Plot
Long ago in the Iron Age a shadow loomed over a lonely village. For generations the village youths are stolen from their families and delivered as sacrifice to a mythical beast...
Release Year: 2006
Rating: 3.5/10 (2,369 voted)
Director:
Jonathan English
Stars: Tom Hardy, Michelle Van Der Water, Tony Todd
Storyline Long ago in the Iron Age a shadow loomed over a lonely village. For generations the village youths are stolen from their families and delivered as sacrifice to a mythical beast - the Minotaur, that dwells beneath a great palace. Theo, haunted by the loss of his love in an earlier sacrifice is convinced that the beast isn't real and that his girl still lives as a slave within the palace. His father Cyrnan, the village leader, tries to reason with Theo not to go but Theo is driven by blind rage. He devises a plan and is taken with the other youths who are dragged screaming from their families.
Writers: Nick Green, Stephen McDool
Cast: Tom Hardy
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Theo
Michelle Van Der Water
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Raphaella
Tony Todd
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Deucalion
Lex Shrapnel
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Tyro
Jonathan Readwin
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Danu
Rutger Hauer
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Cyrnan
Maimie McCoy
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Morna
Lucy Brown
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Didi
James Bradshaw
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Ziko
Fiona Maclaine
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Vena
Claire Murphy
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Nan
Ingrid Pitt
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The Leper
Ciaran Murtagh
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Turag
Angela Furtado
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Raphaella's Handmaiden
Donata Janietz
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Ffion
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible:
In many scenes, especially the scene where Tyro and Didi climb up the wall, there is clearly a steel-wire lifting the actors up, when they are supposed to be climbing by themselves.
Quotes: Deucalion:
My God is ready for his meat! Let us see the mouth of hell. Open the gates!
[goes towards the two virgins]
Deucalion:
Do not be afraid, you spirits will lie warm in the belly of the bull, and your flesh will taste sweeter, now that it's aroused.
[yelling down the hole]
Deucalion:
Come, POWERFUL ONE! Come SEE what I have brought you! COME TASTE!
User Review
Surprisingly better than most Sci-Fi originals
Rating: 4/10
Years ago, the people grew so greedy and hedonistic that they were no
longer satisfied with worshiping a mythical god, so the Queen had sex
with a bull and produced the Minotaur. Didn't turn out so good, a few
deaths were involved, and the creature was placed in a labyrinth
beneath the palace. Now every third year eight people are cast into the
labyrinth as a sacrifice.
This had surprisingly high production values for a Sci-Fi original. All
the sets were quite nicely done, and even the Minotaur looked very
good. On the bad side, the characters just didn't have much character,
nor screen presence, and it got pretty boring towards the middle. The
worst part was that, when trapped in a series of caves with a killer
critter, what would a person do? Perhaps be quiet so as not to attract
the attention of the beast? Not these folks. The main character
especially seems almost incapable of grasping the situation; He yells
at the top of his lungs on numerous occasions. Once, the Minotaur is
only a few feet away and the guy still can't shut up. He's also
convinced that his girlfriend, who was sacrificed three years earlier,
might still be alive somehow. I couldn't quite figure out how anyone
could be so dumb as to believe such a thing. There's also a woman who
screams a lot - not just a regular scream, but a long, long scream.
Maybe ten seconds in duration. That's a real joy to listen to.
Two of the more entertaining characters are the high priest and
priestess who are in charge of the kingdom. The priest likes smoking
from a bull skull, and wants to get it on with the priestess. Seeing
that she's his sister, she's rather cool on the idea, and jumps into
the labyrinth as well. She's about the only interesting person down
there. And one of the few people who speaks in such a manner that you
can understand her. I missed a lot of mumbled dialog in this movie, but
I don't think it served much purpose anyway.
Overall, I think the Sci-Fi Channel may be getting a little better at
movie making (they've certainly had enough practice). This one was
almost good.
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