When I first saw the trailer for A Knight's War, I thought, "How did I miss this release?" It's a Canadian film which came out February 11 and is now available to stream on Prime Video. I immediately turned it on and thoroughly enjoyed this dark fantasy epic set against bleak landscapes full of horrific monsters.
This movie includes a lot of familiar fantasy tropes: there's a prophecy, a quest, a young girl given up in sacrifice, and the end of the world as the consequence for failure. The movie does a great job of presenting these well-worn ideas in intriguing ways, so my interest never waned.
The Chosen One is prophesied to be a young girl with red hair who cannot burn. She is revealed when her father tries to burn her and her mother alive. William (Matthew Ninaber) and Bhodie (Jeremy Ninebar), two brothers who are both knights, search for her. They come upon a tower with cultists sacrificing themselves to open a gate to Hell. They are unable to save the girl and she is dragged through the gate.
The older brother, knowing more than he let on at first, betrays Bhodie, who wakes in Hell. He makes a deal with a gate-keeping demon, promising to take the demon back with him once his quest is complete. In exchange, he gains an amulet with 100 lives. If he uses all of them, he is sentenced to remain (game over). He dies and is resurrected many times, learning each time how to better survive. It feels like something out of a video game.
Brodie meets the Chosen One, named Avalon (played by Kristen Kaster). She seeks a powerful weapon. The two of them set out to retrieve three stones needed to obtain the weapon. As they battle witches and demons, we learn she made the same deal with the gatekeeper but has fewer lives remaining then Brodie. They battle on, each burning through lives.
I won't spoil the ending for you, even though the final foe may be a little bit predictable to you. I recommend giving A Knight's War a watch. The action and the gorgeous detail on the creatures is a treat.
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