starts his investigation on the mutilated bodies, he learns that no one else seems to want to help him out, as there's a cover up, which leaves him all in the dark. As the deaths grow, Ruy goes on to learns more. The web of deceit grows larger and secrets are being revealed. In his path is a mercenary group, which Ruy is trying to figure out who's the man behind it all and his intrusion could cost the lives of those his loves. Christopher Lambert as an actor hasn't done anything that has really grabbed my attention, other then the sci-fi flick "Fortress". His most well-known involvement in "The Highlander" series, did nothing for me. Anyhow I decided to take a chance on this medieval B-film and was pleasantly surprised with the overall effort, even though some frustrating strokes cropped up. Enchantingly sharp-etched period back-sets, props and costumes have a rich awe to them, despite the cheap origins. The premise holds up remarkably well with a broodingly elaborate mystery within a well thought up concept of effective twists and sustained involvement of the story's progression. This is because there's so much more going on behind the scenes in this conspiracy laced-script, which keeps things really tight and nebulous. The brisk location photography is genuinely polished and covered the beautifully picturesque Hungry backdrop with vivid scope. A blazingly elastic musical score paints the period and moody precisely. A solidly low-key Christopher Lambert plays in a husky and rundown portrayal of his character Ruy de Mendoza. He sounded like he needed a cough drop. Blanca Marsillach charms in her glassy part and James Faulkner weasels in. The acting while not great, is workably stable and watchable. Now what brought it down was that in patches the limp direction couldn't come to terms with the promising material, and was weakly conjured up and lacked real gusto in its delivery. Some unorthodox set-pieces flourished with atmospheric flashes of intrigue and foreboding terror, but more often it came across as frosty, repetitive and stiff. Some nasty and mutilated violence livens up the show, but the bustling action feels torpid, even though the pacing is always busy. The idea behind it is a stimulating pot-boiler, but for most part the execution is rather muddled and dry. While the material and production design is up to par, it's basically undone by feeble direction. Anyhow, it's not-too-bad and keeps you highly involved.