Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy
Director: Lexi Alexander
Writer: Roy Horne
Based on characters created by Roy Thomas and Robert E. Howard
Sequel to Red Sonja
Cast: Karen Gillan, Rodrigo Santoro, Rosa Salazar, Michael Wincott, Florian Munteanu, Wyatt Oleff, Tony Revolori, Solomon Hughes, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Eric Roberts, Mark Margolis, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Zach McGowan
Plot: In the royal palace of the city of Turan, Conan (Zach McGowan) and Sonja (Karen Gillan) sit upon the thrones that once belonged to Queen Gedren and King Bazrat, watching as the dismembered bodies of the royal guards are taken out of the palace and burned in the courtyard. Conan asks Sonja how it feels to have gotten her revenge. She responds that it doesn’t quite feel complete to her. Conan sighs and says he knows how that feels. He then hands her a sword and tells her to find a way to make it feel complete. Sonja nods and rises from the throne, sword in hand.
Sonja rides her horse out into the desert toward a small city surrounded by a stone wall. Once within the walls of the city, she asks around to find a fortune teller. The townspeople keep pointing down the street toward a small tent. Sonja enters the tent where she finds Vammatar (Shohreh Aghdashloo) looking into her crystal ball. Vammatar tells Sonja that she knew she would come for her sooner or later. Sonja asks why Vammatar hasn’t tried to use her sorcery to stop her from doing what she intends to do. Vammatar says that she knows that no amount of running, hiding or fighting would ever quench Sonja’s thirst for revenge. Besides, she adds, the crystal ball has already shown her fate and she has chosen to accept it. Vammatar closes her eyes as Sonja pulls out her sword and cuts Vammatar’s head off in one fell swoop.
In a mountain fortress, sorcerer Kulan Gath (Michael Wincott) looks over an ancient tome until he finds the text he is searching for. Ryshak (Florian Munteanu), a brutal marauder who worships Gath, enters the chamber and kneels before Gath. Gath holds out his hand and Ryshak kisses his ring before rising. Gath tells Ryshak that he must bring him Prince Galiad of Valusia. Ryshak agrees and begins to get himself ready. Gath stops Ryshak and instructs him not to eat or even kill the prince - Galiad’s living presence is required if his plan is to work.
In the forests outside of Valusia, Prince Galiad (Wyatt Oleff) is taking part in a hunting expedition with his bodyguard, Bultan (Solomon Hughes). Galiad grabs a bow and arrow and takes aim at a large bird in the distance. Galiad’s shot misses by a long shot. Bultan grabs the bow and shows Galiad once again how to properly fire an arrow, easily striking down the same bird Galiad had missed. Suddenly, Bultan is hit in the shoulder with an arrow, knocking him off his horse. Bultan hits his head in the fall, rendering him unconscious. Ryshak and his group of vicious marauders brutally murder the rest of the guards. Ryshak grabs the prince and drags him into a caged wagon while the other marauders begin chopping up the guards for meat. Ryshak whistles at them, reminding them that they have already captured a young woman they can eat that night back at their camp in the desert. The group then leaves the forest toward the desert.
Sonja is riding through the desert at night when she notices a camp fire off in the distance. She approaches with caution. That is until she hears a woman scream. Sonja then draws her sword and rushes toward the camp. She finds Ryshak’s marauders roasting a woman’s arm over the fire. She quickly kills the men manning the meat. She then spots her former fellow slave girl, Anissia (Rosa Salazar), in a cage with her left arm missing and blood seeping from the amputation wound. She frees Anissia from her cage and asks her what happened. Anissia explains to Sonja that she was captured by the cannibal marauders. They amputated her arm to eat for dinner. They offered her some as well, but she would rather starve to death than eat her own flesh. They find a fresh wagon trail leading to the east. Sonja asks Anissia where the nearest civilization is and Anissia points to the west toward Valusia. Sonja then notices that Anissia’s arm is still bleeding badly. Sonja holds her sword over the campfire until it is red with heat, she then presses her sword against Anissia’s arm, cauterizing the wound. Anissia screams in agony before passing out from the pain.
