It's not so much swords and sorcery as rubber rapiers and woeful witchcraft in this banal Arthurian fantasy that sees good brother John Terry battle with bad brother Jack Palance for possession of a mystic blade. Gimmicky direction by Terry Marcel can't hide the low budget of this production, though Palance - once described by the late Dilys Powell as having the face of King Cobra - hisses and vows vengeance as though he were in a movie worthy of his venomous talents. It's about as far removed from Excalibur as you can get.

Hawk the Slayer, after seeing both his father and bride die at the hands of his malevolent brother, Voltan, sets out for revenge and the chance to live up to his title. Tooling himself up with the "mind-sword" and recruiting a motley band of warriors — a giant, a dwarf, a one-armed man with a machine-crossbow, and an elf with the fastest bow in the land — Hawk leads the battle against Voltan to free the land from the forces of evil and avenge his loved ones.