Film

Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn

Name: Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction
Released: 1983
Cast: Jeffrey Byron, Michael Preston, Tim Thomerson, Kelly Preston, Richard Moll

Revenge action

A scrappy 1983 sci-fi western about a wandering seeker hunting down an evil warlord across a desert wasteland. It's earnest, visually imaginative on a shoestring budget, and pleasingly weird—all practical effects, big swings, and genuine oddness. For anyone who loves cheap-thrills genre filmmaking that doesn't apologize for being exactly what it is.

TMDb rating

2.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love scrappy 1980s sci-fi adventures where a quest across a sun-baked wasteland runs on handmade sets, B-movie earnestness and cheerful imagination rather than polish.

Skip it if you need tight writing and convincing performances, since the dialogue is clunky, the effects creak, and the film's modest budget shows in nearly every frame.

What it asks of you: It runs a brisk 84 minutes and wants you to go along with its cheap costumes and earnest sincerity rather than pick them apart.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Mad Max 21981

Desert wastelands, anarchic action, cobbled-together vehicles and weapons, and a hero with almost no dialogue. Scott's film has the budget Metalstorm dreamed of, but shares its anarchic DIY spirit and genuine sense of danger.

But It's been canonized to death. Everyone's seen it, everyone quotes it, and approaching it fresh now means wading through decades of reverence.

Krull1983

Released the same year, equally committed to its weird fantasy-sci-fi mashup, equally unafraid to be goofy. Genuinely imaginative creature design and a willingness to swing for the fences with practical effects and strange ideas.

But Slow patches, dated synth score, and a plot that sometimes treads water. The ambition doesn't always connect.

Conan the Barbarian1982

Same era, same love of practical effects and practical stunts, same willingness to take a thin plot and make it mythic through sheer visual commitment and a magnetic lead performance.

But Nearly two hours long and deliberately paced. If you want quicker thrills, this is a slow burn of sword-and-sorcery meditation.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Eolomea1972

Both films treat their wastelands as real, lived-in places rather than backdrops. Both are interested in the spaces between plot points, in how characters move through hostile worlds.

A Yugoslavian sci-fi film about wanderers crossing a strange, empty landscape—spare, meditative, visually haunting. It shares Metalstorm's commitment to practical worldbuilding and its sense that a story can be mythic without being loud.

But Almost nothing happens in a conventional sense. There's no dialogue for long stretches, and it moves at its own glacial pace. Most people will find it remote and austere.

The Beastmaster1982

Another early-80s fantasy-action film with a roving hero, desert settings, and a genuine sense of fun. It knows exactly what it is and commits fully to the strangeness.

But The animal companion stuff is very much of its moment, and some of the action beats drag. It's not paced for modern impatience.

Hawk the Slayer1980

Proof that you could make a sword-and-sorcery film on a pittance and still deliver weird, enjoyable action. The whole thing runs on duct tape, imagination, and genuine commitment to the bit.

But The dialogue is often stilted, the effects are visibly cheap, and pacing can feel like scenes are held just slightly too long.

Red Sonja1985

Another Schwarzenegger-era sword-and-sorcery romp that leans into the pulpy absurdity. Brigitte Nielsen is a genuine action lead, and the film doesn't wink at itself.

But Arnold's cameo is famously pointless, and the film feels padded in places. Some will find the earnestness grating.

The Sword and the Sorcerer1982

Ultra-low-budget dark fantasy with a three-bladed sword and zero interest in being tasteful. It's grubby, strange, and committed to delivering genre thrills on a shoestring.

But The grubby aesthetic extends to murky lighting and sound mixing. Some scenes are hard to follow, and the pacing is uneven.

Dragonslayer1981

High-minded fantasy that takes itself seriously but never loses the sense of adventure. The dragon is genuinely impressive, the world feels lived-in, and the film earns its stakes.

But Slower and more contemplative than you might want. It's interested in character and consequence more than action spectacle.

Sorceress1982

A French film that feels totally alien—a sword-and-sorcery tale made outside the Hollywood tradition, with its own visual language and genuine sense of danger and strangeness.

But The low budget shows in every frame, dubbing is variable, and the plot is sometimes hard to follow. It requires patience with its strangeness.

The Man from Earth2007

Both films prove that budget doesn't matter if you have conviction. Both are more interested in ideas and character than in what money can buy.

A wildly inventive film made for almost nothing by doing the opposite of Metalstorm—one room, one idea, people talking. But it has the same spirit: genius on a shoestring, trusting that an idea is enough.

But Literally a room full of people discussing philosophy. If you need action, spectacle, or movement, this will feel suffocating.

The Holy Mountain1973

Both trust the audience. Neither film explains what things mean or why they're strange. Both believe that a seeker's journey through a hostile world is enough.

Jodorowsky's surrealist epic is visual chaos—no dialogue for minutes, just strange images, ritual, and a wanderer ascending. It's Metalstorm's opposite in budget and approach, but shares its refusal to explain itself and its faith that weirdness is its own reward.

But Genuinely difficult and sometimes grotesque. It's pretentious, takes three hours, and many scenes exist to disturb rather than entertain. Not a watch—an ordeal.