Heavy Metal (1981, US/Can.)

In British animator Gerald Potterton's animated, exploitative pop-cult film - sci-fi fantasy graphics comprised its adult-oriented underground cartoon; the dystopian film was inspired by the late 70s comic book Heavy Metal. It was composed of six major sci-fi/erotica, inter-related episodic segments (interwoven and framed by another story). The disjointed, often misogynistic tales (a "guilty pleasure") were accompanied by heavy metal hard rock. The ground-breaking animation was rated R for violence, sex, nudity (animated!), cosmic horror, profanity and vulgarity.

The animations featured graphic, teen-oriented depictions of drugs, taboo-breaking sex, disrobing nude women (with large breasts) viewed as sex-objects, sex-toy robots, fantasy sword-and-sorcery, and gory violence. Themes of the various stories included sexual awakening, the power of sexual seduction, corruption, the horrors of war, redemptive rebirth, greed, the threat of technology, the longing for immortality, good vs. evil, and the devastating lure of ultimate power.

The influential and rebellious film was praised for the songs on the soundtrack by cult classic hard-rock bands and artists, including Black Sabbath, Cheap Trick, Blue Oyster Cult, Devo, Grand Funk Railroad, Nazareth, Sammy Hagar, Stevie Nicks, Journey, and others. On a budget of $9 million, the film turned out to be a commercial success at $20 million (domestic). Its sequel almost 20 years later was titled Heavy Metal 2000 (2000) (aka Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.).

The entire film of disparate stories was all tied together by an evil, powerful, glowing sentient green orb or meteorite from outer space, known as the Loc-Nar (voice of Percy Rodrigues) - called "the sum of all evils." There were many recurring images of death and dissolving bodies, reduced to bones and dripping goo as a result of contact with the "ancient relic."

The inter-related and interwoven vignettes of the anthology (each with their own style of animation and tone) included:

• Title Sequence: "Soft Landing"
• Framing Story: "Grimaldi"
• 1. "Harry Canyon" - a taxi-cab driver's noirish POV of a dystopic NYC
• 2. "Den" - the story of a young nerdy teen-geek transformed (a sexual awakening) into a grown-up hero when transported to another planet, where he saved and fell in love with a female human sacrifice
• 3. "Captain Sternn" - a rigged courtroom trial for a corrupt Superman-like super-hero
• 4. "B-17" - a zombie WWII bomber plane horror story
• 5. "So Beautiful and So Dangerous" - a drug-fueled, stoner sex story about a robot marrying a stenographer, and the threat of mutant aliens (and androids)
• 6. "Taarna" - a mute, sword-wielding female Defender against the Evil orb
• Epilogue - concluding revelations

The otherworldly film opened with an ominous narrator: "A shadow shall fall over the Universe. And evil will grow in its path. And death will come from the skies." A green-orb moved across the universe before letters formed to present the film's title: "HEAVY METAL."

• during the title sequence ("Soft Landing"), an Earth-orbiting space shuttle in outer space opened its under-belly bay doors in glowing light to release a passenger vehicle - a 1960 Chevrolet Corvette C1 (convertible) driven by a helmeted astronaut; the car descended into the Earth's atmosphere, and was targeted to land in a Southwest US desert area with a "soft" parachute landing

"Grimaldi" - Framing Story: Astronaut Grimaldi Melted to Skeletal Goo by a Green Orb, Witnessed by His Daughter

