Setting a monster movie in medieval times, similar to Army of Darkness, is a risky gamble. Without a big studio budget, the movie risks looking like a silly SyFy Channel creature feature. Fortunately, the effects, costume design, and setting for Devil’s Knight all look pretty good. The film’s main fault lies with its massive cast of characters.

Directed by Adam Werth and co-written by Victor V Gelsomino, the film opens with one of the film’s many characters, Orwell (Denny Nolan) sitting around a fire, chatting with his men about thieving and the day’s other events. Suddenly, they’re greeted by a visitor with a horribly scarred face. The man introduces himself as Sigurd (John Wells). Shortly after, he tells a tale about a dagger that has a connection to the film’s big baddie, the Bone Devil. In terms of a set-up, this is a pretty solid opening. It feels like a prologue to a fantasy novel. It triggers the film’s subsequent events and eases us into this world of knights, kings, and monsters.

After Sigurd’s introduction and reference to the Bone Devil, the film shifts. We’re then introduced to King Samuel (Kevin Hager). The king faces a crisis because the Bone Devil wiped out one of his elite units. As a result, and to avoid chaos within his kingdom, King Samuel employs a group of monster hunters known as the Lost Blades to deal with the problem. Atop of that, the king has to confront his rebellious daughter, Princess Sabine (Sarah Nicklin). She wants to defeat the monster herself. Furthermore, a few characters plot to usurp the king and seize power for themselves. Yes, there’s quite a lot going on in this movie.

This film would have worked much, much better if it really trimmed down its sprawling cast of characters. It’s hard to care about many of them or even get to know them because there are too many in number. We don’t even necessarily have a clear protagonist in this feature, and most of the characters are forgettable. Unfortunately, none of the characters, not even the monster hunters, stand out. That’s the film’s main flaw.

Too many characters aside, Devil’s Knight does have impressive set designs, costumes, and special effects. This is an indie movie, but Werth really stretched the budget to make this look good. As for the monsters, they’re relentless and brutal. Even within the first ten minutes, a creature slashes throats. Blood splatters all over the place. The last 20 minutes includes quite a body count.

Devil’s Knight is certainly an entertaining creature feature set during medieval times. While it doesn’t have a memorable character or two to root for, it does have some wicked monsters and notable practical effects. This suffices for a one-time, late-night watch.