Annette Crosbie, Bernard Bresslaw, Catriona MacColl

Among its many dubious distinctions, Hawk the Slayer is the only sword-and-sorcery movie to feature Silly-String® as a medieval weapon! This splendidly wretched British fantasy also boas...( read more  read more... )ts such magical wonders as an automatic fast-action crossbow and an archer who shoots instantly replenished arrows in rapid succession, never missing his target! At the lowest ebb of his career, Jack Palance is gleefully hammy as Voltan, the disfigured (i.e., irredeemably evil) elder brother of Hawk (John Terry), who swears vengeance after Voltan kills their father, kidnaps a virginal abbess (Annette Crosbie), and threatens a nunnery for ransom. Add an ultracheesy '80s soundtrack (imagine Rick Wakeman playing roller disco) and some respectable British thespians (Patrick Magee, Roy Kinnear, Harry Andrews), and you've got a poor man's Willow with a dash of Krull, laughably awful and surprisingly entertaining. Fully aware of its own low-budget absurdity, Hawk the Slayer is a Bad Movie classic, guaranteed to satisfy connoisseurs of garbage. (Trivia note: Terry survived his titular heroics and was guest-starring on the popular TV series 24 when this DVD was released in late 2002.) --Jeff Shannon

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57% liked it

3,076 ratings

PG, 90 min.

Directed by: Terry Marcel

Release Date: August 27, 1981

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DVD Release Date: November 5, 2002

Stats: 244 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (244)


  • December 22, 2007
    An excruciatingly bad fantasy film with: a woefully wooden hero who looks like Chris de Burgh, a dwarf who looks like Peter Sutcliffe, and a supporting cast of British sitcom stalwarts and/or respected old thesps, trying not to look too embarrassed. The movie is so cheap there ar...( read more)e hardly any sets, so most scenes take place in forest clearings, tents, and so on. It's also got a god-awful, "War of the Worlds" sound-a-like, dirge of a score which, aside from offending the ears and destroying any credible feel for time and place, dates the film terribly. A camp classic, however; recommended to connoisseurs of appalling cinema.
  • July 19, 2007
    I can't even describe how goo/bad this movie is...thank you Spaced for opening my eyes to this piece of cinematic rubbish...oh Jack Palance how low have you sunk?
  • June 6, 2007
    Great Low-Budget British Sword & Sorcery movie made during the early 80's Dungeons & Dragon's craze. There's barely any monsters and minimal special effects, but it's a fun ride. Check it out to hear the techno-Zamfir flute music.
  • February 24, 2006
    Has to be on everyone's list, just for its horrid values as a true Ed-Woodian triumph.
  • March 14, 2008
    I know they knocked this but as a kid I dont think you can do better.
  • March 22, 2009
    although a little cheesy ,its one of the best of the mythical movies becouse not just the bad guys get killed but most of the good guys too. Also the charecters are well thaught of and close to the d & d charecters
  • December 16, 2008
    Like the fantasy and good v evil plotline
  • October 16, 2008
    Perhaps the best bad fantasy movie ever made. I have not seen one that was more entertaining.
  • July 30, 2008
    So bad, and yet sooo good.
  • June 12, 2008
    I just finished watching this after not seeing it for years and years and years. And it did not fail to disappoint. I netflixed this one looking for some bad '80's sword and sorcery nostalgia, and it delivered in spades.

    The acting has more wood in it than a lumber yard. ...( read more)The sets make old skool Dr Who sets look avant garde. And the special effects? Well kudos for using Silly String and glowing ping-pong balls!

    Needless to say I giggled furiously during the entire movie and enjoyed every bad moment of it.

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  • THEFASTLANEBABY
    January 31, 2008
    haha fantastic film, so bad its hilarious especially the silly string scene LOL!

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Hawk the Slayer Trivia


  • In the fantasy movie 'Hawk the Slayer', what is the name of the chartacter played by John Terry? John Terry is best known for the roles of Lieutenant Lockhart in Stanley Kubrick's 'Full Metal Jacket' and Felix Leiter in the James Bond film 'The Living Daylights'.  Answer »
  • In what film did Jack Palanace play the villiam with a blatent rip off of a Darth Vader helmet?  Answer »
  • Which 'Carry On' film actor appeared in the fantasy films Krull and Hawk The Slayer?  Answer »
  • Which of the following fantasy films features a dwarf named Baldin, an elf named Crow and a giant named Gort?  Answer »

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