The Dungeonmaster

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The Dungeonmaster

Directed by	Dave Allen Charles Band John Carl Buechler Steven Ford Peter Manoogian Ted Nicolaou Rosemarie Turko
Produced by	Charles Band
Written by	Allen Actor Dave Allen Charles Band John Carl Buechler Jeffery Byron Peter Manoogian Ted Nicolaou Rosemarie Turko
Starring	Jeffrey Byron Richard Moll Leslie Wing Phil Fondacaro Anthony T. Genova III Lonnie Hashimoto Chris Holmes Michael Steve Jones Peter Kent Blackie Lawless Paul Pape Randy Piper Randy Popplewell Tony Richards Felix Silla
Music by	Richard Band Shirley Walker
Cinematography	Mac Ahlberg
Release date(s)	1985
Running time	73 minutes
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Dungeonmaster, (originally, Ragewar: The Challenges of Excalibrate), is a 1985 low-budget sci-fi/fantasy movie starring Jeffrey Byron, Richard Moll and Leslie Wing. The movie is produced by Charles Band, and is split up into seven bizarre story segments, each written and directed by a different person: Dave Allen, Charles Band, John Carl Buechler, Steven Ford, Peter Manoogian, Ted Nicolaou, Rosemarie Turko. The movie's theme was influenced by the popularity of Disney's 1982 Tron. Principal filming began in 1983 but the film wasn't completed until 1985. The movie features an appearance by the heavy metal band W.A.S.P.

[edit] Plot

A computer programmer/enthusiast Paul Bradford (Jeffery Byron), and his girlfriend Gwen (Leslie Wing), get sucked into another world where a sorcerer named Mestema, known as "The Dungeonmaster" (Richard Moll), has them interact in seven different scenarios/riddles to see who can survive. They must figure out how to escape from each scenario. In most cases the riddle's solution involves zapping things with Bradford's wristband computer X-CaliBR8.

The movie begins with Paul, a skilled computer programmer who uses a neural interface he has developed to link his mind with his advanced home PC called X-CaliBR8. He uses X-CaliBR8 to scam money from ATM machines and do other tricks like change traffic lights. The computer has been given a female persona and a jealous Gwen thinks Paul has become more interested in his computer than her.

It appears that some dark intelligence has been observing Paul and Gwen's difficult relationship and pulls them both into a computer generated world. The being then puts Paul to the test to see if he is worthy of Gwen. If he wins the game, they will both be freed, but if he should lose, he forfeits Gwen's soul. Offered nothing more than a wrist-mounted version of his trusty computer X-CaliBR8, Paul has little choice but to accept the challenge.

Throughout the movie's various segments, Paul must avoid a rock-throwing giant and some evil dwarves, enter a "land of the dead" to destroy zombies, save Gwen from a murderous heavy-metal band during the making of a twisted music video, enter a strange world to fight ice people, battle a cave monster, save Gwen from a night-stalking serial killer, race against post-apocalyptic mutants in a road-warrior battle, then face Mestima for a final showdown to save Gwen.

[edit] Notable quotes

"I reject your reality and substitute my own!" ~ Paul Bradford. (This phrase is also featured on the television show Mythbusters as one of Adam Savage's most famous quotes.)

"There is no way to penetrate this barrier. It has the strength of a million souls. The power of the dead." ~ Dungeonmaster (this line was sampled by the industrial band Skinny Puppy in their song "Hexonxonx" off the album Rabies).