I’ve always been fascinated with the '80s Sword & Sorcery genre; e.g. Willow, Conan the Barbarian (the Schwarzenegger versions), Deathstalker 1-4, Labyrinth, The Beastmaster, Red Sonja, The Neverending Story trilogy, Dragonslayer, Masters of the Universe, Ladyhawke, etc. Just to name a few.
I dunno why they fascinate me so much. I’m a very outdoorsy kind of person and I guess I like the simplicity of the medieval settings and lifestyle. Living freely off the land, going on grand adventures in undiscovered realms, fighting against evil forces who want to rule the world, and a hint of magic to make it that much more interesting.
Plus, the sets and costume design were pretty simple back then. I feel like I could probably make my own Sword & Sorcery films in my forested backyard and they’d turn out just about the same quality. I actually enjoy going to Renaissance fairs every summer, just because it feels like I stepped into one of those old classic films.
When I was living in Europe for a few years, I joined the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism), which is a global organization that reenacts pre-17th century lifestyles. Since I was in Europe at the time, we would actually rent out castles and would spend weekends living like medieval peasants and/or nobles, and learning all sorts of primitive trades like blacksmithing and tailoring. It was a ton of fun! Sword & Sorcery films just take that a step further, with action/adventure and fantasy elements mixed in.