The Devil's Sword – Terror Vision (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Indonesia, 1984
Director: Ratno Timoer
Writer: Imam Tantowi
Cast: Barry Prima, Gudi Sintara, Advent Bangun, Enny Christina, Rita Zahara, Kusno Sudjarwadi, Kandar Sinyo

Release Date: July 8th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 101 Minutes 19 seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Indonesian, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $27.99

"A legendary warrior embarks on a deadly quest to retrieve the cursed Devil’s Sword, a mystical weapon with dark powers capable of unleashing unimaginable destruction. When the sword falls into the wrong hands, chaos and bloodshed follow. Now, it’s up to our hero to confront an army of evil warriors, deadly assassins, and supernatural creatures in a battle for the fate of the world." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Terror Vision is thrilled to bring this film featuring iconic performances, gnarly choreography, and crocodile men to Blu-ray for the very first time in the world with stunning 2K restoration."

The Devil's Sword comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 36.9 GB

Feature: 29.1 GB

The bulk of this transfer looks excellent; that said, there are still some instances of minor source damage. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity and compression are solid, and black levels fare well.

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono Indonesian), 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Indonesian and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Both audio tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced. That said, the Indonesian-language track sounds more robust than the English audio track. Included are removable English subtitles for the Indonesian language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a making-of featurette titled Reflections on The Devil’s Sword, featuring comments by actor Barry Prima, actress Gudi Sintara and producer Gope Samtani (13 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Indonesian with non-removable English subtitles), a video essay by Brad Dillard and Clayton Dillard titled Finding Meaning in The Devil’s Sword (12 minutes 30 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Indonesian film clips), an audio commentary with author and designer Tim Paxton; and a slipcover (limited to 1,000 copies).

Summary:

A meteorite crashes on Earth from the heavens above. A wizard makes a magical sword out of materials taken from this mysterious meteor. Flash forward many years later, there is a horny crocodile queen who lusts after this magical sword more than she ever lusted after any man. She assembles a group of evildoers to locate the sword, retrieve it from its secret hiding place, and return it to her. Mandala is forced to go on a quest for the magical Devil’s Sword when a former pupil nearly kills his master. Along the way he teams up with a woman who seeks revenge against the crocodile queen who stole her man. Are the cards stacked against Mandala, or will he be able to defeat the evil crocodile queen and save mankind?

The Devil’s Sword, like so many 1980s Indonesian films, is a melting pot of genres; it’s got action, fantasy, and some melodrama thrown in for good measure. While much of The Devil’s Sword is rooted in Indonesian culture, it’s clear that American sword and sorcery films from the early 1980s influence it. Whether intentional or not, there are Ray Harryhausen-like things in The Devil’s Sword, notably a cyclops monster.

Despite its overreliance on action, The Devil’s Sword’s narrative is surprisingly fleshed out and cohesive. When it comes to pacing, things move quickly, rarely giving you a chance to think about what the hell just happened. The only area where the narrative feels padded is in its numerous scenes where the crocodile queen makes love. When compared to other films with these types of scenes, they are tame; these are best described as dry humping.

The main draw for most who are familiar with 1980s Indonesian cinema is Barry Prima (The Warrior) in the role of the hero, a warrior named Mandala. Anyone who’s seen any of Barry Prima’s other films knows what to expect; his performances are overflowing with machismo. The other performance of note is Gudi Sintara (Escape from Hellhole) in the role of the alluring, oversexed crocodile queen.

The wild and unpredictable world of 1980s Indonesian cinema had a truly anything-goes vibe, and The Devil’s Sword embraces this spirit wholeheartedly. This film leans heavily on fantastical elements, many of which defy both logic and, at times, even the laws of gravity. Instead of trying to make sense of what's happening, it is best to go along for the ride and not take the film too seriously. The action sequences are where The Devil’s Sword shines brightest, while its special effects are laughably awful. Ultimately, The Devil’s Sword offers nearly everything an exploitation fan could desire, including decapitations, sword fights, magic, laser beams, a cyclops, crocodile men, and a nympho crocodile queen.

The Devil's Sword gets an exceptional release from Mondo Macabro that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and informative extras; highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer