Hawk the Slayer Revisited: Fantasizing About Fantasy Films

Last Updated on October 14, 2022

While the sword and sorcery genre dominated genre cinema in the first half of the eighties, thanks to the influence of Conan the Barbarian, one film predates this trend. That movie is – Hawk the Slayer! If you’re based in the UK, you might be saying to yourself, “oh man, Hawk the Slayer rules,” or maybe, “Hawk the Slayer sucks.” But, if you’re outside English, you’re probably thinking, WTF is Hawk the Slayer?

This is a big-budget UK attempt at a blockbuster that arguably owes more to the influence of Star Wars (mainly its box office) than anything else. It was meant to start a blockbuster film saga, but underwhelming box office and withering reviews meant this was a one-off. The brainchild of writer-director Terry Marcel, the film stars John Terry (later famous as Jack’s dad on Lost and a one time Felix Leiter in The Living Daylights) as a heroic warrior named Hawk (very much in the Luke Skywalker mode) who goes up against a masked baddie Darth Vader) played by the great Jack Palance. While a bit of a flop, the movie maintains a solid cult following, especially in the UK, as writer-narrator Jessica Dwyer explains in this episode of Fantasizing About Fantasy Films (edited by Bill Mazzola). She also has an exclusive interview is Mass Effect voice artist Mark Meer (Commander Shepard), who explains how this film kicked off a lifelong obsession with all things sword and sorcery. So please sit back, relax and let us tell you all about this little-known UK adventure.

For more Hawk the Slayer goodness, check out Jessica’s interview with the director on Fangirl Radio.

Have you seen Hawk the Slayer? Let us know in the comments!