'Spellfury' is Low Budget, High Fantasy

Dungeons and Dragons-esque fantasy generally doesn’t get a whole lot of respect, especially considering the rather large population of nerds around the Internet. Either we get shows like GOLD, which, while amazing, aren’t really about fantasy so much as about tabletop gaming, or we get linked to the same “Lightning Bolt!” “Lightning Bolt!” video again and again.

Here’s to hoping that Spellfury, a new fantasy web series created by Ottawa, Canada-based Travis Gordon, turns out to be the Xena: Warrior Princess of the Internet – that is, a fantasy show that manages to do what it sets out to do with class, camp, and just a little bit of snark.

Spellfury is currently three episodes in, each one weighing in at about two minutes long (though between the intro and the “Previously, on Spellfury…” recaps, it’s more like 90 seconds). So far there doesn’t seem to be a specific release schedule, but we do know that they’ve got about fifteen episodes filmed. As of this writing, all we’ve seen is a scruffy-looking dwarf and a lithe blonde elf girl take on some kind of vengeful apparition with the help of an enchanted sword, though not without casualties of their own.

Perhaps the most remarkable facet of the show so far is the special effects, which have an awkward, ’80s-esque hand-made clumsiness to them that simply adds to the charm; now we just need to wait and see whether the rest of the show can keep our attention. Considering that between The Guild and GOLD the web currently has more shows about playing fantasy games than actual fantasy shows, Spellfury might very well be worth keeping tabs on, especially if it manages to take itself just seriously enough.