Ridley Scott’s 1985 fantasy classic Legend is memorable for its astonishing visuals, hypnotic Tangerine Dream soundtrack, and a host of stellar performances by Tom Cruise, Tim Curry, and Mia Sara as the three principle characters. It’s also remembered for being one of the most nightmarish, dark fairy tales of all time, with frightening imagery, an eerie tone, and the best on-screen representation of Satan in all of cinema.

We’re counting down the 10 reasons why Legend was such a dark and disturbing, yet strangely charming fantasy film that stood apart from its contemporaries. Venture forth with us, brave souls!

EVEN DISNEY SAID NO

This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, given 80s Disney’s focus on family friendly material versus darker thematic elements, but the fact that they passed on such an ambitious project is nonetheless telling. Ridley Scott had approached Disney to take on the film, but they bucked it due to how dark the source material was.

This must have been a bit of an ego blow for Scott, who had taken his cues from Disney’s more ominous films, like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 

LOSS OF INNOCENCE

The loss of innocence is a classic literary theme, and Legend plays it up correctly by robbing two characters of that innocence early on. Jack is aware of the boundaries bestowed upon humans when it comes to magic, but he’s a carefree spirit who lives an ideal life amidst nature. Princess Lili is without a care; a royal who loves satisfying her own childlike wonder each day.

Together, these two characters endure the most harrowing and terrifying of experiences, which changes both of them irrevocably. Though the film ends on a happy note, with Darkness defeated and the world restored to its former beauty, the memory of such an event would be impossible to forget, and would have long-lasting implications on their psyche.

IT FELT LIKE A DREAM

The one thing viewers might notice about Legend is that the entire movie feels like a flowing dream. It doesn’t reference any cities, villages, or environments that look positively real. Instead, it’s an ethereal tone mixed with a disjointed visual style that makes you feel as if you’re fast asleep, and dreaming of a world that doesn’t quite fit.

Naturally, this dream turns into a nightmare rather quickly, and the entire tone of the movie shifts. Still, Legend never loses this haunting feel of being caught in a dream world you can’t escape from.

SCARY MONSTERS

Legend didn’t back away from bringing the scares, and they came in spades. From Blix, the leader of the goblins, to Meg Mucklebones, played with spine-chilling excellence by Star Trek: Voyager alum Robert Picardo, Legend was a film chock-full of scary creatures.

You know a movie has a lot going for it in the creepiness department when a figure-less, dancing black dress is enough to give you the willies!

ETERNAL WINTER

The death of the Unicorn early on in the film plunges the world of Legend into eternal night, as well as eternal winter. Time freezes, and humans are trapped in a never-ending curse that renders them in stasis. This visual mechanic works to great effect on several levels.

Not only does it isolate the character of Lili and plunge her into her own nightmare scenario, but it also haunted the viewing audience whose minds were already focused on the real possibility of nuclear winter in the 1980s.

CORRUPTION OF THE SOUL

The character of Lili goes from mischievous, innocent princess to tormented and traumatized girl throughout the course of her so-called “adventure.” By the time she finds herself in Darkness’ fortress, she’s bombarded by evils seeking to corrupt her soul.

When Lili comes face-to-face with Darkness, the latter attempts to destroy her last hope of returning the world to normal, while attempting to seduce her with the powers of the night. Lili all-but falls victim to this corruption, turning wicked for the sake of fooling the Lord of Darkness in order to pay for her sins.

IRRESPONSIBILITY

The character of Princess Lili is a brat, through and through. She shirks her royal responsibilities to run off into the forest and indulge her inner child, using Jack as her plaything. Though her heart is in the right place, she’s a girl without discipline or a sense of responsibility.

This proves fatal when her own selfishness pushes her to try and get close enough to a unicorn to touch it, which lowers the creature’s guard long enough for it to be struck with Blix’s poison dart. What follows is a world thrown literally into a freezing hell, leaving Lili to contemplate what she’s done. In some ways, it’s a morality tale about the dangers of shirking responsibility, but the film bestows an especially harsh punishment for her transgressions.

THE UNICORN DEATH

Who doesn’t love Unicorns? They’re cool, they’re awe-inspiring, and they’re born of pure magic. When one gets killed, there’s bound to be drastic repercussions.

This takes place in the first act of the film, when Darkness’ minions manage to down one of two Unicorns with a poison dart, before moving in to slice the horn from its head, thereby unbalancing the furies and plunging the world into the nightmarish darkness of an eternal winter. It’s an unsettling scene, especially for younger viewers who were growing up seeing unicorns in happy fairytales, only to be subjected to this blasphemy.

THE HORROR

For a PG film, Legend sure doesn’t shy away from the horror aspects! When Jack and his crew find themselves locked in cages within the Lord of Darkness’ stronghold, they soon realize that they’re the main course for dinner.

A pull-back shot doesn’t exactly leave much to the imagination, as an ogre begins hacking up a body on the carving table, which flails about either in agony, or reflex action. To be honest, we’re not sure which is more horrible!

TIM CURRY AS THE LORD OF DARKNESS

Though not named as such, it’s quite obvious that the Lord of Darkness is the living embodiment of Satan. Ridley Scott made no attempt to confuse the issue, given the astonishingly good makeup job on actor Tim Curry. It’s also Curry who sells the show with a truly evil performance that only he, in his eccentricity could muster.

The Lord of Darkness is fearsome to behold, and few first-time viewers were hardly able to hide their intimidation when he first steps out of a magic mirror on satanic hooves, and reveals himself in all his glory. There hasn’t been a character design like it ever since, and it’s the ultimate embodiment of the darkness that permeates the entire film.