Wait, why did I opt to watch Doctor Mordrid? This came from Full Moon Pictures, an early pioneer in straight-to-home video releases, so early in fact that their straight-to-home video was to VHS. I have seen exactly one movie of theirs before, namely Puppet Master which was enjoyable in a “shut your brain off and try not to think about it for more than ten seconds” kind of way. Basically, if you like what may be intentionally bad movies, Full Moon is the sort of studio for you. But this one in particular? A couple reasons. First, it features actor Jeffrey Combs in a rare good guy role, and I love that guy’s work. Second, it is suspected that the movie was made when another studio lost the cinematic rights to Dr. Strange, and this was that script with a few name changes.
That second point, as it turns out, isn’t true. Mordrid began life as an original creation of Jack Kirby, possibly as a tribute to the work of Steve Ditko. But even Pluto, the free streaming service I watched the movie on, said as much, so a lot of people believe it. Then again, Pluto had some of the worst ad placement I’ve seen in a free service in a long time…
Anton Mordrid (Combs) lives in a very large apartment in a building he secretly owns. He doesn’t really see his neighbors very often, but he catches the eye of Samantha Hunt (Yvette Nipar), a police consultant who specializes in all manner of ancient languages and the like. As far as Samantha is initially concerned, Mordrid is just a quiet man who is something of an expert on the occult, someone who gives lectures on the subject at various universities and the like. Sure, time sometimes freezes around Mordrid, but he’s the only one who ever notices. See, Mordrid is a centuries-old magician, a powerful one charged with protecting the Earth by a mysterious entity called the Monitor.
That’s a good thing because another sorcerer named Kabal (Brian Thompson) has just escaped some kind of magical, other dimensional prison, seeking power and revenge and the like. He needs the Philosopher’s Stone to get it, and he might already have that. With a few occult-style murders going on, the local police bring Mordrid in for questioning as the prime suspect. Samantha knows he’s innocent. He has to be. He’s the only hope for the Earth.
Now, this is a Full Moon production from 1992, so don’t expect top notch special effects even for the era. There is some good stop motion animation near the end of the movie, but the other magical effects probably wouldn’t have looked too out of place on network television at the time. That’s OK. I don’t think anyone watches these sorts of movies for that sort of thing. These are low budget affairs, made by people who probably just wanted to make some sci-fi and horror films and didn’t really care that much about how “good” they are. Plus, the studio seems like the type that would crank out a ton of movies a year with a high turnaround. Maybe the biggest surprise is Mordrid’s movie somehow didn’t get a sequel greenlit considering how many of their movies get numerous sequels.
As for the movie itself, Combs is the right fit for this kind of hero. He’s a little creepy and seems introverted, but he’s not malicious or malevolent in any way. He even comes across as a bit sweet when he’s flirting with Nipar’s Samantha. Thompson looks like he’s having fun as the villain, and there are some nice, weird touches here and there. The ending does feel a little anti-climactic, and it isn’t a particularly long movie, coming in as it does at about an hour and fifteen minutes, but it’s decent enough.
Besides, Mystery Science Theater 3000 is riffing off it in a new episode going out at the end of the week. That was actually my third reason to check it out…
Grade: C+
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