Beastmaster 3: The Eye of Braxus ** (1996, Marc Singer, Tony Todd, Keith Coulouris, David Warner, Lesley-Anne Down) – Classic Movie Review 8755

The royal child stolen at birth and named Dar, who has a strange fondness for ferrets and can talk to the beasts, is back in the hunky shape of Marc Singer for a third slice of The Beastmaster action fantasy adventure, director Gabrielle Beaumont’s 1996 Beastmaster 3: The Eye of Braxus.

As with part two, Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time, there is a serviceable rather than inspired plot: when his younger brother, King Tal (Starship Troopers Casper Van Dien in an early role), is kidnapped by the evil sorcerer Lord Agon, Dar the Beastmaster strives to rescue his sibling and prevent the wizard from gaining possession of both halves of a magic amulet called the Eye of Braxus.

The film’s many absurdities, evident cost-cutting and eccentric cast (including Britain’s David Warner and Lesley-Anne Down as Lord Agon and Morgana) make this an ideal late-night B-movie to watch for a laugh with buddies and a bleary eye. It was ideal for the video age.

Unfortunately, when it was screened on British TV, Channel 5 decided to show it for afternoon viewing, so adults should tape it and see later. Possibly much, much later. It is PG rated for fantasy action violence and mild sensuality!

Also in the cast are the 6′ 5″ Tony Todd (best known for his chilling performance as Candyman) as Seth, Sandra Hess as Shada, Keith Coulouris as Bey, Patrick Kilpatrick as Jaggart, Olaf Pooley as Maldor, Michael Deak as Braxus, and David Grant Wright as Korum.

It is again produced by Sylvio Tabet, who also directed Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time.

Beastmaster 3: The Eye of Braxus is directed by Gabrielle Beaumont, runs 96 minutes, is made by MCA Television and Stu Segall Productions, was released by National Broadcasting Company (1996) (US) and CIC video, is written by David Wise, based on the characters by Don Coscarelli and Paul Pepperman, is shot by Michael J Davis, is produced by Sylvio Tabet (executive producer), Stu Segall (executive producer), Lisa Cochran-Neilan and David Wise, is scored by Jan Hammer.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8755

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com