Aspiring doom metal musician Joe (Ryan Kwanten) thinks everything is going great until his girlfriend Beth (Margarita Levieva) suddenly breaks up with him. To help him get over the breakup, Joe’s friends Hung (Peter Dinklage) and Eric (Steve Zahn) kidnap him and take him to their LARPing event where he begrudgingly joins their Live Action Role Playing team The Knights of Badassdom. What starts off as a gathering of adults in ridiculous costumes soon becomes a blood-filled weekend when Eric (as his wizard persona) accidentally summons a succubus. Now it is up to the Knights to become their characters for real in order to save the kingdom.

When I first started watching the film, I didn’t know anything about the film, so I had no idea it was going to take a turn into the horror realm. However, I found Knights of Badassdom to be a hilarious blend of comedy and the classic horror films of the 70s and 80s. I also really enjoyed the film’s unique setting—I don’t think I’ve seen any other movie set in the world of LARPing!

The film starts off as pure comedy. It has a lot of fun with the LARPing world, and how seriously some of the competitors are taking the event. The cast is a lot of fun—there are so many recognizable faces that pop up throughout the film. Other cast members include Summer Glau as Gwen, another member of the Knights, and Jimmi Simpson as Ronnie, the game master of the LARP event and former childhood friend of Joe’s.

There is so much fun and nerdy dialogue/discussions in this movie. I offer this list of LARP team names as evidence: Freakend Warriors, The Medieval Kenevils, Gnomeland Security, Fair-Leather Friends, and The Norse Whisperers. The film also does a great job of giving the viewer a sense of the rivalries and history between the characters, and uses that to further the humor.

Once the horror movie aspect of the film kicks in, the fun doesn’t stop. Despite monsters attacking, and people getting ripped apart the film still keeps the humor going. This blend of horror and comedy has a very similar feeling to the TV series Todd & The Book of Pure Evil. It’s just a fun, over-the-top thrill ride until the end.

The video and audio quality on this Blu-ray is top-notch. The picture is perfect—everything is crisp and clear and the monster and special effects look very natural (well, as natural as a giant demon or succubus can look). The sound is also great, making use of the surround channels to bring the viewer into the action.

As for the bonus features, most of the are a bit disappointing—the videos are primarily really short viral promos that are about half interview/half movie clips. However, I was really happy to see the entire San Diego Comic-Con panel for the film included on the disc.

Knights of Badassdom is a creative, fun horror/comedy that definitely worth checking out!

What’s Included:

Film: (1:25:27)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:
Most of these extras were originally created as extremely short, viral videos to be shared on Facebook and Twitter. They are pretty much equal parts interview and film clips. There is a Play All option to watch all of these short videos in sequence.

• Peter Dinklage Interview (1:19)
  Peter Dinklage offers some brief thoughts on the film.
• Summer Glau Hottie Montage (1:59)
  Summer Glau (“Gwen”) offers some thoughts on her character and LARPing. Mixed with clips from the film.
• Steve Zahn Interview (1:05)
  Steve Zahn (“Eric”) offers some brief thoughts on how the film goes from comedy to classic horror film, and we get a brief look at some of the special effects used.
• Horr-o-medy 1 (1:11)
  Jimmi Simpson (“Ronnie”) talks about the film’s blend of horror and comedy, while Brett Gipson (“Gunther”) and special effects & makeup artist Bernard Eichholz talk about the special effects.
• Horr-o-medy 2 (1:05)
  Sean Cook (“Winston”), Kim Stodel (“Ira”) and Peter Dinklage (“Hung”) talk about the film’s classic 70s/80s horror movie throwbacks.
• Director Joe Lynch Interview (7:12)
  Director Joe Lynch talks about his LARPing research, his earliest movie memories, and how he treated this film as an origin story and hopes to explore further adventures of these characters.
• San Diego Comic-Con Panel (48:34)
  The entire 2011 San Diego Comic-Con panel from Hall H moderated by Entertainment Weekly writer Anthony Breznican. The lively and fun panel includes director Joe Lynch, and stars Ryan Kwanten (“Joe”), Jimmi Simpson (“Ronnie”), Danny Pudi (“Lando”), Michael Gladis (“King Diamond”), Margarita Levieva (“Beth”), Summer Glau (“Gwen”), and Peter Dinklage (“Hung”).
• Theatrical Trailer (2:32)

Final Thoughts:

Knights of Badassdom is a fun, creative horror/comedy with a unique premise and setting. The cast is hilarious, and filled with a ton of familiar faces that pop up throughout the film. The disc looks and sounds great, but is a little slim on quality bonus features. However, the film itself is definitely worth a look for some nerdy fun.