Sword of Vengeance

Without its gratuitous slo-mo, this gleefully daft medieval hack ’n’ slasher would last somewhere in the region of 15 minutes. Even that runtime would still be a tad long for some – particularly anyone expecting fresh ideas or engaging characters.

It’s the story of a young prince (Stanley Weber) who, after witnessing his father’s death at the hands of a tyrannous king, grows up, gets a Hackney haircut, quaffs a load of protein shakes and swears to wreak bloody vengeance, which he does with the help of a group of suspicious, pelt-wearing townsfolk (one of whom is in ‘Game of Thrones’ a bit).

The script is hammier than the deli aisle at Christmas, but the broadsword-slinging, throat-slicing action sequences, although repetitive, look impressive for a film of this budget. The classic heavily-outnumbered-and-against-the-odds climactic battle in particular is decently brutal, the permanent grey-brown filter adding to a near-tangible funk of bloodied mud. Still, lazy plotting and stereotypical characters make ‘Sword of Vengeance’ little more than sub-‘300’ trash.