Barbarian Brothers aka Peter and David Paul made some splashes in the bodybuilding scene back in the 80s as the strongest twins of the world. Also known for their showmanship, they soon made their way to the movies and finally starred in their own movie in 1987, aptly named The Barbarians.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: As a movie The Barbarians is without merits. The twins can’t act their way out of a paper bag and lack the charism of big action stars of the era. With that out of the way it has to be said there are tons of other entertaining aspects to the film. Besides the obvious tongue in cheek goofiness the cinematography, set and costume design are all professional work despite the tight budget. Eva LaRue as the heroine and Sheeba Alahani as the evil sorceress in her only feature film role are the highlights of the movie and both perform in their roles much better than the movie deserves.

The Barbarians is a goofy, inane, totally 80s take on the sword & sorcery genre – and guilty pleasure in its very finest form.

80s-o-meter: 94%

Total: 81%