• in the next segment ("Grimaldi" - a framing story), the astronaut (named Grimaldi) took off in the car (with a red leather interior), and drove through a windy crop field of wheat toward a three-story, red-roofed Victorian house, where he parked, took off his helmet and exited the car with a metal case in his hand; he was greeted by his young daughter (voice of Caroline Semple) rushing down a spiral staircase to ask what he had brought to her
• in a side room, he opened up his gray metal case and an interior canister, revealing a bright neon green, crystal ball that slowly rose up; the orb reduced him to a melting, liquid skeleton and then nothingness; the sphere then spoke to the terrified girl, warning her about how it was "the sum of all evils" that had infested many galaxies and civilizations over time and space; she was urged to look into the influential orb and see the devastation and corruption that it would bring - by viewing a series of vignettes:
  • "Do not try to escape. You are in my control. Look at me. I am the sum of all evils. Look carefully. My power infests all times, all galaxies, all dimensions. But many still seek me out. A green jewel they must possess. But see how I destroy their lives"
• the orb presented the girl with a preliminary story set later at an unknown time at a desert excavation site, where a Professor was leading an expedition with three alien creatures carrying vacuum-machines on their backs; one of them picked up a green orb uncovered by three dump buckets on the front of a large tractor device, and was instantly melted or vaporized
• the first of six vignettes ("Harry Canyon") related to the green orb was set in the Empire State's NYC metropolis, with advanced flying vehicles, but also with urban decay and disrepair, crumbling buildings, low-lifes, and live sex shows; the disillusioned, cynical and pessimistic Harry Canyon (voice of Richard Romanus), a Yellow taxi-cab driver, called the dystopic, film-noirish futuristic city the "scum center of the world"; it was July 3, 2031, according to a NY Times newspaper

"Harry Canyon" Vignette - Harry's Yellow Taxi-Cab in Dystopic NYC, July 3, 2031

Cab-Driver "Harry Canyon"

"Ancient Relic" (the Loc-Nar) on Display in NY Museum

• an article in the newspaper tied back to the "Grimaldi" framing story; Harry noticed an advertisement for the display of a Professor's recently-discovered "ancient relic" (the Loc-Nar green orb) in NY's Metropolitan Museum for the month of July; Harry's next fare was a punk criminal (with a Mohawk haircut) who attempted to hold up Harry from the back seat, but Harry's disintegrator ray (activated by a button on the front floor near the accelerator) eliminated the threat: (Harry: "Nobody touches Harry Canyon unless I want 'em to"); he confiscated the punk robber's pistol and added it to his collection in his glove compartment
• outside the Metropolitan Museum, a young female witnessed the gunning down of her father - the Loc-Nar Professor - by a bunch of gun-wielding gangsters; normally, Harry wouldn't have gotten involved, but he decided to risk rescuing the red-haired 'dame'; she desparately explained her plight: "The Loc-Nar. The thieves - they wanted it, but my father wouldn't tell them. And now I'm the only one!"; after the 'dame' passed out in the back seat, Harry drove her to a cop station, and carried him inside over his shoulder into a cop station, where a bunch of floozies mocked him; no one was willing to help when he reported the murder, and the desk cop insisted on an upfront cash payment ("A thousand bucks a day for a full investigation, another thou if the guy is caught")

The Red-Haired, Blue-Eyed 'Dame' (voice of Susan Roman) Seducing Harry Canyon

• without any other alternative, Harry took the blue-eyed red-head back to his squalid apartment; fearing for her life, she told him the Loc-Nar was found by her father in the desert - and that the Venutians and others wanted to possess it: ("It is worth a fortune, especially to the Venutians. They think it has spiritual powers...All I know it that since we found it, people have been dying all around us"); she claimed she was the only one who knew where the Loc-Nar was now located, and was next to be targeted; Harry suspected she might be conducting a "sucker-play" on him, but was unsure; she stripped down and asked: "Harry, can I sleep with you?" - and he happily let her join him in his bed for sex

Cab Driver Harry Canyon Threatened by a Gang Henchman (With Knife) and by Rudnick

• the next morning, the 'dame' had disappeared; Harry was confronted in bed by two menacing cops who demanded Harry's cooperation to divulge the girl's location: ("You hear from her, you call us. If you don't, you're dead!"); later during his work day, a knife-wielding gang henchman and the gang's cigar-smoking leader Rudnick (voice of Al Waxman) also threatened Harry from the back seat of his cab; Rudnick explained that he represented investors from another planet (Venus?) who wished to purchase the Loc-Nar; after being pursued and destroying two hover-pod chase vehicles driven by Rudnick's goons, later at 4 pm, Harry met up privately with the 'dame' at the Statue of Liberty on its high torch platform; she had agreed to sell the 'relic' to Rudnick (for 300 thousand kronodollars) and she agreed that she would split the profits evenly with Harry

