Doctor Mordrid — Master of the Unknown
‘Doctor Mordrid — Master of the Unknown’ was a movie title as a kid that cracked me up. I remember thinking ‘wait, what’s he the master of? he doesn’t know, but he’s got a Ph.D in it?’ and then deciding then and there I needed to get the movie.
And what a movie it was. Out in 1992, Doctor Mordrid was an epic battle between two wizards for the survival of Earth. Doctor Mordrid, played by Jeffrey Combs is the good wizard, and Kabal, played by Brian Thompson, looks like a heavy metal band leader reject but happens to be the evil wizard. The two of them go toe to toe with magic spells, insults, and…dinosaur skeletons. This is extra fun for anyone who loves Star Trek, since these guys both appear in it, so you get to see some of their early work.
SPOILER ALERT — that was my movie synopsis, if you don’t want the ending of the movie ruined, stop right there. Otherwise read on.
When I picked this movie up as a kid, I was already an on again, off again fan of Dr. Strange. I had no clue that originally Doctor Mordrid was supposed to be a Dr. Strange movie. Albert and Charles Band of Empire Pictures were able to approach Marvel for the rights to make a Dr. Strange movie, but then they took so long with pre-production that they lost the rights. So, instead of Dr. Strange, they went through their script and made it different enough that they couldn’t get sued, and thus Doctor Mordrid was born. Although, if you’re a diehard fan you might notice the parts of the movie that come from the never completed Dr. Mortalis. (I didn’t notice that.) You’ll also notice some Dr. Strange type elements, for example the over-the-top musical score (which I used to imagine for old Dr. Strange comics) and the bombastic, dramatic speaking style the sorcerers use.
The magic in the movie was fun, Doctor Mordrid wears an amulet with powers that might remind viewers of the Eye of Agamotto, though it seems MUCH easier to use than the Eye of Agamotto. If you press a button on the side of the amulet, it freezes time. This gets used a lot throughout the storyline, including by Doctor Mordrid’s love interest, Samantha Hunt.
One thing that was a little upsetting happens towards the end, when Doctor Mordrid is called away from earth and says he can’t do a long goodbye, or take Samantha with him. As a female viewer I was like ‘ooo girl, he has the power to freeze time but can’t do a long goodbye, you should dump him.’ I kind of felt that way with the 2016 Dr. Strange movie too, where Dr. Strange can create time loops, but doesn’t seem like a boyfriend who can take time for a girlfriend.
However, Doctor Mordrid comes through. He shows up to be with Samantha for Christmas, and talks about bringing her with him as an assistant, which sound pretty awesome. Overall, this was a pretty cute b-movie, although it does feature one of the worst, most hilarious superhero lines. In the showdown between wizards, there’s a really cool sequence where Kabal animates a giant T-Rex skeleton and uses it to terrorize a couple of museum guards. Doctor Mordrid (I did spend a bit of time wondering why Kabal isn’t a doctor, do they just not give titles to evil wizards? Sorry Kabal!) responds by animating what looks like a mastodon skeleton.
Kabal is too busy rejoicing to notice the mastodon is kicking butt, so Doctor Mordrid helps him out by shouting…
‘HEY! You didn’t win.’
Which is about as on the nose as it gets. Two seconds after yelling this, the mastodon then gores Kabal. It’s one of the goofiest lines of triumph in a movie, but it’s still fun. ‘YOU DIDN’T WIN!’
If you like b-movies, and want to see one about a sorcerer that’s like Dr. Strange but it isn’t Dr. Strange, check this one out.
You can support the magazine by getting a Desk of the Nerd Legion sticker:
