Movie Review: Dawn of the Dragonslayer

Dawn of the Dragonslayer a.k.a Paladin: Dawn of the Dragonslayer 

Arrowstorm Entertainment, Ireland, USA, 2011. 

Will Shepherd (Richard McWilliams) and his father Tom (Anthony Murphy) are sheep herders. Dragon is killing sheep so Will's father wants to send him to work as bondsman for Baron Sterling (British TV and film actor Ian Cullen) so that he can some day be knight. Will wants to find dragon's egg so they could be rich. During the search father is killed by dragon. Will wants revenge but father's friend Crow (Michael O'Flaherty) sends him to town. 

Will Shepherd

Father Tom

The filming locations are nice

Will meets Baron's daughter Kate Sterling (Nicola Posener) and they become friends. The Baron is poor and does not want to hire anyone but he accepts Will into the castle. The work is hard and other servants are disparaging and cruel. 

Kate Sterling

Knight Rogan Ap Cynan (Philip Brodie) visits the castle with reports of dragon attacks. Only mystic fire resistant Paladin can kill a dragon. Rogan needs a sparring partner, so Will will do. Rogan is a rather unpleasant fellow who humiliates Will. Kate and his aunt Lady Spriggs (Maggie Daniels) begin to help Will. Kate has also secret conjuring powers. Will and Kate fall in love but Rogan plans to marry Kate.

Baron Sterling

Rogan Ap Cynan

When dragon attacks the castle Will tries to attack it using Baron's heirloom sword. Sword is damaged and Will is sent away. Rogan begins to plot against Will, so only way Will can show his worth  is to find his inner hero and kill the dragon.

Kate knows resist fire spell

Will vs the dragon

This is like a fantasy version of "The Man from Snowy River." It is not so much of an action spectacle but a romantic drama, bit like  "Wuthering Heights" with dragons and magic. The romance of Will and Kate advances naturally and the pair must overcome difficult obstacles along the way. The character Lady Spriggs seems minor character at first but becomes important later. The special effects look nice and manage to overcome the budget limitations. Generally it does not have the usual cheap Aura of low budget fantasy movies, but looks more like a British perod drama.

There is a scene in the beginning with shaman making spells, but why it is never explained. I guess that was the guy who summoned the dragon in the first place. At least other Arrowstorm Entertainment films "The Crown and the Dragon" "SAGA - Curse of the Shadow" seem to take place in the same fantasy universe.

Filmed in Ireland, the beautiful scenery plays a large part. As a note the epic music is composed by Finnish composer Panu Aaltio.

Rating: Good

Starring:  Richard McWilliams, Nicola Posener, Philip Brodie, Ian Cullen, Maggie Daniels, Michael O'Flaherty, Anthony Murphy, Adam Johnson, Nick Devlin, Ciaran O'Grady, Lemuel Black, Louie Rodriguez
Director: Anne K. Black