Mythica: A Quest for Heroes (2014)

RELEASED IN 2014 and directed by Anne K. Black, "Mythica: A Quest for Heroes" is a fantasy/adventure about a limping servant with blossoming magical powers named Merek (Melanie Stone), who rounds up a noble warrior, Thane (Adam Johnson), and a miscreant lothario, Dagen (Jake Stormoen), to help the priestess, Teela (Nicola Posener), find her sister (Natalie Devine Riskas), who was taken captive by a brutal ogre. Kevin Sorbo has a glorified cameo.

The story takes place in a Medieval-like world where magic, ogres, elves, trolls and other fantasy creatures are real. If you can imagine a film like “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001) or "Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God" (2005), but made on a mere budget of $94,294 you'd have a good idea of what to expect with "Mythica: A Quest for Heroes." Personally, I like it better than those movies for several reasons and the production quality is surprisingly at least as good as the latter film (which cost a whopping $15,000,000 by comparison).

For one, it has a quality cast with two phenomenal female protagonists: Posener is just jaw-dropping sharp and Stone is a winsomely petite cutie. The Utah locations are diverse and magnificent and the varied score is phenomenal with kinetic percussion-oriented pieces. Perhaps best of all, the story is quick-paced and compelling with worthy characters.

THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour 32 minutes. WRITERS: Anne K. Black, Jason Faller and Kynan Griffin.

GRADE: B+/A-