MovieChat Forums > Krull (1983) Discussion > The slayer's weapon technology

The slayer's weapon technology


My original post disappeared long ago so I will rewrite it and update it too.

Does anyone wish to comment on the alien slayer's weapon technology? KRULL was a different kind of sci fi movie because it deliberately attempted to blend Dungeons & Dragons/Tolkien-like medieval world setting with science fiction technology. The Beast and his strange, composite creature slayers looked as if they were medieval-like yet invisibly used high tech technology such as faster-than-light space travel technology.

What is so odd is that the slayers used a weapon that was an odd mixture of old and new technology. Given their high-tech background, they could have done a lot better with repeating direct energy weapons. Instead, their energy pikes could only fire once and then the weapon was turned around to become an electrical sharp blade glave pike which stabbed and electrocuted at the same time. The weapon was only one-shot but was unbelievable lethal. One shot anywhere in the body's main torso was immediately lethal. Ken Marshall's character survived only because his shot was in the shoulder away from vital organs. But everybody else died instantly upon being hit by the energy bolt from the slayer's glave pikes. The energy bolt's lethality at a minimum matches a .357 magnum (72% stopping power) to that of a .44 magnum (81% stopping power)

The slayers themselves were really weird. There's the sense that these were not natural creatures but may have been bio-engineered constructs by the Beast himself, that is, articial beings. Whenever one of these slayers died, its cranium split open and a squid-like organism slithered out, behavior that is similar to many parasites when the host organism dies. It was really weird and gross to watch, but it was fun since it was so imaginative on the dark side.

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Great post. While somewhat dubious from a logic standpoint, this blending of sci-fi technology with a Medieval/High Fantasy aesthetic and culture gives Krull a really unique feel. Not unlike the animated MOTU series/toy line did that same year.

'Cause there's thunder in your heart... every move is like lightning!

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The fired bit is a spike that gets shot out of the sword so it's very much a one-shot technology (you can see them before they're fired in some shots, after firing the Slayer turns the sword around and uses it normally).

My interpretation of it is that there's no significant technology involved but instead magic is being used to do some of the things that technology does usually does.

The Slayers themselves were definitely an interesting idea, it's a pity that more wasn't made of them. There's probably some relationship between them and the shapeshifter that killed the seer, which also makes similar (but much more drawn-out) noises and buries into the ground.

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Well, it's a fantasy. You're not really supposed to dissect the science and technology as such, but accept the visuals and story being conveyed.

But, having said all that, one of the things that struck me as being really odd were the slayers high-tech, yet almost inept use of, their high tech weapons. That, and their weapons were a one shot deal until they got into hand to hand range.

It just seemed like a lot of hokum, even for a fantasy film. And that's why I never really bought into the film.

Krull had lots of moments of brilliance. It's exceptionally well shot, but the universe they tried to create is never fully realized because of the details that were glossed over.

The film makers really wanted to make a medieval fantasy Star Wars, but couldn't make it stick because the fictional styles were colliding, resulting in the Slayers odd weapons, the odd limited use of the glave, and just the whole film in general.

If I had shot it I would have made the slayers fast moving fantasy warriors that were given high tech weapons to terrorize Krull's population. I would have made it plausible, and turn the Slayers into Pete-Jackson versions of orc/goblins, instead of the very slow and nearly stagnant Sloyers you see in the movie, who are also wearing sexed up high-middle ages full plate armor.

It was almost a great film.

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Even though the slayers' one-shot, plasma bolt weapon/electrified short pike could be disappointing with its one-shot deal, it nonetheless was intriguing. Perhaps that was the extent of the technology the Beast was capable of, after all, his spaceship was capable of faster-than-light travel.

Recall my earlier post that the gross-out slayer deaths probably pointed to an unnatural nature possibly deriving from an artifically-created being.

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