Empire of the Dark, Bounty Hunter Tries to Save Sacrificial Damsel

I was going to say sacrificial virgin, but the babe was hardly a virgin. Not important. Today we have a film in which 40 or 50 ghoulish demons will either be decapitated or have their limbs lopped off by a holy sword. Babes in white sacrificed on an altar by a satanist. A 30 foot tall drooling monster demon hunting for babes to eat. Machineguns, swords, and other weapons used against the forces of evil.  No, not "Fried Green Tomatoes," but 1991's "Empire of the Dark," directed by Steve Barkett, and co-produced by Fred Olen Ray.

Angela (Tera Hendrickson), during grinding pre-marital sex with the oafish Richard (Steve Barkett), tells him she can't marry him. Whether this was a relief to Richard, or not, is debatable. She marries a satanist instead who will sacrifice her to Satan in a cave that is a portal to Hell. Happens.  Through dreams, Angela beckons Richard, now a bounty hunter, to come save her. He tries, but is only able to save her baby. The baby, Terry (Christopher Barkett) grows up and 20 years later he has dreams, like Richard, of his mom and Richard's former lover, pleading to be rescued.  Apparently she still lives and this satanist, who goes by the name Arkham (Richard Harrison), will make her his 20th babe sacrificed this year. See, every 20 years he must sacrifice 20 babes, though they don't have to be virgins. Now Terry and Richard enlist the help of cop Eddie (John Henry Richardson), and get good at swordplay, get the swords blessed by a nun, and plan a mission into this portal to Hell to save Angela.

Oh, the satanist guy sends hordes of demon ghouls topside to steal babes and kill their boyfriends.  The 30 foot demon thing follows and rips the boyfriends in two. Now Richard and Terry, armed with swords embark on a mission to save the skank Angela.  I guess she's been laying on a sacrificial altar for the past 20 years looking helpless and seductive. Into the entrance to Hell, our duo goes, and immediately fight these demon ghouls.  Demon heads will go flying, as will their arms, behemoth monsters will spring to the defense of the underworld, and the skank Angela will continue looking good unconscious on the altar.

Will Richard and Terry save Angela?  Will Arkham succeed in sacrificing Angela as the 20th babe thus winning the opportunity to rule the Earth, or something like that?  Will the swords be sufficient or will our would-be heroes ditch them for machineguns?  This is an ambitious one and would have been quite a find in the straight-to-VHS market in 1991.  For a film with sultry babes in danger (though not virgins), monsters, sword play, satanists, and machineguns...see "Empire of the Dark."