Bultan makes it back to Valusia and gets down before King Mandrax (Eric Roberts), begging for forgiveness for his failure to protect his youngest son, Galiad. Mandrax tells Bultan that all will be forgiven if Bultan rescues Galiad and makes the kidnappers suffer. Sonja and Anissia soon arrive in the city where they are quickly cornered by the guards and brought before Mandrax in the castle while he is still discussing matters with Bultan. Mandrax notices Sonja’s sword, still wet with marauder blood, and asks if she is a warrior. She nods. Mandrax informs them that his son, the prince, has been captured by marauders. Anissia mentions that she was held prisoner by the same men who took the prince. Mandrax promises them all the riches his kingdom has to offer if they can retrieve his son alongside Bultan. Anissia is nervous, but Sonja agrees. At sunrise, Sonja, Anissia and Bultan ride out of Valusia, heading east to pick up Ryshak’s wagon tracks again.
Kulan Gath prepares his fortress for a ritual while his followers all pray to him. Gath explains that he will transport his consciousness into the body of Prince Galiad. In that form he will be able to first take over Valusia, then the region, and eventually the entire known world as its divine ruler. He proclaims that when his plan has come to fruition, all will bow down before the all-mighty, all-powerful Kulan Gath. His followers begin chanting his name.
As Sonja, Anissia and Bultan head east after the prince’s kidnappers, Sonja looks behind them and tells the others that they are being followed. Bultan pulls out a spyglass and confirms Sonja’s suspicions. The trio hide and wait for their followers to catch up before ambushing them. The leader of the two introduces himself as Lord Kalidor (Rodrigo Santoro) and his companion as Ascalante (Tony Revolori), his loyal servant. Sonja asks why they were following them. Kalidor explains that he heard about what happened to Prince Galiad and wants to offer his services as a nobleman to help return the prince to Valusia. Bultan scoffs at Kalidor, suggesting he and his servant just want a piece of the reward. Kalidor assures Bultan that he has his own riches, digging into a bag and pulling out a handful of golden jewelry and gems, and simply wants to help. Sonja draws her sword and asks to see how Kalidor fights before making a decision. Kalidor gracefully dismounts his horse, drawing his ax immediately as his feet touch the ground. The two spar, with Kalidor showing enough skill - and plenty of flair - for Sonja to agree to allow Kalidor and Ascalante to tag along on their mission.
Ryshak leads the wagon pulling the caged Prince Galiad, who complains to Ryshak that he is starving. They soon come across a camel herder. Ryshak proceeds to murder the herder and cook him over a small fire. He tosses a piece to Galiad, who begrudgingly eats some. Ryshak tells Galiad that he’s lucky Kulan Gath has requested him alive or Galiad would have been tonight’s dinner instead of the camel herder.
The group comes to a forest at the edge of the desert. Ascalante mentions that it is the forest of the Black Ones and they should go around. Sonja asks what the Black Ones are, and Ascalante tells of a legend that the forest is haunted by black specters that turn trespassers into nothing but a pile of bones. Kalidor suggests they heed Ascalante’s warnings, but Bultan insists he is spouting fairy tales and that they must go through the forest in order to rescue Galiad. The horses run away, leaving the group to continue their journey on foot. Bultan then trudges ahead into the woods by himself. The rest of the group looks at each other before deciding to follow him. As they walk through the dark woods, they begin to find pools of black water around them and begin to hear a strange whistle. Ascalante says that is the sound of the flutes of the Black Ones. Bultan laughs at the idea of specters playing a flute, instead suggesting it is simply the sound of the wind through the trees. Before long though, the Black Ones appear and surround the group, staring at them with their glowing white eyes. Bultan lights a torch and waves it at the Black Ones with one arm, while attacking them with his sword in the other. His blade slices right through them without causing any damage. Sonja and Kalidor wield their swords as well. Bultan tells them to run while he holds off the Black Ones. Sonja asks if he is sure, and Bultan simply makes her promise that she will rescue Galiad. Sonja promises. Sonja, Kalidor, Anissia and Ascalante then run as fast as they can toward the end of the forest. Bultan sets his sword on fire and uses it to combat the Black Ones. The fire does cause some damage to them, but soon more of the specters arrive. They grab him by each limb and their touch slowly dissolves his body, leaving behind just a lifeless skeleton.
Sonja, Kalidor, Ascalante and Anissia reach the end of the forest and find themselves in a dust storm across an arid landscape. They keep moving against the storm, struggling until they notice a light in the horizon. They trek toward the light and find a monastery. The monastery’s Elder Monk (Mark Margolis) turns the group away though when he sees their weapons. They plead for shelter from the storm, informing the monks that they are just trying to save Prince Galiad of Valusia from kidnappers. Hearing their plea, a young monk named Henrick (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) sneaks them into the monastery and takes them to his living quarters. He does make one request of them in order to stay the night and wait out the storm: they must confess their sins to him. Anissia tells Henrick that she has stolen to survive and sex many times against her will. Henrick cuts her off and tells her that those are actions thrust upon her or against her will, so they are not actually sins. Ascalante tells Henrick that he has stolen repeatedly over the years. Henrick encourages Ascalante to try to not steal out of greed or wealth accumulation. Sonja describes in graphic details some of the many she has killed over the years. Henrick asks if those she killed were evil. Sonja says that she believes that they all were. Henrick tells her that is okay then, she just shouldn’t kill anyone pure of evil. Henrick then turns to Kalidor, who does not seem eager to confess anything. Henrick prods him until Kalidor finally begins to confess. His name is not really Kalidor, he is not really a noble man - everything he’s told the others has been a lie. He then informs everyone that his real name is Kull. He was banished from his home city after not allowing a general he served under torture an innocent woman. Since the banishment many years earlier he has wandered the continent stealing and conning his way through life. Henrick asks if that is everything. Kull says it is not, adding that he and Ascalante only sought to help retrieve the prince in order to get a share of the large reward King Mandrax has offered. Henrick asks to see Sonja’s sword and Kalidor’s ax. Henrick gives the two weapons a blessing that he says will help protect their wielders from Kulan Gath’s evil sorcery.
In the middle of the night, Sonja wanders away from Henrick’s quarters and into the monastery’s temple. She sits on a bench and stares at the idols. She is soon joined by Kalidor who sits down beside her. She tells him that her village had a church like this when she was young, but she no longer can remember what or who they worshiped. Kalidor explains that the church they are in was built to worship Mitra, known as the kindest of the gods who desires mercy rather than vengeance. Sonja comments that he doesn’t sound like her kind of deity. Kalidor asks Sonja if she was bothered by his confession earlier. She replies that she actually found it brave. Kalidor passionately kisses Sonja. The two then spend the night making love on the floor as the statue of Mitra watches on. When the sun rises, the storm has passed. The Elder Monk finds Sonja and Kalidor naked on the floor of the temple and angrily chases them out. The furious yelling of the Elder Monk awakens the others. Anissia and Ascalante quickly gather their things and thank Henrick for his hospitality. Henrick points toward a nearby mountain range and informs them that Kulan Gath and his followers reside in a cave system along the base of the mountains. Sonja, Kalidor, Anissia and Ascalante leave the monastery and walk toward the mountains as they can still hear the Elder Monk cursing them off in the distance.
