An Oscar-nominated fantasy flop that eventually secured cult status remains cursed by its most polarizing element

It doesn’t get talked about arguably anywhere near enough, but the 1980s is without a doubt one of the best decades ever when it comes to Hollywood fantasy. One of the downsides is that not all of them managed to find success the first time around, though, with Ladyhawke just one of many to fall by the wayside.

Despite the presence of The Omen, Superman: The Movie, and The Goonies director Richard Donner behind the camera, the lavish medieval-inspired epic couldn’t even recoup its $20 million budget from theaters. However, it did go on to land a pair of Academy Award nominations before finding long-lasting cult classic status, but there’s one element in particular that still divides opinion.

A recent Reddit thread remarking on the many pros and relatively few cons of Ladyhawke makes a point of noting “some people hate the original score,” which is very much a product of its time given the widespread love of the humble synthesizer. While many of the comments and replies are in agreement that the music has aged horrendously, others remain steadfast that it still absolutely slaps almost 40 years later.

Bright young things Michelle Pfeiffer and Matthew Broderick star opposite Rutger Hauer in the tale of unrequited love, dark secrets, and supernatural magic, which follows a similar vein to many of its spiritual contemporaries. Ladyhawke may not be held up on the same pedestal as bedfellows like The Princess Bride, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, or Willow, but occupying the same cult territory as Tom Cruise’s Legend, the star-studded Excalibur and more is a pretty decent compromise all things considered.