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Conan the Destroyer

From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.

Conan the Destroyer is a fantasy-adventure film released in 1984 starring current Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger before he was an established star; featuring swordplay and wizardry, it was a sequel to the highly-successful Conan the Barbarian (1982).

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

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Plot synopsis

Conan (Schwarzenegger) accepts a mission from the evil Queen Taramis to escort the gorgeous yet innocent Princess Jehnna (d'Abo), along with her giant bodyguard Bombaata (Chamberlain), in search of a magic gem that gives its holder safe passage to a Horn. In return, the queen has promised Conan that she will resurrect Conan's dead love, Valeria, upon completion of their quest. Unbeknownst to Conan, however, the Queen secretly plots with the Grand Vizier to have Bombaata kill Conan after they find the gem; the gem, when placed in their sacred temple, will reawaken the long-dormant god of chaos, Dagoth.

Accompanying Conan, the Princess and Bombaata is Malak, Conan's trusty yet squirmish sidekick. At the onset of their journey, they find Akiro the wizard (Mako) being harassed by a group of cannibals. Conan rescues him from his tormentors, so he joins their group as their wizard. Next they come across Zula (Jones), who is tied to a stake and being attacked for sport by a group of ruffians. Conan frees her from this captivity, and she vows to accompany Conan to fight side by side with him to the death if necessary.

As they camp overnight by the side of a mist-enshrouded lake, Toth-Amon the evil wizard (Roach) sees the Princess; he morphs into a ghost-like bird creature, kidnaps the sleeping Princess, and takes her back to his magical ice castle on an island in the lake. Conan and company paddle out to the island, dive underwater to find the castle's secret entrance, and ascend a treacherous ice staircase in search of the Princess. However, Toth-Amon uses his magic to create a fierce man/ape creature that begins fighting with Conan in a chamber of mirrors. During their battle, Conan realizes that the monster's life is tied to the mirrors, so he destroys the creature by smashing all the mirrors, before killing the wizard behind the last mirror. Rescuing the sleeping Princess and obtaining the gem, the group flee the crumbling castle, escaping just in time to continue their journey.

Following the Princess' intuition in seeking the Horn's hidden location, the party eventually comes to an underground cave complex, where they find and secure the magic Horn. However, they are soon surrounded by the protectors of the Horn, who wish to revive Dagoth as well. The head tomb keeper and Akiro battle telekinetically, while Conan discovers a short-cut exit from the caverns. However, now having obtained the horn, Bombaata uses his powerful mace to destroy the exit behind himself and the Princess, trapping Conan and his loyal followers.

Bombaata escorts the Princess (and the horn) back to the Queen in her Palace, who prepares to begin the re-animation ceremony. If the sacrifice of a virgin does not occur soon after Dagoth's re-awakening, then cataclysm is prophesied to ensue; therefore, the Queen plans to sacrifice the Princess to satisfy the prophesies. In the meantime, Conan and company are surreptitiously entering the Palace through a forgotten subterranean entrance at the base of a waterfall; he uses his massive arm strength to bend steel bars blocking the passageway. Just as the re-animation ceremony in the Palace reaches a crescendo, Conan arrives just in time to save the Princess from being killed. As predicted, Dagoth re-awakens with a rage, killing the queen as he morphs into a monster. Conan, with help from his companions, slays the evil creature by ripping off the Horn from it head, weakening it for Conan to deal the deathblow.

With the evil Queen and her henchmen dead, the Princess assumes the throne. One by one, Zula, Akiro and Malak are added to her royal court, after Conan graciously allows them to leave his service. When the Princess, now the new Queen, invites Conan to join her as King to rule the land by her side, he declines, stating that his kingdom lies elsewhere. Tearfully, the new Queen accepts his answer, and Conan takes his leave of them, to seek out his own fortune, his own kingdom... but that is another story....

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