I have heard of this film over the years but hadn't watched it until recently. A friend of mine happened to have a copy on vhs and she gladly put it on.
Sonja (played by Brigitte Nielsen) is a young woman who was living peacefully with her family on their land when the evil Queen Gedren (played by Sandahl Bergman) and her guards come across Sonja and her family. Queen Gedren lusts after Sonja and demands that Sonja come to her but Sonja refuses and fights back. When Sonja fights back, she injures Gedren on the face. As punishment for Sonja's refusal and injury to the queen, Sonja's family is then murdered and Sonja is brutally raped and left for dead by Gedren's guards. A mysterious forest spirit encourages Sonja to seek revenge against Queen Gedren and Sonja goes to be trained by a master.
Some time later the audience sees a sacred tower where a magical orb is kept by the priestesses who live there. Kendra the high priestess (played by Donna Osterbuhr) determines that the orb is too powerful and must be destroyed. Kendra starts to destroy the orb but the tower is attacked by Queen Gedren's forces.
While the tower is under attack, one of the priestesses named Varna (played by Janet Agren) manages to escape but is injured during the course of her escape. As the tower was being attacked the audience observed a powerfully-built man named Kalidor (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) riding towards the tower. Kalidor helps Varna to safety.
Meanwhile Sonja has finished her training. She is the best warrior and is determined to begin her quest to seek revenge against Queen Gedren. Before she can set off on her journey Kalidor arrives and tells her that her sister Varna is dying and wishes to speak with her. Sonja gruffly allows Kalidor to lead her to Varna where Varna tells her about the orb and what happened at the tower. After Varna dies, Sonja goes on a quest to retrieve the orb and destroy it. Kalidor insists on going with Sonja but Sonja refuses his assistance. Not surprisingly, she doesn't initially trust Kalidor so she determines to do her quest on her own.
Along the way she meets and saves Prince Tarn (played by Ernie Reyes Jr) and his loyal servant Falkon (played by Paul L. Smith) and reluctantly allows Kalidor to join their party after Kalidor helps save them all in a fight with a mysterious beast. As they continue journeying to Gedren's castle, Sonja softens towards Kalidor as she appears to be falling for him and him for her. Sonja, Prince Tarn, and Falkon also form an attachment to each other.
Meanwhile Gedren is going crazy with power from the orb and her servants are getting nervous. Will Sonja defeat Gedren? Will Sonja and Kalidor get together? Or will the orb destroy everyone?
The movie has cheesy effects that haven't stood the test of time but it's all good cheese. Definitely worth watching whether you are a "barbarian" enthusiast or not. Brigitte Nielsen does a good job as Red Sonja. It's not an Oscar worthy performance but it is good. Arnold Schwarzenegger does a good job as something of a side kick to Brigitte Nielsen.
The violence is cartoonish but might be bothersome for little ones. The rape was as subtle as possible. The brief nudity consists of a brief image of a topless woman. The acting isn't great but that's part of the fun. The costumes are wild at best and made me sympathetic to the actors.
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