Hudson Leick Movies

Jaimie Alexander and Brian McNamara co-headline the direct-to-video supernatural horror saga Hallowed Ground. When an innocent young lady becomes unwittingly stranded in an American small town, she senses imminent danger, and in fact soon learns of the town's wretched history: it was founded by a bloodthirsty, Satanically-evil preacher with a nasty little taste for committing human sacrifices. The strange townspeople are both heirs to this legacy and accomplices in it - to such a degree that the newcomer must soon flee in terror from the clutches of the hamlet's residents and the pursuit of a possessed, animate scarecrow who wants her dead. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Messianic shaman Eli (Tim Omundson, making his final series appearance) incurs the wrath of Ares (Kevin Smith) when he preaches against the warlike ways of the Olympian Gods. Though they do their best to protect Eli, Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) fail in their mission. But can it be that Eli's demise was all part of a divine master plan -- one which also involves Xena's unborn child? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comic episode set in "the present," the production team responsible for the weekly series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys -- whose members bear striking resemblances to the series' principal characters -- are threatened with unemployment by studio boss Hollinshoffer (Robert Trebor) unless they can come up with some fresh new story ideas. Hoping to work in atmosphere of peace and quiet, the staff heads to Camp Wannachuck, a summer retreat presided over by perky counselor Sunny Day (Renee O'Connor) and the less-than-perky (and appropriately named) Norma Bates (Tamara Gorski). Before long, however, the production team is plagued by a series of murder attempts, and it falls to Kevin Sorbo, the actor who stars as Hercules (or is he the genuine article?) to save the day -- and to supply the staff with enough storylines to last them at least another season-and-a-half. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this action thriller, the only things standing in the way of world destruction are two guys in an ice cream truck. On a remote island in the South Pacific, a secret weapons project (code name "Elvis") goes wrong, and a new chemical weapon, safe when frozen but deadly when thawed, is allowed to escape. Eighteen soldiers are killed, leaving behind only the scientist who created the formula and the officer in charge of the project, who is saddled with most of the blame. Ten years later, Tim Mason (Skeet Ulrich) is working at a diner in Montana when an old friend, Dr. Richard Long (David Paymer), is seriously wounded by Maj. Andrew Brynner (Peter Firth). It seems that Dr. Long helped create Elvis and Maj. Brynner was the officer who took the fall for the disaster ten years ago. Near death, Long gives Elvis to Mason and tells him that it has to be kept solidly frozen and delivered to Fort Magruder, 90 miles away. But how to keep it at zero degrees until then? A logical solution presents itself when Arlo (Cuba Gooding Jr.), who drives an ice cream truck, makes a delivery to the diner. Mason drafts Arlo into helping him transport Elvis to safety, and before long Brynner's men are hot on the trail of the icy chemical weapon. First-time director Hugh Johnson learned his craft in part through his work as a cameraman for Ridley Scott: he was the cinematographer for White Squall and G.I. Jane. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) is distressed to learn that her daughter, Hope (Amy Morrison), the result of an unholy alliance with satanic god Duhak, is still alive. Even more distressing is the fact that Hope has freed Callisto (Hudson Leick), mortal enemy of Xena (Lucy Lawless). Hope and Callisto aspire to cause an irreparable rift between Xena and Gabrielle by bringing about the death of Xena's son, Solan (David Taylor). Without elaborating further, it can be said that the episode's disclaimer is sadly accurate: "Xena and Gabrielle's relationship was harmed during production of this motion picture." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, the evil Callisto (Hudson Leick) has traveled back in time to prevent the birth of Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) by murdering the hero's future mother Alcmene (Kim Michalis). To prevent this, Hercules' friend Iolaus (Michael Hurst) likewise ventures "forward into the past." Meanwhile, Hercules and his despotic parallel-dimension lookalike, the Sovereign (also Kevin Sorbo), are trapped in the netherworld. Even if Hercules manages to escape, how will he bring Iolaus back to the present? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In part one of Xena: Warrior Princess' third-season finale, Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) try to prevent Gabby's friend Seraphim (Jodie Rimmer) from sacrificing her life to revive a so-called goddess. Even worse: that "goddess" is none other than Gabrielle's evil daughter, Hope, killed by Xena in an earlier episode. All this intrigue has been cooked up by two other enemies from Xena's past: Ares (Kevin Smith) and Callisto (Hudson Leick). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After battling Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) in the previous episode "The Quest," ferocious Amazon warrior Velasca (Melinda Clarke) manages to become an immortal god by consuming mass quantities of ambrosia. As the unkillable Velasca prepares to destroy Gabrielle, Xena (Lucy Lawless) realizes that only an Immortal can battle another Immortal. Thus, she summons her arch enemy Callisto (Renee O'Connor), now a god herself, to save Gabrielle from harm. Callisto agrees -- but first, she demands a stiff and daunting price for her services. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode features a rare joint appearance by longtime TV leading man Corbin Bernsen and his real-life mother, daytime-drama diva Jeanne Cooper). Bernsen is cast as celebrated escape artist Eric Weiss, whose lack of concern over his own safety has earned him the Nickname "The Angel of Death". Posing as Eric's assistant, Monica (Roma Downey) becomes painfully aware that her boss harbors a genuine death wish, stemming back to a childhood tragedy involving his twin brother Peter. A visit to Erich's mother (Cooper) brings several long-suppressed secrets to light. Meanwhile, Hudson Leick makes her first appearance as nervous apprentice angel Celeste, who is worried that she won't be able to live up to her Heavenly responsibilities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Through a ruse, Callisto (Hudson Leick) switches bodies with her sworn enemy, Xena (Lucy Lawless), and returns to the world of the Living. Stuck in the nether world of Tartarus, Xena asks Hades (Erik Thompson), God of the Underworld, to be restored to life just long enough to prevent Callisto from wreaking havoc. Unfortunately, Callisto has already used her Xena incarnation to warp the mind of the hapless Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hudson Leick makes her first official series appearance as ferocious blonde warrior Callisto, who is forsworn to avenge her family's death at the hands of Xena's former army. Callisto sets her plan in motion by posing as Xena (Lucy Lawless) and committing random acts of terror in order to frame the ex-warrior princess for murder. When this plan falls through, Callisto kidnaps Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), using the girl to lure Xena into a fatal trap. Also making his first Xena appearance is Ted Raimi as klutzy wannabe warrior Joxer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Created by John Schulian and Robert Tapert, the New Zealand-filmed Xena: Warrior Princess was a spin-off of the tongue-in-cheek "sword and sorcery" series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. As introduced on Hercules, Xena (Lucy Lawless) was a fierce and formidable villainess, the leader of a vast army bent on destruction and devastation. There was some justification for this: As a child, Xena had witnessed the destruction of her home village and the brutal murder of her brother at the hands of a despotic warlord. At first forming her army to protect other peasants like herself, she became consumed with a lust for power and was soon conquering for the sake of being the conqueror. But through her association with the virtuous Hercules, Xena experienced an epiphany, casting off her former evil ways and devoting the rest of her life to making amends to her victims and protecting the innocent -- a task complicated by the many enemies she had made during her Warrior Princess years, who neither forgave nor forgot, and by the unsavory alliances she had forged during those same years. No sooner had Xena "seen the light" than she rescued the citizens of a village besieged by yet another evil warlord. Among those saved was young and beautiful Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), an aspiring "bard" (writer and artist) who became Xena's constant companion, first because she idolized the former warrior princess and was eager to experience adventure first-hand, but ultimately because she was Xena's devoted friend and confidant.
In the course of the series' six seasons, Xena and Gabrielle journeyed through Greece, Italy, Scandanavia, Africa, India, and China, with side trips to the Underworld -- ruled by Xena's erstwhile crony Hades -- and to the future, in which the two heroines found themselves in reincarnated form. Predicated on the theory that anything is possible in a fantasy series, both Xena and Gabrielle were "killed" and "resurrected" on several occasions, and both bore children who grew up to become their nemeses: Xena's daughter Eve (Adrienne Wilkinson) reached adulthood as the much-feared warrior queen Livia, the lover of war god Ares (Kevin Smith), while Gabrielle's offspring Hope (Amy Morrison), whose father was "force of darkness" Dahak, would have to be killed at her mother's hand in order to save Mankind (Xena also had reason to despise Hope; it was she who killed Xena's long-estranged son, Solon). In one memorable instance, Xena briefly assumed the form of another woman -- a metamorphosis necessitated by a real-life accident which sidelined Lucy Lawless for several weeks. Lest this all sound a bit grim and morbid, it must be noted that the series, like its predecessor, Hercules, had a healthy, irreverent sense of humor, as encapsulated by the light-hearted "disclaimers" which appeared at the end of each episode. There was also time to spoof such modern-day phenomena as beauty contests, spaghetti Westerns, Danny Kaye films, theme parks, pro wrestling, Broadway musicals, and even such TV shows as You Are There and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There was also a cheerily contemptuous disregard for the time line of "real" history, with Xena and Gabrielle crossing the paths of Julius Caesar, Ulysses, Genghis Khan, Cleopatra, David and Goliath, Brunnhilde, and many other past "celebrities," both genuine and imaginary. Generally, the series' jocular treatment of Myth, Mysticism, Religion, and Reality was accepted in the spirit in which it was intended; but on one occasion, an angry protest from a Hindu extremist group obliged the producers to remove the fourth season episode "The Way" from the series' rerun package.
Of Xena's many recurring characters, the best known and most often seen included Xena and Gabrielle's clumsy, wannabe warrior friend Joxer (Ted Raimi); Xena's mortal enemy, the blonde female warrior Callisto (Hudson Leick); troublesome traveling salesman Salmoneus (Robert Trebor); self-proclaimed king of thieves Autolycus (Bruce Campbell); Amazon princess Ephiny (Danielle Cormack), who enabled Gabrielle to join her all-female tribe; teenaged Amazon Amarice (Jennifer Sky), who became to Gabrielle what Gabrielle was to Xena; healer and shaman Eli (Timothy Omundson), Gabrielle's spiritual mentor; and an impressive array of "immortals," including the aforementioned Ares and Hades, goddess of love Aphrodite (Alexandra Tydings), sea deity Poseidon (Charles Siebert, who also directed several episodes), and the puckish Cupid (Karl Urban, who also played Julius Caesar). And, of course, the star of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Kevin Sorbo, made a few courtesy calls on Xena. Syndicated in the U.S. beginning September 15, 1995, Xena: Warrior Princess was subsequently telecast in practically every English-speaking country in the world, then went on to virtually every other country where television existed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide