When he wasn't trotting zombies and punctured eyeballs across the screen around the turn of the '80s in such favorites as Zombie and House by the Cemetery, director Lucio Fulci bestowed his gory genius on such other less obvious genres like gangster films (Contraband), science fiction (The New Gladiators), and perhaps the maddest achievements in a career studded with loopy tangents, Conquest. Ostensibly meant to cash in on such high-profile studio efforts as Conan the Barbarian and Quest for Fire, this Italian/Spanish sword-and-sandal concoction throws in some anachronistic sci-fi touches to create a sort of hi-tech/prehistoric mush not unlike the later Japanese cult item Zipang but without that latter film's sense of plot, character, or competent cinematography.
The closest thing in the Fulci filmography to a Cannon film, Conquest tosses in loads of nudity, gore, tacky special effects, furry outfits, and wonky plot twists (including a surprisingly grim third act); however, pokey pacing and impossibly murky photography sabotage much of the fun. If you want to simulate the feeling of wearing contact lenses two months past their removal date, here's your film; only Lars Von Trier's The Element of Crime, The Blair Witch Project, and The Bourne Supremacy can rival this film for such a headache-inducing visual experience. Euro horror fans might perk up at seeing Claudio Simonetti's name in the credits as the composer, but the electronic dirges used here aren't exactly his most gripping work. Of the cast, Occhipinti will be the most familiar face thanks to his work (sometimes as "Andrew Painter"in such titles as A Blade in the Dark, Fulci's New York Ripper, Tinto Brass' Miranda, and most memorably as a honey-smeared lothario in the notorious Bolero, but here he's stuck with a bad hairstyle and a dippy character who spends most of the running time amusingly mooning over his bearded compatriot. As Fulci was never one to shy away from using an identical gore effect twice (see Don¿t Torture a Duckling and The Psychic), his fans will also note that this film's most memorable highlight -- a young woman gorily "wishboned" -- was later recycled to much tackier effect in Demonia.
In short, this film has negligible aesthetic value but will amuse die hard Fulciphiles eager to see how far off the rails the Maestro could possibly go during the most distinguished period of his career. Barely released in theaters, Conquest assaulted most viewers on home video either through a blurry, unwatchable, cropped VHS edition from Media (with most of the gore scenes blurred or framed off-camera) or a mediocre but improved Japanese edition preserving the original aspect ratio. As with Fulci's Contraband, City of the Living Dead, and Four of the Apocalypse, this would have been an ideal candidate to be filmed in scope but was shot flat for some inexplicable reason. Significantly, Sergio Salvati (Fulci's best cameraman) sat this one out, and his presence is sorely missed. Presumably the near-constant diffused lighting, overactive fog machine, and billowing clouds of dust were intended to create a mystical atmosphere; at times the film does pull out a striking visual or two, but for the most part it's a quite the eyesore. At least Blue Underground used the best encoding possible to prevent this from turning into an artifact-riddled nightmare, and the results are amazing for such a problematic film. Home theater perfectionists will blanch at the film itself, but it¿s doubtful a better job could possibly be done with the original elements. The original stereo mix is presented in fine condition, considering the gurgling music often overwhelms the dialogue and sound effects for no discernible reason. A battered U.S. trailer, a pristine (and fairly explicit, spoiler-laden) European trailer, a Fulci bio, and a nice stills gallery comprise this modest presentation, pretty much on par with most of the past Fulci editions from Blue Underground and Anchor Bay.
For more information about Conquest, visit Blue Underground. To order Conquest, go to TCM Shopping.
by Nathaniel Thompson
