Title card from Part 1
The Wars of Darkness is a two-part 2005-2006 feature-length Brickfilm created by A.J. "Selavast" Belongia. It is the longest film of its kind, clocking in at over 240 minutes. The director produced it "entirely for fun" in 2004 using LEGO Studios. The finished film was not actually output by the program, but recorded with a DV-R from the Studios preview screen.The film was originally shared on DVD due to the bandwidth limitations at the time, and did not see a public release until it was uploaded to YouTube in 2012.
The story follows Prince Samuel of Iendol and King Dagnith of Garan Tur as they do battle against the evil Lord Selavast. The director claims to have been "inspired by Lord of the Rings, Diablo, and Warcraft 3 as well as other films and games". Many of the sound effects and music tracks used are themselves from Warcraft III and Stronghold.
Tropes present include:
- Evil Laugh: Selavast does this.
- High-Pressure Blood: Characters will often launch a spray of gore into the air when struck.
- Made of Plasticine: A villager gets thrown against a boulder, where his head hits an edge and his skull bursts into gore on impact.
- Nightmare Sequence: In which Samuel sees Gorelock murder King Dagnith and Captain Abberdale. He strikes it down, only for it to turn into his father, King Allindor. He stares at his bloodstained hands as Selavast appears and laughs. He wakes up screaming and shaking.
- Overdrawn at the Blood Bank: Many injuries result in overly profuse bleeding.
- Practical Effects: The film has no digital effects.
