Shadow Warriors - The Shadow Cabal - Blu-Ray

Content: The resurgence of war among the gods has caused death and destruction in the realm of man. Out of desperation, the survivors formed the Order, an alliance with the elves and the dwarves. With the help of the Order, the war ended and the orcs and dark elves were driven into the wasteland. But the peace does not last. The prophetess of Ari-Alia has increasing visions of a growing darkness called the Shadow. More and more warriors of the Shadow are gathering in the Borderlands, threatening the peace of the human realm. Agents are dispatched to find out where the Shadow warriors are coming from and what their intentions are. One of these agents is the warrior Keltus (Richard McWilliams), who is sent to prevent the Shadows from gaining possession of an artifact that will help resurrect evil once and for all. In his quest for the artifact, Keltus must team up with the quick-tempered Nemyt (Danielle Chuchran), an elven bounty hunter, and the renegade orc Kullimon (Paul D. Hunt), who refuses to submit to the Shadows. This unlikely alliance must do battle against an all-powerful enemy - a battle that seems lost when the Shadow Warriors come into possession of the artifact...

Shadow Warriors - The Shadow Cabal is intended, according to director John Lyde, to be a film made by fans for fans. After all, as avid gameplayers, he and his team at Arrowstorm Entertainment are avid fans of fantastical worlds, which Lyde now wanted to create once himself with the help of crowdfunding. When an off-screen female voice begins to tell of a devastating war, of elves, dwarves and orcs, and of the rise of evil, while the camera wanders across a map of a world full of magic and mythical creatures, it quickly becomes clear where Lyde got most of his ideas. An orc riding a dragon or a prisoner whose hairstyle, posture and demeanor are of course reminiscent of Gollum purely by coincidence, all of this is already very obviously borrowed from the Lord of the Rings films - even if Lyde only had the budget at his disposal that Peter Jackson needed in a week to cater on the set of his films.

A little more restraint in stealing ideas would have been quite advantageous for Schattenkrieger - The Shadow Cabal, because so the comparison to the successful Tolkien adaptations just forces itself - and of course this independent production can not stand up to this comparison at any moment. This is a pity, because John Lyde has created a thoroughly entertaining and solid fantasy adventure with the means at his disposal. Well, the effects aren't always convincing, the masks sometimes look a bit trashy, the dialogues can't be called polished or intelligent by any stretch of the imagination and the actors don't deliver a particularly high level of acting. Still, it's noticeable that everyone involved in the film had their hearts in it and a certain passion for the genre, which gives the whole thing a certain charm that consoles over some of the obvious weak points.

Shadow Warrior - The Shadow Cabal should therefore not be measured against its so clearly cited role models if you want to have fun with the uneven trio's attempt to stop evil. If you don't expect much more than a solid B-movie with some pretty effects and a decent entertainment factor, you'll be well served by this fantasy adventure!

Picture + Sound: The picture pleases with a partly very good sharpness of detail, which comes into its own especially in the outdoor scenes. The colors sometimes seem deliberately artificial, but always fit the mood of the respective scene. Contrasts and black levels are also at a good level, adding to the positive overall impression of the picture. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix sounds a bit lacking in power at some moments, as the very frontally mixed dialogue overpowers the action. However, every now and then a few well-executed surround moments provide some dynamics that could have been a bit better overall. All in all, however, it is still enough for a good!

Extras: As a bonus, there is a look at the fight training (about 8 min.), which obviously took place in the living room of the director, a few outtakes (about 4 min.), as well as an interview with the responsible for the visual effects Chris Wells (about 3 min.). An amusing trailer of sorts in the form of an orktraum (approx. 1:20 min.), as well as the official trailer and other programming tips from the provider round out the additional offerings.

Conclusion: Shadow Warriors - The Shadow Cabal is a not-so-subtly cobbled-together fantasy adventure that doesn't always successfully hide its low budget. Lack of originality and rather simplistic make up and computer effects are somewhat offset by the makers' obvious love of the genre. Because even if this partly crowdfunded work offers neither dramaturgically, nor acting the very great quality, this Lord of the Rings clone is still pleasantly entertaining. If you don't expect more than a B-movie created by obvious fans of the fantasy genre with as high trash factor as recognition value, you can be quite entertained with this adventure

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp