''The Dungeonmaster'' (originally ''Ragewar: The Challenges of Excalibrate'' and ''Digital Knights'') is a 1984 American anthology fantasy film produced by

Charles Band Charles Robert Band (born December 27, 1951) is an American film producer and director, known for his work on horror comedy movies. Career Band entered film production in the 1970s with Charles Band Productions. Dissatisfied with distributo ...

, and is split up into seven distinct story segments, each written and directed by a different person: Dave Allen, Band,

John Carl Buechler __NOTOC__ John Carl Buechler (pronounced ''Beekler''; June 18, 1952 – March 18, 2019) was an American special make-up effects artist, film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He was best known for his work on horror and science-ficti ...

Steven Ford Steven Meigs Ford (born May 19, 1956) is an American actor, and son of former U.S. President Gerald Ford and former First Lady Betty Ford. Early life Ford is the third child and youngest son of former President Gerald Ford and former First Lad ...

, Peter Manoogian,

Ted Nicolaou Ted Nicolaou is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. After graduating from the University of Texas film program, he joined the crew of '' The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' (1974) as a sound recordist. Later, he joined Charles Ban ...

and Rosemarie Turko. The film's theme was influenced by the popularity of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's 1982 film ''

Tron ''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action- adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer ...

'' and the roleplaying game

Dungeons and Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...

. Principal photography began in 1983 but the film was not completed until 1984. The film features an appearance by the heavy metal band W.A.S.P. The film is known for the line of dialogue "I reject your reality and I substitute my own". A sequel to the movie was shot and edited in 1988, but never completed.

Plot

Paul Bradford (

Jeffrey Byron Jeffrey Byron (born Timothy Paul Stafford; November 28, 1955) is an American actor and writer. Byron has acted in both film and television, and co-wrote one movie script (''The Dungeonmaster''). Byron was born in Santa Monica, California, the ...

) is a skilled computer programmer who lives with his girlfriend, Gwen ( Leslie Wing), and "X-CaliBR8", a quasi-sentient

personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...

that Paul programmed and which he interacts with via a neural interface. Gwen is jealous of Paul's unusually close relationship with X-CaliBR8, to whom Paul has given a female voice, and fears that their relationship will be destroyed by Paul's reliance on X-CaliBR8 for his various day-to-day activities. One night, Paul and Gwen are both transported to a Hellish realm presided over by Mestema (

Richard Moll Charles Richard Moll (born January 13, 1943) is an American actor. He played the role of Aristotle Nostradamus "Bull" Shannon, a bailiff on the NBC sitcom '' Night Court'' from 1984 to 1992. He has also done extensive work as a voice actor, typica ...

), an ancient, demonic sorcerer who has spent millennia seeking a worthy opponent with whom to do battle. Having long defeated his enemies with magic, Mestema has become intrigued with technology, and wishes to pit his skills against Paul's, with the winner claiming Gwen. Arming Paul with a portable version of X-CaliBR8 (which takes the form of a computerized wrist band), Mestema begins transporting Paul into a variety of scenarios in which he must defeat various opponents. Most of the challenges involve Paul using his X-CaliBR8 wristband to shoot people, monsters, and objects with laser beams. After Paul completes Mestema's various challenges, the two engage in a final battle, which takes the form of a fist fight in which Paul kills Mestema by throwing him into a pit of

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

. After Mestema dies, Paul and Gwen are transported back to their house, where Gwen expresses her acceptance of X-CaliBR8 and suggests that she and Paul get married.

Cast

- Paul Bradford, a skilled computer programmer who invented X-CaliBR8 *

- Mestema * Leslie Wing - Gwen Rogers, Paul’s girlfriend * Phil Fondacaro - Stone Canyon People *

Cleve Hall Cleve A. Hall (June 22, 1959 – March 31, 2021) was an American special effects artist, make-up artist, and actor who starred on the Syfy reality television series '' Monster Man''. Career Although digital special effects became more popular in ...

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* Anthony T. Genova III - Desert Soldier * Lonnie Hashimoto - Samurai * Chris Holmes - W.A.S.P. Guitar Player * Michael Steve Jones - Desert Soldier * Peter Kent - Zombie * Blackie Lawless - W.A.S.P. Singer * Paul Pape - Police Officer (uncredited) * Randy Piper - W.A.S.P. Guitar Player * Randy Popplewell - Desert Soldier * Tony Richards - W.A.S.P. Drummer *

Felix Silla Felix Anthony Silla (January 11, 1937 – April 16, 2021), also credited as Felix Cilla, was an Italian actor and stuntman, known for his career in Hollywood in TV and film. Silla starting his career in the circus, but is best known especial ...

- Desert Bandit * Kenneth J. Hall - Wolfman * Jack Reed - Mummy * John Carl Buechler - Ratspit

Segments

* "Stone Canyon Giant" (David Allen) * "Heavy Metal" (Charles Band) * "Demons of the Dead" (John Carl Buechler) * "Slasher" (Steven Ford) * "Cave Beast" (Peter Manoogian) * "Desert Pursuit" (Ted Nicolaou) * "Ice Gallery" (Rosemarie Turko)

Release

Scream Factory released the film on DVD for the first time in October 2013, along with '' Contamination 7'', '' Catacombs'' and ''

Cellar Dweller ''Cellar Dweller'' is a 1988 American monster horror film about a comic book artist who unleashes a demon after drawing it. It was directed by John Carl Buechler, written by Don Mancini (credited as Kit Du Bois), and stars Debrah Farentino and ...

'' as part of the second volume of their ''Scream Factory All-Night Horror Marathon'' series. Shout! Factory released ''The Dungeonmaster'' on a double feature

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

along with '' Eliminators'' in December 2015.

In pop culture

In '' MythBusters'', Adam Savage quotes this movie. The film is referenced in the 11th episode of ''Sword Art Online Abridged'' by Something Witty Entertainment.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dungeonmaster, The 1984 films 1984 fantasy films 1984 independent films 1980s science fiction films American fantasy films American independent films American science fiction horror films Empire International Pictures films Films about computing Films about video games Films directed by David W. Allen Films directed by Charles Band Films directed by John Carl Buechler Films directed by Steven Ford Films directed by Peter Manoogian Films directed by Ted Nicolaou Films directed by Rosemarie Turko Films scored by Shirley Walker Films scored by Richard Band American horror anthology films Fantasy anthology films American exploitation films American science fiction adventure films American fantasy adventure films American science fantasy films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films