Doctor Mordrid

Although limited in its power due to budget constraints, "Doctor Mordrid" is still a solid and appealing fantasy feature, conceived by Charles Band. Band also co-directed with his father, veteran filmmaker Albert Band. The movie is slight, but very hard to resist, with sparing use of visual effects, a striking design, and a very brief and painless running time (75 minutes).

Jeffrey Combs is enormously sincere and engaging as a likable sorcerer named Mordrid, who lives in human form in NYC, pretending to work as a landlord and lecturer. He makes the acquaintance of his neighbour, Samantha Hunt (super sexy Yvette Nipar), who herself is employed as a research consultant to the police department. Soon Mordrid must reveal the nature of his existence on Earth: to save the planet and its people from the machinations of his evil counterpart, Kabal (Brian Thompson).

The supporting cast is fine - Jay Acovone as Tony Gaudio, a grunting pig detective and associate of Samantha's, Keith Coulouris and Julie Michaels as a young couple eager to assist Kabal, and Ritch Brinkley as a sentinel named Gunner. Ms. Nipar does a likable and credible job as the young woman taken with her new acquaintance, and doesn't have too hard a time dealing with elements that are utterly fantastic. Thompson, a distinctive actor who's specialized in villain roles, is good fun as the evildoer. But "Doctor Mordrid" belongs to the excellent Combs, who plays a hero with lots of rooting interest. You have to love this guy, who keeps a pet raven named Edgar Allan and who keeps an eye on various news stories throughout the world.

The highlight is over too quickly, but worth the wait, as David Allen and his company bring to life dinosaur and mastodon skeletons inside a museum.

Overall, a pretty good production from Band and his people at Full Moon.

Seven out of 10.

The story of two 'brothers' battling it out over the fate of the world is always a promising mythical theme. However, the film fails to do more with the story than rehash the typical 'good' vs 'evil' idea. This is a particular waste since Jeffrey Combs' strength lies in playing complex characters, rather than whitebread heroes. There was scope in this story to explore issues of human prejudice and the obligations of power, and to flesh out Kabal's motivations more. However, the straightforward story left the plot feeling a little spare. Nonetheless, some of the sets were nice (eg. Mordrid's study), Yvette Nipar and Jay Acovone do a good job as the conflicting police workers, and any movie with Jeffrey Combs in 90% of the scenes is worth taking a look at.

I really enjoyed "Doctor Mordrid". This is a low-budget film, which may be off-putting to some, but I have no problem with it. I admire it even more for that, considering it's WAY more entertaining than the drivel that Hollywood churns out every year. Too bad this didn't get a theatrical release; I don't know about anyone else, but I would have went to see it in theatres. `Doctor Mordrid' is a very entertaining science fiction film that just about anyone can enjoy, especially if they're into sci-fi like I am. I don't see why this is a R-rated film; only one f-word is said, and there are no gruesome death scenes, nor is there any blood at all. The timeless rivalry between sorcerers Anton and Kabal (Anton wanted the use his powers to save the human race, while Kabal wanted to enslave them), gave the story a sense of enchantment, while the mythical plotline added charm to the story itself. Basically, this a film that's just plain fun to watch. There is one unintentionally funny thing in this movie, though: seeing Jeffrey Combs keeping a straight face while wearing that silly blue cape and suit. That makes me laugh every time I see it. But I digress... Anyway, the acting is great; the main protagonists (Anton, and his lady friend, Samantha), are very likable; Anton is sympathetic, and hospitable, and Samantha is friendly. Plus, the settings were wonderful. The floating island in the other dimension was very cool setting; we're only given a glimpse of it twice, though; it would have been great to see more scenes take place here. The main setting was also very neat; Anton's apartment is very roomy, and he has some cool devices, especially the monitoring system he uses to keep track of the world's occurrences. He even has a pet raven that he keeps in his apartment named Edgar. Overall, this a great film; it was fun to watch, and the main actors put a lot of feeling into their roles. If you can find anywhere that rents `Doctor Mordrid', you should rent it (or, in my case, buy it. It was definitely money well-spent)!

My Rating: 8 stars out of ten.

Its a Full Moon production with Jeffrey Combs, both of which were at the top of their game. Problem being Jeffrey Combs is an amazing actor and everyone else in the film is pretty stiff (except the Dr. Strange character is supposed to be stiff). Originally a kids film they shoved some nudity and gore into to take a voluntary R for the home video market.

Pros: The sets are actually pretty good. Look at Doctor Mordrid's apartment and see how much the New Dr. Who ripped them off. (keep in mind this film was Micro-Budget)

Brian Johnson - the muscle-man actor most famous for being the bad guy in "Cobra" and playing the Alien Bounty Hunter in X-Files. Actually seems the least confused of all the cast.

Jeffrey Combs - the all-time pro at turning nothing into something without hamming it up. This movie fails, but not for lack of craft.

Cons: KIDS MOVIE: Full Moon was trying to branch out of direct-to-video horror and got cold feet right before this went into production. After losing the Dr. Strange license they threw everything against the wall hoping it would stick. See "Shrunken Heads" if you want to see their "real" attempt at a kids movie.

Not Dr. Strange - on the script rewrite they had to put in their own muddled mythology. Very Very strange. Not sure if it was supposed to be injected into the same universe as the other Full Moon movies.

No sequel! Truly a travesty of justice! I'll throw them a couple grand for a Dr. Mordrid vs Re-animator movie!

Two sorcerers battle in the fourth dimension,one(Brian Thompson as a Kabal)trying to destroy the Earth,the other(Jeffrey Combs as a Anton Mordrid)trying to save it."Doctor Mordrid" is an enjoyable fantasy fare which offers plenty of cheese.The plot is pretty silly and the gore is completely absent,but the film is very short and entertaining.So if you have enough time to kill give this one a look.My rating:7 out of 10.