Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

Knights of Badassdom Blu-ray Movie Review

Society for not creative enough anachronism.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 5, 2014

Were it not alphabetized, thus revealing its status as an acronym, LARPing might otherwise sound like some kind of activity a species engages in shortly before metamorphosing. Of course LARP stands for Live Action Role Play (or Playing), which, if you’ve ever witnessed events by groups like the Society for Creative Anachronism, only go to prove that the participants are only attempting to metamorphose. There’s a certain wish fulfillment which seems to be part and parcel of most LARP communities, with otherwise relatively normal people dressing up in costumes and pretending to be fantastic characters from the annals of folklore, myth or science fiction. That’s one of the central subtexts to the occasionally amusing but ultimately kind of chaotic Knights of Badassdom, a 2013 comedy-horror hybrid that offers Ryan Kwanten (True Blood, Griff the Invisible, Not Suitable for Children) as a sadsack would be metal musician on the rebound from a romantic rebuff who is more or less kidnapped (while in a drunken stupor) by his best buddies to take part in a LARP festival recreating a kind of Dungeons and Dragons environment rife with wizards, warriors and (just for good measure) out of work actors in giant green monkey suits (they’re evidently supposed to be threatening). Knights of Badassdom actually begins with a brief prelude that sets up one of the central conceits of the film. Kwanten’s character is named Joe, a car mechanic who shares (rather improbably) a suburban castle with Hung (Peter Dinklage, doing a kind of B- movie Game of Thrones turn here) and Eric (Steve Zahn, Treme), both of whom are very active in a local LARP group. Hung and Eric are actually out on a LARP adventure in the film’s opening sequence, getting ready for some kind of ritual sacrifice which includes Eric reading from an apparently ancient tome. It turns out that the musty book is indeed a real life ancient book of spells, something that ends up playing a major part in the plot once the main storyline unfolds.

Joe’s love life is in shambles, though he seems like a nice enough guy. Eric and Hung ply him with copious amounts of weed and booze to drown (and/or smoke out) his troubles, and when Joe awakens, he’s clad in a suit of armor in the back of a van. It turns out he’s been shanghaied to a LARP festival recreating the Middle Ages. Though initially hesitant, Joe is ultimately convinced to take part in the festivities by Hung and Eric, especially once he gets an eyeful of the very lovely Gwen (Summer Glau), a huntress who will be on his team. Meanwhile, the fey “game master”, Ronnie (Jimmi Simpson), informs Eric that he’ll have to do a “magical spell” to properly initiate Joe as part of the LARP activities. And wouldn’t you know it—Eric decides to use the summoning book for the ceremony. Though initially Joe is the only one to see the results, Eric’s “pretend” spell actually ends up summoning a scary demon from some netherworld, a vision that Joe initially passes off when it’s intimated he may have been slipped some “magic mushrooms”.

The inherent silliness of LARPing would seem to offer ripe pluckings for satire. After all, aren’t all of the participants hilarious losers at some fundamental level, channeling their sometimes sad little lives into patently fantasy laden pursuits? (Sorry to you real life LARPers out there.) If scenarists Kevin Dreyfuss and Matt Wall had followed the lead of, say, the outrageously funny Onion spoof of World of Warcraft (you can see it here), that would have provided the film with the comedic foundation it needed to sustain what ultimately becomes more of a straight ahead action-horror enterprise, once the demons begin invading the LARP game, decimating a series of characters in rather spectacularly gruesome fashion.

Instead the film indulges in a lot (as in a lot) of noise and bombast, some of which admittedly may provoke a giggle or two, something that then transitions into the survivors trying to head off a series of otherworldly attacks, at which point the comedy, which has never been exploited fully to begin with, begins to take a back seat as Joe and a small coterie try to fend off some incipient demonic apocalypse. Knights of Badassdom has a haphazard tone that never fully realizes the potential in either the comedy or the horror sides of things, ending up in a kind of (no pun intended) netherworld where aspects of each genre are paid homage to, if never very satisfactorily developed.

Knights of Badassdom is one of those films that looks like it’s going to be a riot, at least when judged by the trailer or (probably) when someone greenlit the script, but which either due to deficiencies in the writing or execution (the film evidently had a troubled production and post-production history), just never really grabs the brass ring like it probably should have. There’s some fitfully amusing stuff here, to be sure, along with a couple of gory (if never very scary) death scenes, and the cast is winning enough, but, to paraphrase a certain iconic writer, it’s a lot of sound and fury ultimately signifying not much.

Knights of Badassdom Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Knights of Badassdom is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. Fairly surprisingly for a film of such comparatively recent vintage, this high definition presentation is a bit on the "blah" side, especially when the film segues to its long night sequences, where milky black levels and underwhelming contrast often add up to a kind of murky and pretty soft looking appearance. The brighter day sequences are at least incrementally better, with nicely saturated colors and decent fine detail in close-ups, but even these moments aren't overly sharp looking. The special effects in the film are actually probably better than most might expect, and the CGI looks at least reasonable, and at times quite good. Dinklage mentions how tiny the budget on the film was in his supplementary interview, and that no doubt played into its appearance, but Knights of Badassdom is not going to win any videophile awards from high definition aficionados.

Knights of Badassdom Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Knights of Badassdom's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is, like the video, a bit on the anemic side, but it does offer some decent immersion in the battle scenes (especially once the demons swing into action), as well as decent ambient environmental surround activity as the LARPers frolic in the forest. The low end of this track is probably the biggest letdown, especially since Joe is a would be metal head, and the film has several outbursts of supposed head banging music, all of which sound okay, but really not overly vigorous. Dialogue is presented very cleanly and clearly. There's nothing to really complain about here, but there's also not the amount of sonic "wow" some might be hoping for.

Knights of Badassdom Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Peter Dinklage Interview (1080p; 1:19)


• Summer Glau Hottie Montage (1080p; 1:59)


• Steve Zahn Interview (1080p; 1:05)


• Horr-o-medy 1 (1080p; 1:11) discusses the blending of genres.


• Horr-o-medy 2 (1080p; 1:05)


• Director Joe Lynch Interview (480i; 7:12)


• San Diego Comic-Con Panel (1080i; 48:34) features moderator Anthony Breznican hosting Joe Lynch, Ryan Kwanten, Jimmi Simpson, Danny Pudi, Michael Gladis, Margarita Levieva, Summer Glau and Peter Dinklage.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:32)

Knights of Badassdom Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's unfortunate when the credits of a film provide more unintentional laughs than the actual movie. Such is the case with Knights of Badassdom, with two people being credited as LARPER Consultants (did they dress up for the gig?) and an ungodly list of people credited as Executive Producer, something that makes the film look like a Kickstarter enterprise (was it?). This film boasts a solid cast, and even an appealing enough premise, but something sure got lost along the way. Fans of Kwanten, Glau or Dinklage may want to check this out, but even they may not be overly impressed by the occasionally middling video and less than punchy audio. At least there's some good stuff in the supplements, including a fun Comic-Con panel.