"Legend" (1985)

Directed by Ridley Scott, 1985’s Legend, tells the story of Darkness, who's plan is to hunt down the unicorns, and bring him their horns in order to plunge the land in complete darkness. Jack, our hero of the story, decides to save the unicorns, and destroy Darkness, and save the world. To me, Legend is considered a dark fantasy film, with horror elements in it. The fantasy elements are apparent in the film, with magical creates like dwarfs, and unicorns present, and the horror comes from the lord of Darkness himself. The hero’s journey comes from Jack, as a main protagonist that is tasked to take down Darkness, as he tries to plunge the world into darkness. What is so interesting to me is the evil/ antagonist being presented, who is the actual personification of evil and darkness itself. This is contrasted beautifully by Scott's portrayal of the magical creatures as the personifications of hope, light, and happiness. Usually, in stories like this, the antagonist would be presented as this normal looking person, who hides his/her evil intentions behind their facade. Here, it's placed in full display, with huge horns and all.

Overall, Legend is an dark fantsy film that pushes the viewer into a world of fairies and devils. Scott creates the imaginative and colorful story that has an intriguing hero’s journey that is universal and interesting. The story of good versus evil is a story technique that is known by everyone, and Legend does so very well. By having the image of evil in the film be of actual, satanic evil, sells this technique very well. The fact that the goal is a simple, yet effective one, where darkness wants to steal what’s left of good in the world, helps the story even more. Ridley Scott creates a compelling, fantasy film, with an dintriqueing good versus evil fantasy story.