Ator the son of Torren learns of his heritage, goes to avenge the deaths of his fellow villagers with the help of a female warrior to rescue his future wife from an evil spider cult.
Director Joe D'Amato offers an Italian adventure-fantasy In a world of terrible clinical, cheap DTV fantasies Ator: Fighting Eagle (1982) AKA Ator the Invincible, gets better with time. What was once a slow, silly fantasy adventure riding on back Conan the Barbarian (1982) has become more impressive with age thanks to the craftsmanship of the production, from the sets and locations to weapons and costumes.
Although heavy handed in it’s execution, D'Amato creates atmosphere, there's ghost warriors, giant spiders, simple but effective enough shadow warrior. The authentic exteriors offer a period feel. The old school cheap effects knock socks off the cheap CGI of today. There's a baby bear the thrown in for good measure, even a ear splitting end credits theme reminiscent of For Your Eyes Only.
Based on a script developed by Michele Soavi and Marco Modugno (both uncredited) Jose Maria Sanchez (under the pseudonym Sherry Russel) plodding script borrows from the likes Lord of the Rings Shelob, replacing the Snake motif in Conan the Barbarian with spiders as it moves from on scene to the next. There's even a little twist in the closing act.
The High Priest impressively played by the late actor/wrestler Dakar. Laura Gemser snake charming witch Indun is memorable. Ritza Brown appearance bookends the film, and she sadly gets little to do as Sunya. Likeable Miles O'Keeffe, a slim down version of He-Man and Conan does a good enough job as Ator. Star of the show is striking Sabrina Siani who steals every scene as fierce blonde thief Roon, especially in the fight setups.
Overall, it's simplicity and naivety is what makes it effective and a better example of the Conan cash-ins. It's worth watching for Siani alone.
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