Minotaur (film)
This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary. (March 2018) |
Minotaur | |
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Lions Gate | |
Release dates |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
Countries | United Kingdom Luxembourg Germany France Spain Italy United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $7,000,000 (US) |
Minotaur is a 2006 horror film, directed by Jonathan English. It stars Tom Hardy, Tony Todd, Ingrid Pitt and Rutger Hauer. It was filmed in Luxembourg, and is a loose retelling of the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur.
Plot
In the
Theo, son of the village chief Cyrnan, is haunted by the loss of his beloved Fion in an earlier sacrifice. A leprous prophetess tells him that Fion still survives in the labyrinth. Against his father's wishes, Theo replaces one of the chosen sacrifices and is taken captive to the capitol with the others: Danu (Theo's best friend), Morna (Danu's love interest), Tyro (who initially resents Theo's high status), Didi (Tyro's love interest), Vena, Ziko, and Nan.
Immediately after the group are dropped into the labyrinth, the Minotaur begins hunting them, first killing Nan. The survivors are approached by Queen Raphaella, Deucalion's sister and unwilling lover, who offers them a way out. Vena does not believe her and attempts to leave the group, but is quickly killed by the Minotaur. The rest of the group escape, and Raphaella leads them to a chamber at the center of the labyrinth where a heavy wooden door leads out of the labyrinth. The monster lies there, sleeping on a pile of its victims' remains.
Raphaella had previously arranged for her servant Ramaya to open the door from the other side, but Deucalion catches the servant and executes her. The desperate group try to break open the door, but the noise wakens the Minotaur. It kills Ziko and the group scatters.
Theo, Danu, and Morna encounter a villager from a previous offering, named Turag. Turag has managed to elude the Minotaur, but has become unhinged after years of being trapped with the monster. Theo sees his beloved Fion's likely location while examining Turag's map of the labyrinth. Theo goes off alone to find her, but instead finds her corpse, lying where she was poisoned by an underground gas deposit.
Meanwhile, Tyro and Didi reach the hole in the ceiling that they were dropped through. Tyro climbs up and reaches down to pull up Didi, but the Minotaur arrives and Didi panics, loses her grip, and falls onto one of its horns. The Minotaur also corners lovers Danu and Morna; Danu sacrifices himself to save Morna.
Raphaella reaches Theo again and explains the Minotaur's origin: Her
Theo had discovered an underground gas vent in the labyrinth near Fion's corpse. When the Minotaur prepares to kill Theo, Tyro sacrifices himself to distract it. Theo tempts the beast into attacking him, lures it to the gas vent, and makes a spark with Fion's amulet. The gas ignites and the flame engulfs that part of the labyrinth; Theo and Raphaella survive by diving into a pond of water. They emerge from the water as the flames die out, and find the monster is still alive and now even more aggressive. As the Minotaur charges at him, Theo jams one of its horns which had broken off earlier into its mouth. Injured but still enraged, the beast charges forward and collides with a rock, which drives the horn all the way through its head, finally killing it.
Theo and Raphaella, together with the remaining survivors Morna and Turag, escape the collapsing labyrinth. On the surface, they discover that the explosion under the palace collapsed it, leaving Deucalion gravely wounded. Raphaella smothers him to death. With the deaths of the Minotaur and king Deucalion, the Minoan empire dissolves, and Theo becomes a legend for killing the monster.
Cast
- Tom Hardy as Theo
- Michelle Van Der Water as Queen Raphaella
- Tony Todd as King Deucalion
- Lex Shrapnel as Tyro
- Jonathan Readwin as Danu
- Rutger Hauer as Cyrnan
- Maimie McCoy as Morna
- Lucy Brown as Didi
- James Bradshaw as Ziko
- Fiona Maclaine as Vena
- Claire Murphy as Nan
- Ingrid Pitt as The Sybil
Release
Minotaur was released on
Reception
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2018) |
See also
- List of historical drama films
- List of films based on Greco-Roman mythology
- Minos
- Theseus
- Minotaur
- Minoan civilization
- Bronze Age
- Knossos
- Greek mythology in popular culture
References
- ^ "Minotaur (2005) – Jonathan English". Allmovie.com (DVD review). Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ Wheeler, Jeremy. "Minotaur (2005) – Jonathan English". Allmovie.com (DVD review). Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ Condit, Jon (13 March 2006). "Minotaur (DVD)". Dread Central.com (DVD review). Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ Devon B. "Minotaur DVD review". Digital Retribution.com (DVD review). Retrieved 7 March 2018.
- ^ "Minotaur (2006)". Popcorn Pictures.co.uk (DVD review). Retrieved 7 March 2018.