While working on 1988’s Mutant War, a cast member asked director Brett Piper if they could produce a film together. Piper agreed so long as the actor could raise the money, which they did, so the two started brainstorming. They adapted a script Piper had written years earlier called Dark Sun, which they retitled The Dark Fortress. Piper drew inspiration from classic adventure films, most notably ones that featured effects from legendary stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen. The movie was shot in and around New Hampshire and Massachusetts with a tiny budget. During production, Piper remembered a conversation with a distributor, who suggested minimal dialogue would make the film more commercially appealing. After filming wrapped, Troma was interested in distributing the movie, but negotiations stalled until both parties agreed. Troma recut the film, shot a new opening, and retitled it A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell.
%
Rating
Synopsis
After a nuclear armageddon ravages the land, the earth is filled with radioactive mutants and long-dormant dinosaurs. Among those not affected by the radiation is the young nymphoid Lea (Linda Corwin), who is searching for a home. One day, she gets attacked by some barbarians until a local named Marn (Paul Guzzi) saves her just in time. They fall in love and spend the day at the beach when they attract the attention of Clon (Alex Pirnie). With his group of reptilian henchmen, he bests Marn in battle and kidnaps Lea for his nefarious purposes. Marn is nursed back to health by an old man (Al Hodder), who gives him a pistol to fight Clon. While Marn rushes to save Lea, she manages to escape, only to face other mutants and monsters before being recaptured. Will Lea survive or die as a nymphoid barbarian in dinosaur hell?
Review
With a title like A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell, you’d expect a fun, if dumb, sci-fi B-movie. Sadly, the movie doesn’t live up to its ridiculous title and poster but instead is a dull excuse for entertainment. Granted, Troma has a history of retitling their films to make them sound more exciting than they actually are. To his credit, writer/director Brett Piper wanted to make a low-budget Ray Harryhausen-style movie, and he did it. The occasional stop-motion dinosaur/creature is a treat, even if it’s not the best-looking stop-motion I’ve seen. Also, the costumes and variety of monsters are impressive, given the limited budget, so kudos to the filmmakers there. It’s a shame that more work was put into these aspects than the script, the acting, and the pacing. Again, I wasn’t expecting much, but I didn’t expect this.
As mentioned in my introduction, Piper intentionally included minimal dialogue to reach potential overseas markets. Sometimes, having very little conversation can work if the film’s visuals and pacing are handled well. Sadly, the visuals are about what you’d expect from this budget, and the pacing is beyond glacial. To emphasize this, I had to rewind the movie at least two or three times to remember what happened. The movie clocks in at 82 minutes, but the sluggish pacing makes it feel like the longest 82 minutes ever. There’s nothing to say about the acting since hardly anyone talks, and when they do, it’s okay but nothing special. While it’d be easy to lambast Brett Piper for making such a dull movie, I blame Troma for misrepresenting it. Overall, A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell is too dull of a movie to have such a hilariously awesome title.
Buy A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell from Amazon: https://amzn.to/45tucsr.
Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link, which means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