The 'Dame' Betraying Harry

The 'Dame's' Disintegration in the Cab's Back Seat

• in the evening after the exchange of money, Rudnick was disintegrated after opening the case and grabbing the orb; but then to Harry's surprise, the 'dame' betrayed Harry and held a gun on him from his cab's back seat after telling him she had other plans; after asking if she was serious, he went ahead and disintegrated her with his ray by depressing the floor-button; he thought to himself:
  • "Pretty, but dumb. Even though she would have killed me, I kinda felt sorry for her. She was okay. Just a little greedy. As for me, I put it down as a two-day ride with one hell of a tip"
• between vignettes, the orb threatened Grimaldi's terrified daughter, to keep viewing lessons that he would be presenting to her: "My evil corrupts the most innocent. I've chosen you because you possess powers you do not yet understand. Look again. Look deep into me. In some worlds, I'm worshipped as God"

"Den" Vignette - Young Nerdy Boy Hurled Into Outer Space - And Transformed Into a Naked, Bald, and Muscular Adult ("Den")

• in the next vignette "Den," a young nerdy teen boy (voice of John Candy) one night discovered a green glowing object (Loc-Nar, a meteorite?) in the ground behind his house; he brought it back inside and added it to his room's rock collection; during an experiment he was conducting on electricity in his room during a lightning storm outside, the orb was activated and absorbed its energy, and the boy was hurled out into outer space and to another planet (Neverwhere); as he traveled onward, his body transformed - he became naked and bald, and acquired an adult muscular frame with bluish skin
• "Den" (David Ellis Norman" - an acronym for his Earth name) found himself naked at the temple of the god Ullatec with a large rock statue of the diety; embarrassed, he quickly covered his "dork"; he observed red water bubbling in the temple's large rectangular sacred pool below the temple statue, as a masked female priestess Queen (voice of Marilyn Lightstone) was conducting a poolside ritual and chanting: ("By the powers of the glowing Loc-Nar placed in your idol's hand, I demand you come forth, Ullatec! Grant me your strength in return for a living mortal sacrifice"); nearby, a young, naked female was prepared as a human sacrifice; the victim was bound and tossed into the pool, to satisfy the demands of Ullatec
• "Den" dove in and rescued the young half-nude woman, and then swam with her through various underwater tunnels to safety; afterwards, she identified herself as also from Earth - a resident of the British colony of Gibraltar named Katherine Wells (voice of Jackie Burroughs); the grateful female offered her body and sex to Den as a reward ("If any part of me pleases your senses, I would give it to you willingly"), but the two were interrupted and led away by humanoid minions - guard-creatures who served the immortal Ard (voice of Martin Lavut)
• Ard claimed to be a revolutionary rebel leader and the arch-rival of the priestess-Queen; in the foppish Ard's "weird castle," he ordered Den to go and steal the sacred Loc-Nar ("the Queen's glowing sphere") from the Queen in her palace; Ard explained how he was competing with the Queen to use Loc-Nar to summon Ullatec: ("The sacrifice to Ullatec can only be performed by the possessor of sacred Loc-Nar"); Den's reward would be the release of Katherine (who was temporarily placed in a glass case, to rest in suspended animation until his return)
• as he entered through an underground passage into the Queen's castle, Den was accompanied by a fearsome, brave gorilla warrior named Norl (voice of August Schellenberg) and a large raiding party of minions; once Den and Korg entered into the Queen's dark chambers, they spotted the Loc-Nar and Den mused: "It was just like the ball I dug up in the yard. As I saw the Loc-Nar's glow, I had this real funny feeling..."; suddenly, the lights went on - and Den - who thought he was reaching for the green orb - was caught grabbing the Queen's large breast; she non-chalantly ordered her guards: "Kill him!"

