Devil's Knight

"This could have been so much better" was what my overall initial thought process was throughout this entire fantasy movie. It tried and for a low budget production it ticked most of the boxes, yet somehow I couldn't help but feel disappointed and unsatisfied with the Final Cut. Devil's Knight by Adam Werth is predictable and half-baked most of the time. There were some scenes I had to scratch my head at and the the action scenes were badly edited and cheorgraphed. Felt like I was watching a power rangers episode from the 90's. This definitely isn't one of Mahal Empire's best films. Arena Wars is better.

I just watched the latest Mahal Empire movie, Devil's Knight, which will be premiering just in time for Halloween. If you're familiar with Mahal Empire movies you know they make high quality indie horror movies with budgets in the ballpark of $300k-$400k. These aren't ultra low-to-no-budget $5-$20k indie horror movies, they're polished and have high production value. They're not quite Terrifier 3, but they're miles beyond most of the ultra low budget stuff we watch on Tubi.

If you've seen previous Mahal Empire movies such as Attack of the Unknown, Bridge of the Doomed, Bermuda Island, Night of the Tommyknockers, Bloodthirst, or Arena Wars you'll recognize a lot of actors from this massive ensemble cast. Even if you're unfamiliar with Mahal movies, you'll recognize Daniel Baldwin, who I've loved since Homicide: Life on the Street, and Oscar nominee Eric Roberts who was fantastic in Christopher Nolan's Hollywood blockbuster The Dark Knight. Angie Everhart (Bordello of Blood, Another 9 1/2 weeks) is another familiar face, and John Wells, who was excellent as the lead in Arena Wars and Bermuda Island, shines again here.

As I've said many times in the past, Greg Tally is a chameleon. I first saw Tally in Bermuda Island and Craving, and it's hard to believe those two characters were played by the same actor. He does it again in Devil's Night. He's basically the Gary Oldman of indie horror, he successfully undergoes a transformation for every movie role.

Mahal Empire regulars Darryl Goldberg and Janet Wang have an awesome scene together in this, Janet's character is fantastic and I'm pleased to see her in a role that really shows off how talented she is. She shines in Devil's Knight. I expect to see her in even bigger and better roles in the future. Bishop Stevens looks great (and huge!) as the Minotaur. Wesley Cannon and Denny Nolan are a couple of other Mahal regulars you'll recognize, and indie legend Rudy Ledbetter makes an appearance - drink! Kevin Hager is great as the King. Victor V Gelsomino, another Mahal staple not only acts in this one, but is also one of the writers, credited along with director Adam Werth.

Mahal Empire movies use a lot of supporter talent and these actors consistently give better performances than many established "big name" actors who appear in other low budget indie movies, which is a testament to the great directors the Mahal brothers hire, and shows a quality director is one who can get the best performances out of their cast. Adam Werth, who directed Devil's Night and Bermuda Island, and Michael Su who was the director of photography on Devil's Knight, and who previously directed Bloodthirst and Bridge of the Doomed, illustrate how great directors can elevate their cast. I've heard Craving director J. Horton has been tapped to direct a Mahal movie in the future and he's another director who really makes the most of what he has to work with. If you're an aspiring actor just starting out and you want great, top quality footage with high production value for your reel, sign on to a Mahal Empire movie.

Joanna David did a fantastic job on the costumes, everything has an authentic feel, especially the armor. The Mahal brothers went all out and leased an actual castle for this movie, they didn't just film it all in front of a green screen as many lower budget movies would have to do out of necessity. It makes an incredible difference and really shows through in the final product. Tyler David Gilbert's score is great and sets the medieval tone perfectly. Really adds to the film and sucks you into the era.

Vanessa Giacoletti's makeup work is phenomenal, John Wells and Janet Wang in particular looked excellent. Tom Devlin (Daredevil,Red Dragon) is a master of practical effects and a true artist. The Bone Demon and Hook Creature both look fantastic. Devlin's team did an incredible job and there are lots of great kills with phenomenal practical effects. Lots of blood flying around in this one.

Stunt coordinator Terence J. Rotolo did an amazing job with the fight choreography, this is an action movie as much as it's a horror movie, and there are several very well acted fight scenes that looked far more believable and realistic than what I usually see in indie horror. One action sequence that really stood out was a sword fight between Kim Kelly and Sarah Nicklin, who both absolutely nailed it. Again, Mahal Empire movies really are a step up from most of the indie content I watch. I love no budget horror movies but you can really see the difference in quality when you're watching a Mahal movie.