Ryshak arrives at Gath’s mountain fortress with Prince Galiad in tow. The Gath followers hungrily look at Galiad, but Gath emerges from his chambers and sternly tells his followers that the prince is not food, but rather his next bodily vessel. Gath commends Ryshak on his restraint in not eating the young prince. Ryshak frees Galiad from the cage, but the captive prince does not run. He merely looks at Gath and asks how he may serve him. Gath smiles and welcomes Galiad into his chambers, leaving all of the followers outside. Through eating the flesh of the camel herder, Galiad has become easily susceptible to Gath’s persuasion and follows every command the sorcerer gives him. Gath tells Galiad to lay on an ancient marble slab and restrain himself onto it, and Galiad does as Gath says.
Sonja, Kalidor, Anissia and Ascalante make it to the gates of Gath’s fortress, but find it looking deserted. As they cautiously walk deeper into the mountains, Gath’s followers begin hurling themselves off high points of the mountains toward the heroes like human cannonballs. The followers’ bodies hit the earth with hard thuds all around them, dying on impact. The heroes run deeper until they find the entrance to the cave system. They eventually find Ryshak waiting for them. Kalidor steps forward holding his ax. He tells the others to go ahead and find the prince while he turns this cannibal into a corpse. Ryshak pulls two shortswords made from human bones and leaps toward Kalidor.
Sonja, Anissia and Ascalante continue down the caverns until they find Kulan Gath’s chambers where they find the sorcerer in the process of removing Prince Galiad’s soul. Sonja tells Anissia and Ascalante to free Galiad and get out of the fortress. Gath fires a magical energy blast at Sonja, but she uses her blessed sword to deflect the blast back at him, sending Gath stumbling into the stone walls. Anissia and Ascalante free Galiad from his bounds, but he doesn’t move off of the slab. Gath laughs, telling them that Galiad ate human flesh, making him a follower. Anissia and Ascalante grab Galiad and forcibly carry him out of the chambers away from Sonja’s fight. They continue down the caves until they come across Kalidor and Ryshak still fighting. Kalidor manages to disarm Ryshak with his ax. Kalidor then swings his ax at the defenseless Ryshak, slicing his body in half at the waist. But Ryshak keeps moving, using his arms to crawl towards him. Kalidor then slices off each of Ryshak’s arms, but his head and torso still wriggle toward him while Anissia and Ascalante look on in disgust. Ryshak then cuts off Ryshak’s head, but Ryshak's mouth begins chomping at Kalidor, trying to bite him. Now more annoyed than disturbed, Kalidor grabs a large stone and proceeds to crush Ryshak’s head with it until there is nothing left. Anissia and Ascalante continue toward the exit while Kalidor tells them he is going to go see if Sonja needs any help.
Kulan Gath sends objects flying at Sonja, but she ducks and dodges as she moves closer to Gath. She finally gets close enough to swing her sword at him. She nicks his throat and blood begins shooting out from the wound. Gath uses his powers to animate a sword from his blood. He swings his giant blood sword at her. She blocks it with her sword, but Gath’s blood splatters all over her. He reaches out and controls the blood covering Sonja, lifting her off of the ground. Kalidor suddenly emerges and cuts Gath’s arm off. Sonja falls back down to the ground. Sonja stabs Gath in the heart with her sword. When she withdraws, Gath’s heart is stuck to her sword, still beating. She pulls Gath’s heart off her sword and it continues to beat in her hand. She drops it onto the ground and stomps on it until the beating finally ceases. Sonja and Kalidor make their way out of the caves and join the others outside.
The group begins their long trek back to Valusia with the barely aware Galiad in tow. Ascalante recommends that they avoid the forest of the Black Ones this time around. When they finally make it back to Valusia, they present King Mandrax with Prince Galiad, who is still not back to normal after Kulan Gath removed part of his soul. Kalidor and Ascalante ask the king about the reward. King Mandrax lashes out at them, yelling that the reward was for the safe return of his son. He points to Galiad, saying that he is just a shell of what used to be his son. Mandrax tosses them a small bag of gold and tells the group to leave his city at once. Sonja, Kalidor, Anissia and Asclante ride on horseback away from the city of Valusia, and into the unknown future…
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