The Dwarves of Demrel

Fairly simple film. Not to exciting. I thought it was going to be a lot worse. Acting wasnt terrible. Very small cast. Special effects and creature effects were surprisingly good in the few places were they were used. Wish there would have been more to the story.

Right, well truth be told then I hadn't really expected much of anything from the 2018 movie "The Dwarves of Demrel". I had anticipated that I would be in for another horribly low budget fantasy movie that would seem more like someone having brought a digital camera to a LARP (Live Action Role-Playing) session somewhere than I would be in for an actual movie.

Still, I decided to sit down and watch "The Dwarves of Demrel". And I am actually glad that I did. Because it turned out that this 2018 from writers Zachary Amundson and Chris Raney actually turned out to be a rather amazing fantasy movie.

Sure, it wasn't a high fantasy movie with lots of magic, dragons, orcs, battles and what you would otherwise expect from a fantasy movie. But it was an interesting approach to the fantasy genre, and it was refreshing to see a fantasy movie that revolved around the dwarven race and taking place in the subterranean setting entirely.

One might argue against the movie taking place in a subterranean setting and being with so few actors and actresses on the cast ensemble. But it actually worked out quite well, taking the concept of the storyline into consideration.

While we are on the cast, then the movie essentially only revolved around three actors, John Hutton (playing Calcas), Brent Bateman (playing Ordryd) and Robert Morgan (playing Brenn). Not only were these three gentlemen nice actors, but they had also gone through a nice transformation in props and make-up so that they looked like archtypical dwarves from a fantasy setting. That was really enjoyable and added so much to the movie. And the wardrobe also really was great and also did add a good layer of enjoyment to the movie.

The atmosphere of the movie was amazing, and it really felt realistic with the dwarves being trapped inside the mountain. It was like the audience was trapped in there with them. And the fact that they had limited light sources really worked so well for the movie, because it brought out such a realism that it was just good to witness. And I loathe movies that are supposed to take place in the dark, but for some reason there is a light source illuminating the scene from left or right, where there should be no light source. Good thing that director Chris Raney opted for realistic lighting. And it really felt like the dwarves were inside a real mountain, inside the mines, because it didn't look like horrible carboard or styrofoam props resembling stone.

Now, the synopsis says 'steampunk fantasy', I would say that the steampunk elements are very small and weren't overshadowing the movie in any manner. Which was a good thing, because steampunk is not really something that translates well into movies.

I was genuinely entertained throughout the course of this movie, and it turned out to be a rather enjoyable addition to the fantasy genre, where a great many movies fail most horribly. This was such a positive surprise of a movie, and it is indeed a very nice addition to the fantasy genre.

Raney's film is well produced, straightforward and engaging as far as writing and character development. He offers a potentially captivating story-arch, focusing on these characters and their dire situation as they struggle to survive in a subterranean "prison". The atmosphere is ominous and suspenseful with plenty of opportunity to excite and build a thrilling story. For the most part, though, we are only teased mildly, with little gratification.

"Dragon Mountain" is filled with a lot of missed opportunities to become the titillating watch that the synopsis suggests. First, no dragons- well a really cool fly over the mountain chain by a quality CGI lady heading to her den takes place in the opening scene. But that is it- technically the dragon is eluded to a couple of times through dialog. Beyond that the movie pulsate as a character study of crises.

There is fantasy, but subtext and suggestion reigns supreme to get you there. The dwarves are recognizable and familiar. They take the main stage in Raney's movie, but they could easily be replaced subconsciously with human persons going through this struggle. There is a creature in the tunnels with them and a human in killer Cosplay steampunk gear, however both are little more than cameo characters and missed before they really ever fill the screen.

Overall "Dragon Mountain" is kind of a let down. Toss aside the fact that 'no dragon' in a movie whose title sells you on dragons. Forgiven. With the actual story- four guys trapped in a clasped mine- the writing and acting is top notch. The cinematography is okay, lighting issues plague crucial moments that were necessary to amp up the entertainment value. Unfortunately it all boils down to bad moods, grumpy dialog and emotional anxiety between disgruntled workers that seems to put a drag on the fluidity of the movie's pace, making it a rather boring movie.

Some marketing dingbat decided to release this to certain markets as "Dragon Mountain", which brought some negative reviews. The true name "Dwarves of Demrel" carries far more integrity to the movie, since that's what this is about: three dwarves trapped in collapsed mines.

This is a slow-burner of a movie that at its best presents some decent drama and character presentation... and at its worst makes no sense at all.

The creature offered no explanation other than "scary mystery element" that would have been better left out of the movie. The human character's presence is undeveloped and unexplained. The first 3/4 of the movie involves development of what really gets down to resolution in the final quarter. It is the final quarter that pulls this movie out of the trash bin.

I give this a "mediocre" 5 for effort, since it had a pretty decent final 15 minutes. But there was just too much of this movie that consisted of barely-audible dialog and gaping plot holes. With a little more effort this could have been a sleeper classic, but they just didn't quite get there. Those who rated this 8 stars and above have, I think, significantly lowered their bar on what makes a movie great. This is an interesting watch with real potential, but they missed that bullseye by a couple of rings.

I just watched this movie and it was excellent.

Its such a simple story, 3 dwarves stuck in a mine trying to get back home to their families and the terrible things they must endure to get home.

Its mostly 3 dwarves talking, you really see the different characters clash with each other and eventually work together for their mutual benefit.

Their is a real sense of isolation and despair although always with a glimmer of hope that they will manage to get out safely.

The world building is fantastic. I would love to know so much more about the world around them but it was great to just focus on 3 simple dwarf miners trying to do their job and get back home.

Highly recommended if you enjoy a movie heavy on atmosphere, not so much if you are looking for action. Its a slow build and the ending is open to interpretation.

A solid 8 out of 10 from me.