DOCTOR MORDRID (1992)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *metaphysical*

The above illustration for the mystic hero Doctor Anton Mordrid certainly looks like the artist was told to emulate the art-style of Steve Ditko from his classic run on the DOCTOR STRANGE comic of the 1960s. This probably came about because in the development stages this Full Moon Films project was designed to be an adaptation of DOCTOR STRANGE, but the Band brothers Albert and Charles (who co-directed MORDRID) couldn't strike a deal with Marvel and so channeled the script into an original character.

Mordrid (Jeffrey Combs) is a magician living in obscurity in an apartment house in New York City. (Actually, one interesting twist is that he owns the building, which might have led to some interesting subplots had there been further installments.) Mordrid remains a private person because he's lived for many decades without aging, and because he devotes all of his time to guarding the world against evil magic. However, one of Mordrid's tenants is young policewoman Samantha Hunt (Yvette Nipar), who catches sight of the reclusive fellow and begins trying to find ways to meet him. 

Meanwhile, evil magician Kabal (Brian Thompson) begins operations to unleash magical chaos on the ordinary world. Some of Kabal's chaos attracts Samantha's attention, and because she's learned that mysterious Mordrid has some knowledge of the mystic arts, she uses her authority to consult him. Unfortunately, her obnoxious fellow cop Tony (Jay Acovone) responds by blaming Mordrid for the problems, though Tony just thinks the mystic weirdos are terrorists. Being arrested puts a crimp in Mordrid's defenses of the world, allowing Kabal's plans to progress. At last Samantha helps Mordrid escape police custody, leading to a final duel between the rival magicians.

There's a lot more scenes in the police station than of magical combat, which is clearly a consequence of the flick's low budget. And though I began to wish some evil fate to befall blockheaded Tony, I should have been feeling more animus toward Kabal-- and I didn't, because he was just a stereotypical villain. Mordrid's goodness is not much better, but Combs has a good chemistry with Nipar, so that had there been a few more installments, that might have resulted in better results down the line. At least MORDRID ends without any dangling plot-threads and provides a pleasant but mostly forgettable diversion.