In the Dark, Den Mistakenly Reaching Not For the Orb, But For the Queen's Breast

The Queen's Offer to Den to Save His Life: "I have something better in mind. Come with me"

Den Satisfying the Queen in Her Chambers

• but then the Queen changed her mind and offered Den his life if he agreed to have sex with her - but she warned: "If you please me, I may let you live....Satisfy my appetites"; while the Queen was having her sexual desires fulfillled: ("Your strength has brought great peace to my restless body. You could bring peace to all the troubled people in this land"), Den's accomplices (the raiding party with Norl) snuck in and stole the Loc-Nar; ultimately realizing she had been tricked, the enraged Queen attempted to kill Den herself, but he escaped on an alien horse and rode back to Ard's castle; the betrayed Queen screamed after him from the top of her castle wall: "I want his head!"

At the Top of the Temple, The Queen and Ard Fought Over Possession of Loc-Nar	Electrical Energy From the Pool Ran Up a Chain
The Energy Reached to the Top of the Temple Statue Where Ard and the Queen Struggled to Possess the Loc-Nar	After Ard and the Queen Had Vanished: Den: "They're gone. That's all that matters."

• Den hurried to Ullatec's temple, where Ard was already mid-way through the same ritual, and where the revived Katherine was to serve once again as the human sacrifice; as Katherine was about to be thrown into the pool, Den saved her; the Queen arrived and struggled for possession of the Loc-Nar with Ard at the top of the temple statue: ("Give it to me! The Loc-Nar is mine!"); as lightning struck both the sacred pool water and the Loc-Nar sphere in their hands, the two objects were energized; Den tied a chain onto a spear and propelled it into the top of the Ullatec temple's statue, near where Ard and the Queen wrestled together; miraculously, the lightning's energy in the pool ran up the chain and was directed into the Loc-Nar; the force of the energy caused both Ard and the Queen to vanish; Den had been able to recreate the explosive 'accident' that had brought him to the planet; after the Loc-Nar tumbled down the temple's stairs to Den's feet, he refused to rule the planet by possessing the power of the Loc-Nar, and instead chose to ride off with Katherine into the sunset and remain on the planet: ("I like it better here. On Earth, I am nobody, but here, I'm Den")
• back at Grimaldi's house, the sphere spoke to the scared girl again - describing how the power of the Loc-Nar orb had not been diminished, just because it had been discarded; it flew up into space, and toward a space station orbiting Jupiter

"Captain Sternn" Vignette - Trial of the Corrupt and Haughty Captain on an Orbiting Space Station

• in the third vignette titled: "Captain Sternn," the orb (the size of a marble) was found and picked up off the floor of the space station by an odd-looking crew member named Hanover Fiste (voice of Rodger Bumpass); meanwhile, the smug commander of the orbiting space station Captain Lincoln F. Sternn (voice of Eugene Levy) was on trial (in a large room with an audience of angry humans and aliens) for numerous charges read by the Prosecutor: 12 counts of murder in the first degree, 14 counts of armed theft of Federation property, 22 accounts of piracy in high space, 18 counts of fraud, 37 counts of rape, and one moving violation; amazingly, Sternn confidently pleaded "NOT GUILTY," although his defense lawyer Charlie begged with him to change his mind; Sternn (who had an "angle") expected that his prime witness Hanover Fiste, who he had bribed with 35,000 zulaks, would be able to acquit him with fraudulent testimony

Captain Sternn's Perjured Witness Hanover Fiste - Transformed Into a Monstrous Hulk as He Testified About Sternn's Guilt

• when the dopey-looking Fiste - the individual who had picked up the Loch-Nar, was called to testify, he was unable to perjure himself (due to his possession of the Loch-Nar) and save Sternn, and as he transformed, he admitted that the Captain was guilty as charged, plus many more crimes: ("He is nothin' but a low-down, double-dealin', backstabbin', larcenous, perverted worm! Hangin' is too good for him! Burnin's too good for him!"); as he changed into a muscular and monstrous hulk, Fiste approached - threatening to kill the Captain; Fiste slapped the Prosecutor away and chased after Sternn as he fled from the courtroom, and in his path, Fiste caused massive destruction throughout the station
• the vignette ended with Sternn offering Fiste the promised bribery money pay-off, causing Fiste to revert to his former meek self; then, the double-crossing Stern pulled a lever on a trap-door to release Fiste into outer space, where his ejected body burned up - except for the green marble in his fingers on his detached flaming arm - as it entered into Earth's atmosphere; the Loc-Nar spoke (voice-over): "Very few escape my grasp. Even in death, my powers continue"
• in the fourth vignette titled: "B-17," a WWII-era B-17 bomber plane (the Pacific Pearl) suffered dead crew members and damage after being repeatedly hit by anti-aircraft explosions during a 1943 bomber run over Europe; the co-pilot/navigator Holden (voice of Zal Yanovsky) reported back to the pilot Jim (voice of George Touliatos) from the cargo bay (where he found the tail-gunner and other cargo-gunners all dead) that something ("some kind of green meteorite" - the glowing Loc-Nar) was following the disabled plane
• through the back window, the co-pilot could see the Loc-Nar cruising under the plane before ramming itself up into the fuselage, and knocking the co-pilot unconscious; the orb remained inside the bombing bay, and illuminated the corpses of the crew members with a bright green glow, turning them into skeletal monsters; the co-pilot regained consciousness before walking back through the fuselage again where he discovered that the bloody corpses of the crew members that he had seen earlier had disappeared; when he looked inside the hatch of the ball-gunner's perch, he was suddenly grabbed by two beastly, greenish clawed hands, pulled inside, and killed (blood sprayed onto the interior of the windows of the perch)

"B-17" Vignette - The Green Orb Broke Through the Undercarriage-Fuselage of the Plane	The Orb Caused the Crew Corpses to Glow Green	Close-Up of a Corpse Hand Becoming Skeletal and Monstrous
Co-Pilot Grabbed by Pair of Green Hands (of the Zombified Ball-Gunner)	Pilot Greeted at Door by One of the Zombified Crew-Members	On the Desert Island (A Plane Junkyard), Zombified-Pilots Inhabited the Planes

• the pilot became suspicious when the co-pilot wouldn't answer his radio; he set the plane on 'automatic pilot' and as he opened the cargo area door to walk back into the fuselage, he was attacked by one of the zombified dead crew members (with a skeletal body and clawed hands); as a group of three zombies broke down the door, the pilot realized they was impervious to bullets and safely parachuted away from the bomber, and landed on a remote and deserted island; the desert jungle-oasis appeared to have become a graveyard of crashed military airplanes, plus it had become the dwelling place for monstrous, skeletal zombified dead airmen in the metal carcasses of the junkers
• the pilot screamed as the Loc-Nar spoke (voice-over) from inside his massive alien space-station hovering over Earth; he was viewing an aerial-view, monitor-screen graphic of the doomed pilot (a red X) surrounded by green-glowing wreckage and zombified airmen:
  • "From one war to another, my influence is always present. The paltry armies of the universe are but playthings to me"
• in the fifth vignette titled "So Beautiful and So Dangerous," Loc-Nar continued to view the monitor screen - capturing an aerial-view of the US Pentagon in Washington DC; a chauffeured black car drove up to a side entrance where pale-faced, stiff-walking scientist Dr. Anrak (voice of Rodger Bumpass) exited the car and ignored questions from a gaggle of reporters; inside the Pentagon in a meeting room, the distinguished but creepy scientist spoke with concerned and frantic military officials, other scientists and Congressmen about space defense; he was questioned about recent appearances of mysterious, hostile green mutants: (1) "six more mutants were sighted at Arizona this morning," and (2) "green radiation from space"; to calm and relieve people's nerves, Dr. Anrak dismissed their worries; as he spoke, a giant shadow blanketed the Pentagon as a large spacecraft hovered over it

"So Beautiful and So Dangerous" Vignette
Chauffeured Limo Arriving at the Pentagon	The Entrance of Creepy Scientist Dr. Anrak	Dr. Anrak: "There's no cause for alarm"
Shadow Moving Over the Pentagon as Spacecraft Arrived	Massive Smiley-Faced Alien Spacecraft Hovering Above the Pentagon	Sexual Assault Interrupted by a Tube Sucking Dr. Anrak and Gloria Into Spacecraft

