While Red Sonja was probably the best (and that isn't saying much) and definitely the highest profile of the many barbarian woman movies, Barbarian Queen is far and away the sleaziest. Packing its epic 76-minute running time (an R-rated version runs a scant 70 minutes) with wall-to-wall nudity and seemingly nonstop rape that doesn't seem to upset any of the victims all that much, this is certainly an example of what the genre could get away with in an era before sensitivity to such an issue was heightened. On top of all that, it's just a silly film.

Our adventure begins by setting the stage for the bulk of what is to come: a bunch of black-clad ruffians rip the clothes off a woman and rape her. They then stage a raid on a local village for no reason other than to fulfill the requirement that all sword and sorcery films open with scenes of brigands pillaging a village and slaughtering the inhabitants. This disrupts the wedding plans of one Amethea (Lana Clarkson, who also starred in the first Deathstalker film, also written by Howard Cohen, who wrote the script for this movie as well), which results in her and her bridesmaids kicking serious male tail.

From there it's pretty by-the-numbers adventure as Amethea gathers together a band of women warriors who must all disrobe at some point on their quest to infiltrate the fortress of the evil king, free the enslaved masses, and give us the opportunity for at least one requisite orgy scene. Barbarian Queen also trots out the time-honored peplum tradition of featuring an extended and slightly kinky torture scene involving the lead. In the case of this film, it's Lana Clarkson stripped down and tied to a rack, then menaced by some wormy little guy who eventually tries her patience to the point where she simply tosses him in a vat of acid and heads out to lead the revolution. That's my kind of woman!

Outside of the obvious kink value, there isn't a whole lot on display here, which is probably why the movie is so short. The action is laughable but seems stunning compared to the acting, which conjures up images of either ham or planks of wood depending on who is talking at any given moment. If there is such a thing as wooden ham, you'll find it here. Needless to say, gratuitous nudity, clumsy swordfights, bad acting, cheap production values, and an awful script can mean only one thing: Barbarian Queen is one fo the greatest movies ever made.