| Doctor Mordrid | |
|---|---|
_poster.jpg) Promotional release poster | |
| Directed by | Albert Band Charles Band |
| Written by | C. Courtney Joyner |
| Produced by | Charles Band |
| Starring | Jeffrey Combs Jay Acovone Brian Thompson Yvette Nipar |
| Cinematography | Adolfo Bartoli |
| Edited by | Lauren A. Schaffer |
| Music by | Richard Band |
| Distributed by | Full Moon Entertainment Paramount Home Video |
Release date |
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Running time | 74 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Doctor Mordrid is a 1992 Americansuperhero film directed byAlbert andCharles Band, and starringJeffrey Combs. The film was originally intended to be an adaptation ofMarvel Comics'Doctor Strange, but the studio's rights expired during pre-production. Full Moon elected to still produce the movie, with the character renamed, and enough other changes made to avoid a lawsuit.[1]
Anton Mordrid is a wizard sent to Earth by a being called the Monitor, to stop the evil wizard Kabal from opening the gate to Hell. Kabal needs thephilosopher's stone and several alchemical elements to complete the spell and open the gate, unleashing his minions from theFourth Dimension upon the Earth. Mordrid watches for signs of Kabal's presence for 150 years; as the time of their epic battle approaches, Mordrid assumes the role of a criminal psychologist, and becomes the mysterious landlord to Samantha Hunt, a research consultant to the police.
Dr. Mordrid detects a series of thefts of the elements that Kabal is seeking, and Mordrid begins to search for his nemesis. Samantha is persistent in her attempts to penetrate Mordrid's secretive life. The battle for Earth spills over into the Magic Dimension where the gate is closely guarded by other good wizards. They are no match for Kabal, who defeats all but one of them. This survivor confirms Kabal's plans for Mordrid, and Mordrid returns to Earth to prepare his defenses. When Mordrid is arrested for murder, Samantha attempts to help prove his innocence. Mordrid reveals his true nature and his mission to her, and she agrees to help him escape.
In the final showdown, Kabal and Mordrid do battle within the Cosmopolitan Museum with Kabal animating theTyrannosaurus skeleton on display to threaten several police officers while he opens the portals to his demonic realm. Mordrid animates a nearbymastodon skeleton to battle the dinosaur while he deals with Kabal. Using his wits and his magical power, Mordrid narrowly manages to vanquish Kabal by having the mastodon impale him on its tusk while he's distracted, preventing the destruction of reality as we know it. His mission accomplished, Mordrid is called by The Monitor to cross over once again into the Magic Dimension and leave the Earth behind. Later that year on Christmas, he returns to Earth and spends time with Samantha, inviting her to come with him should he be called away again.
The film was produced byCharles Band and co-directed by Band and his father,Albert Band. It was written byC. Courtney Joyner and released byFull Moon Features.[2] The Bands, which previously made successful B-films such asRobot Jox andRe-Animator, had used their influence to get a license to produce aDoctor Strange film fromMarvel Entertainment.[3] Pre-production took long enough that by the start of production, the Bands had lost the license. Rather than scrap what they had done, they rebranded the film asDoctor Mordrid and made changes to the plot to avoid the copyright problems withDoctor Strange.[2]
Some sources claim the movie was never intended to be based on Doctor Strange.[4][better source needed] The main character was reportedly going to be called "Doctor Mortalis" whenEmpire International Pictures had the project,[5][better source needed] and concept art was created byJack Kirby.[6]
Doctor Mordrid was released direct to video on VHS in 1992. The film received a DVD release in 2012.[7] The film was released on Blu-ray for the first time in 2014.[8] In 2017, a collector’s edition steelbook was released exclusively in Germany, including both Blu-ray and DVD copies of the film along with new bonus features.[9][10]
The film was featured on Season 13 of the cult TV seriesMystery Science Theater 3000 on June 10, 2022.[11]
Two sequels were planned forDoctor Mordrid, titledDoctor Mordrid II: Crystal Hell andDoctor Mordrid III: Shadow Queen. Reportedly, both films were scrapped after Full Moon Features ended its distribution deal with Paramount Pictures in 1995.[12]
Dr Mordrid appears in the third issue ofDollman Kills the Full Moon Universe, a crossover comic featuring Brick Bardo fromDollman tracking down different Full Moon monsters and villains to kill, published by Full Moon Comix in 2018.
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