• Dr. Arnak distractedly glanced at the Pentagon's red-headed, blue-eyed, buxom stenographer named Gloria (voice of Alice Playten) seated across from him; he became transfixed by the glowing green Loc-Nar inside a locket she wore around her neck that hung between her large breasts; he began to tremble, glitch, act erratically and sweat, and suddenly launched himself across the top of the table and sexually assaulted Gloria; at the same time, the large alien, smiley-faced spacecraft hovering over the Pentagon extended a giant tube down to the Pentagon's roof, and drilled into the meeting room; with heavy suction through the tube, Dr. Anrak and Gloria were sucked upwards and propelled through various tubular passageways; at the end of the tube in the interior of the spacecraft, Dr. Anrak's body broke apart and shattered into pieces, revealing that he was a malfunctioning robotic android (on the side of the aliens)
• the kidnapped Gloria was greeted by a short flirtatious robot (voice of John Candy), who became infatuated with the voluptuous Earth "chick"; he wanted her for himself and told her she couldn't return to Earth because of a "molecular instability zone around the spacecraft"; as their spacecraft was piloted away from Earth by its drug-snorting alien pilot Zeke and co-pilot Edsel, they nose-snorted (they called it a "nose-dive") white lines on the floor of a cocaine-like substance (Plutonian Nyborg) with their elongated trunks, and began to hallucinate during their space journey to their massive space station

The Kidnapping of Dr. Anrak (An Android), and a Pentagon Stenographer Gloria Into the Spacecraft - To Meet a Sexually-Proficient Robot

• meanwhile, the robot had suggested to Gloria that they have sex together afterwards, as the highly-satisfied Gloria laid nude in bed following intercourse ("That was incredible! I've never felt anything like it") and was smoking a cigarette, she told the sexually-proficient robot (who wanted to "go steady") that she felt guilty because she already had a boyfriend; the robot replied: "Of course you would. Earth women who experience sexual ecstasy with mechanical assistance always tend to feel guilty"; and then after the robot suggested that they get married, she was unsure: "But mixed marriages just don't work. I'm afraid that I'll come home one day and find you screwing the toaster"; the robot asked her to trust him, and she agreed to marriage - but under certain conditions: "All right, all right, I'll marry you. But on one condition. I want a Jewish wedding"; she also specified that he had to be circumcised
• the pilots had become so intoxicated and "high" on the hallucinatory drugs they had been ingesting, that their flight path was altered, and they crashed during an attempted docking-landing into their massive, hovering space station (a space colony)

The Loc-Nar's Final Threat Against the Young Daughter

• back at the Grimaldi house with an interior green-glow, the Loc-Nar ominously threatened the young girl one last time:
  • "My stories are almost over. I have chosen you, because you are the future who could destroy me. With your death, I break the chain for all time. Look into me one final time. See my evil destroy your race. Then prepare to die"
• in the 6th and final vignette ("Taarna"), the bright green Loc-Nar meteorite descended toward a dormant volcano on an alien planet and crashed at its summit, and then the site began to quake and erupt with slimy, greenish lava, covering the local tribe of outcast inhabitants who had curiously traveled to its base; one of the victims emerged as a mutated barbarian (with clawed hands and green skin), who became their leader (voice of Vlasta Vrana), with an ominous declaration with raised fists: "Death! Death to all who oppose us!"
• the hordes of green, mutated barbarians led by their leader attacked the nearby walled city and violently murdered almost the entire populace; the City Council (a group of scholars) had been meeting in its chambers to decide how to save themselves; the Elder Council leader (voice of Mavor Moore) spoke about their Pact with an ancient warrior race of Defenders known as the Taarakians, but the death of their ruler Taarak had wiped out the race; however, there was one lone survivor: ("It is Taarna of the blood of Taarak the Defender. The last of the race") - a strong maiden named Taarna; the Council leader decided to summon her - "from within"; however, it was too late for the Council members themselves, who soon after were slaughtered by the invading barbarians

The First View of Cloaked Taarna Inside the Temple Before Stripping Down and Then Re-Costuming Herself in a Warrioress Outfit in Front of a Gigantic Statue

