This was an absolutely wonderful follow up to the original 5 Mythica films. It takes place 19 years after the demise of Szorlock, and the Red Thorns have become the stuff of legends. Their stories are told around campfires, but the effects of war still run deep and have hardened most. Vytalion soldiers are hunted and killed. A gloom seems to hang over most as if they know they aren't quite out of the dark yet. I don't know if it was due to budget restraints, but they chose to set the film mostly in a single location. An inn, where they have all sought shelter from the storm. It felt as if Patrick Rothfuss wrote the Hateful Eight. Most characters here aren't who they pretend to be, and secrets are revealed slowly and done very well, and Will Kemp does a fantastic job as The Stranger. His secrets, and connections to the Red Thorns, brought a smile to my face. You do see a couple familiar faces, a "blink and you'll miss it" tribute to Daegan, the half elf thief, but over all this is a brand new cast of characters, all of which I would gladly watch in a new batch of sequels. The cgi effects are also fantastic for the beast which the stranger has captured, although lacking for the guardian owl. But I've always found poor cgi charming in a way, especially in the Mythica films, because you know it was all done with so much passion and love that it hardly feels like a criticism at all.
