Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back

Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back is a 1989 Mexican/American fantasy adventure film directed by Joe Finley and written by Howard R. Cohen and Lance Smith. It stars Lana Clarkson in the titular role. It was billed as a sequel to the 1985 cult classic film Barbarian Queen, which also starred Clarkson, although the plot and characters bear no relation to the earlier film. Unlike the original, this film was released direct-to-video.

Plot Summary

Athalia (Clarkson) is a proud and beautiful princess in a troubled realm. One day, news reaches her that her father, the king, has disappeared in battle and is presumed dead. Athalia's treacherous brother Ankaris, aided by his sadistic second-in-command Hofrax, wastes no time in claiming the crown (and the magic scepter which is the source of the kingdom's power) for himself, much to Athalia's protests. He has Athalia sentenced to death by hanging unless she reveals the magic spell of the scepter to him.

Athelia escapes and flees to the countryside, where she encounters a group of all-female rebels. After defeating their leader in hand-to-hand combat that leaves both women covered in mud and nearly naked, Athalia gains their trust and begins building an army to overthrow her brother. She proves herself a capable leader, and more than a match for any man in battle.

As the rebel army's successes grow, Ankaris and Hofrax become more alarmed. Hofrax devises a trap for Athalia, drawing her out into the open by threatening to execute innocent peasants in the castle courtyard. Although Athalia successfully assaults the castle and valiantly slays many enemy soldiers, she is finally overpowered and captured on a rampart, where her all-woman army is unable to aid her.

Having earlier been humiliated by Athalia, the revenge-minded Hofrax decides to repay her by stripping her topless and then stretching her on a torture rack. Tamis, Ankaris' daughter (played by then-14 year-old Mexican child actress Cecilia Tijerina), enters the chamber to observe Athalia's torture. Having always been jealous of Athalia for her beauty, she smiles with glee as her bare-chested blond rival's screams of agony echo through the dungeon. It is thus that Athalia learns that Tamis enjoys torturing her subjects and has plans to become queen once Athalia is dead. In a bid to break Athalia, and to demonstrate the rack's capabilities to Tamis, Hofrax tilts the rack's table forward, suspending Athalia over a bed of spikes. He then leaves her there to contemplate her fate; her large bare breasts hanging precariously over the pointed tips beneath her.

Alone in the dungeon, Athalia manages to work her hands loose and escape from the rack (surprisingly without impaling herself on the spikes beneath her), and flees to the guarded chamber where the scepter is stored. She is soon recaptured when she refuses to utter the spell necessary to work the scepter's magic power. Because she won't use the scepter's magic to save herself (since using the power will result in the king dying in the off chance he is still alive), Ankaris knows that she will never surrender it to him, and she is condemned to a slow death by torture at the hands of Hofrax. It is later revealed that the king was in fact already dead, so Athalia's sacrifice was for naught.

When we next see Athalia, she has been stripped completely naked and stretched taut on the torture rack. Hofrax gloats over the helpless nude heroine, who grimaces in agony and moans in her bonds as Hofrax gleefully tells her that she is being tortured to death. The once-mighty warrior princess is now utterly humiliated and broken after days of excruciating torture; her demeanor transformed from haughty defiance to whimpering submissiveness. Resigned to her fate, she nonetheless thrusts out her bare breasts in a final act of defiance and gasps at Hofrax that someday someone else will take her place and defeat him.

Reaction

Whereas this film's predecessor Barbarian Queen was able to benefit from the publicity of the successful big-budget Conan film and get some play in discount movie theaters, Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back was not so fortunate. The movie was released straight to video/DVD and never generated much attention within the sword and sandal genre.

Lana Clarkson had established herself as a capable sword and sandal character actress, and the big-breasted blonde's bombshell attractiveness was at its peak. Unfortunately the genre she was so closely associated with had run its course. While she would later work in smaller offerings, this would be the then 27-year-old Clarkson's last role as a sword-wielding heroine.

Cecilia Tijerina, who was only 14 years old at the time of the film's making, turned in a capable performance as the bratty young daughter. She would later go on to perform in Mexican and Mexican-American films supplemented by guest appearances in Mexican television shows.

Release

Whereas this film's predecessor Barbarian Queen was able to benefit from the publicity of the successful big-budget film Conan the Barbarian, and was released to some discount movie theaters, Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back was released straight to video and DVD.

External links

• Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back at the Internet Movie Database