• the hooded, brown cloak-wearing Taarna - riding on the back of a giant, green-eyed yellow winged and beaked alien bird, made her entrance inside the gigantic temple of Taarna; the beautiful, mute, Amazonian warrior stripped off her cloak to reveal her silver-hair, before swimming across the temple's pool of holy water to stand before the great Taarna statue; she then dressed and costumed herself in a skimpy black outfit (with black thigh-leggings, a red right shoulder-guard, red shin-guards and boots, and red gloves), and an electrified golden sword; she was summoned to embark on a mission to vengefully defeat mutated barbarians on the alien planet (where the Loc-Nar had landed)
• Taarna arrived at the devastated, burned-down city on her avian mount, but was too late to save the inhabitants; the elderly Council leader had been beheaded along with everyone else; she took with her an amulet (with a strange symbol or emblem on it) grasped in the left fist of the dead Council leader
• she flew onward to another city, where she was led to a tavern (horse-like creatures parked outside were marked with the amulet symbol, signifying that it was one of the barbarians' strongholds); inside, she was accosted by three vulgar barbarian thugs; she quickly beheaded all of them with two swings of her sword, and then learned from the intimidated bartender that the barbarians' main camp was "beyond the oasis" - at the green-glowing base of the volcano where the Loc-Nar had landed

Taarna and Bird Caught in Net By the Barbarians	Taarna Identified by Symbol on Her Neck	The Green-Skinned Barbarian Leader
Taarna Stripped and Bound	Taarna Taunted	Taarna Whipped and Imprisoned in a Deep Pit

• once she arrived there, she was captured in flight within a net and brought before the green-skinned barbarian leader, and was identified by a sword symbol on her neck as a Taarakian; the leader ordered her bound, stripped, washed down, tortured and whipped, and left to die in a deep imprisoning pit; after being restored to her warrioress costume, she was rescued by her large alien bird, but as they flew off, the bird was brought down by an arrow to the neck; Taarna was toppled off the mount, and sadly mourned her beloved bird's serious injuries; moments later, the barbarian leader arrived on a giant flying bat to engage in a fight to the death with her

Taarna Reclothed and Rescued in a Deep Pit By Her Flying Mount	Serious Injuries Suffered by Taarna's Mount
The Barbarian Leader About to Kill Taarna (With His Saw-Blade Mechanical Hand)	Taarna Punching the Leader In the Face With Her Red-Gloved Fist, Sending Green Goo Everywhere

• although she was sliced and gashed by the leader's mechanical right hand (with a twirling saw blade), Taarna's injured mount lying on the ground nearby saved her; the bird bit into the right leg of the leader and distracted him; Taarna was able to bash the leader in the head with a pipe, before grabbing his hand (with the saw) and plunging it into his throat; she also crushed his face with her own fist to defeat him, sending greenish goo flying everywhere
• afterwards, she flew on her bird toward the green-glowing volcano to make a final assault on the Loc-Nar; she was cautioned: "Taarna - Do not sacrifice yourself. You cannot destroy me" - but she ignored the warning, and with her own self-sacrifice and the brandishing of her electrified sword, she flew into the volcano and destroyed the Loc-Nar
• Taarna's suicidal death and the disintegration of Loc-Nar's power also meant the destruction of every instance of the Loc-Nar in space and time (including within Grimaldi's house)
• in the film's "Epilogue," Grimaldi's daughter raced away from the mansion into a nearby crop field; behind her, the house glowed a bright green and the Loc-Nar destructively blew up; the young girl watched as a newly-reincarnated purple alien mount appeared to her on a hilltop; she approached to pet the bird, before mounting it bareback and flying off, as the film concluded
• the film's plot twist was that the soul of Taarna was reborn in the young girl, and the two were equated; the Loc-Nar had always known that he had to destroy her first, or she would destroy him; she had been destined to be the new Taarakian Defender against the evils of the Loc-Nar in this next generation; to signify the change, the girl's hair became silvery, and the identifying mark appeared on her neck; the Narrator summarized:
  • (voice-over) "And the spirit of Taarna is transferred across the Universe to a new Defender. And the power of evil is contained for another generation. And a new Taarakian is born to protect the next"