I won't spoil the ending, obviously, but my son definitely wants a sequel to this one. Make sure you check this out when it is released on VOD and physical media, and stick around through the end credits so you don't miss the mid credit scene!

"Devil's Knight," Mahal Empire's latest, is a burning, twisting tapestry of the medieval world, smeared with blood and fire and love, tangled in the echoes of steel clashing and fate bending-alive, all at once, in a medieval crescendo that smashes through time. You watch it, and you feel it in your teeth, in your bones. The film moves like a furious jazz riff, one of those nights Kerouac himself would chase, alive with the roar of battle, the haunting silence of a hero's solitary stare.

Every character seems carved from some ancient, forgotten place. They don't walk so much as roam, driven by curses, oaths, and whispered legends, finding their paths through dark forests and kingdoms that feel so real you'd swear you could taste the cold iron in the air. Mahal's vision here isn't merely historical; it's mythological. Each scene unspools like a painter's masterstroke, a Van Gogh under midnight's ghostly light.

The cast? It's a kaleidoscope of grit, rawness, and aching humanity. These are characters cut from the bone, fierce and flawed, their stories swirling in the ancient dust of their world. You follow, entranced, as alliances shift, and swords slice through the very fabric of trust, betrayal, love, and loyalty. Mahal Empire has given us a film that grips tight and refuses to let go until you're breathless, teetering on the edge of some forgotten castle's cliffside, gasping for one more glimpse, one more taste of the adventure and danger.

Devil's Knight? Man, it's medieval jazz-a soulful, dark symphony, beautiful, brooding, wild. An experience as raw and ragged as a knight's rusted armor, and all you can do is feel it, man, feel every beat of that relentless, glorious heartbeat.

In the middle of a massive war, the King of a small kingdom sends out for a group of professional monster hunters to help deal with a slew of monstrous creatures living in the woods that have been trouble for other hunters over the years and set out to finally kill the fabled creatures.

Overall, there's a lot to like with this one. One of the better aspects featured here is the strong and impressive setup that allows for a lot of solid period-set action. The main setup of the war throughout the kingdom involving a slew of creatures attacking their soldiers and holding the King under such duress that he sends for a group of monster hunters to stop the creatures leading to them working their way through the kingdom to finally take it out gives this a strong overall starting point. While we get tons of excessive characters and brief appearances along the way, the fact that there's a lot of great work here in getting the different relationships established not just within the Kingdom with the Royal Guard and the rest of the guards but also the monster hunters gives them some personality for later on. That provides the film with plenty of exciting battle scenes featuring the different groups battling the monsters or other threats in the area. Initially introduced fighting a horde of rebellious hooligans in a local bar and handling everything cleanly, their struggles against the different creatures in their struggle to get to the final creature terrorizing the local woods. This has some great action and bloodshed in the confrontations ranging from numerous sword battles against the creatures slicing them to pieces which offers up the gruesome make-up work on the various kills and the creature costumes used here with the different creatures shown to be distinct and memorable enough to be quite likable. These are all that work nicely here although there are some factors here that bring this one down. Among its biggest issues is the series of random, useless characters brought on board simply because the origin status requires a series of cannon fodder characters to be slaughtered. This has way too many people here that serve no purpose being either background characters in random scenes or just getting served up to the creatures to be slaughtered which leaves everything so cluttered that it takes a while to figure out what's going on. Taking so many one-shot figures or recurring characters that we're trying to keep track of in regards to what their purpose is in the kingdom as the simplistic main story here would have provided this with a lot to like only for the cluttered first half to make it a bit more troubling having these extra moments that aren't necessary here. The other factor with this one is the last act that manages to add in more than necessary here to be quite a confusing addition to the storyline. Slaying the main monster far too early than necessary and returning for a feast in celebration, it includes a rather bizarre storyline about the group getting taken prisoner after a duel and then forced to defend the castle from a secret monster held captive by a traitorous member of the cabinet that has a lot to like but it's tacked onto the film as if from a different movie entirely by just inventing problems for them to deal with for no reason. Combined with the somewhat obvious low-budget limitations present at times, these really hold it down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Language.

I have loved Angie Everhart and enjoyed Kevin Sorbo and others but I have to say this was easily the worst plot and worst acting I've seen from the lot of them. It's not horror. It is horrendous.

I was even happy to see Angie killed after she butchered the accent and acting! Eric Roberts was his typical arrogant part, but Sorbo must have been desperate.