| Director | M. J. Bassett |
|---|---|
| Genre | action film, adventure film, sword and sorcery |
| Runtime | 110 min |
| Country | United States |
| Box office | $271,461 |
Young Red Sonja's homeland, Hyrkania, is invaded by barbarians, who slaughter most of her people and force her to flee into the vast woods nearby. Separated from her tribe, she searches for other Hyrkanians while worshipping the forest goddess Ashera.
Years later, mercenaries enter the forest, hunting animals for their horns, and Sonja tracks them. She learns they collect exotic creatures for gladiator games honoring Emperor Dragan. When Dragan visits to inspect the animals, Sonja attacks the hunters as punishment for cruelty. She is discovered by Dragan's men and knocked out by Karlak, the general. Dragan orders Sonja to be taken to the capital to fight in the games.
Dragan owns half of a Hyrkanian book that grants him ancient scientific knowledge, enabling him to energize the capital with arcane power. He seeks the other half to unlock its secrets and expand his control. He believes Sonja's map of the uncharted forest will guide him to the exiled Hyrkanian refugees who have the missing text.
Sonja joins slaves fighting a cyclops controlled by one of Dragan's devices. She rips off the device and convinces the creature that Dragan is the enemy. The cyclops attacks, injuring Dragan. Sonja then destroys Dragan's energy device before fleeing.
Sonja and the slave fighters escape to the mountains, pursued by Dragan's soldiers and Annisia, a deadly warrior who has schizophrenia. Dragan promises Annisia he will marry her if she brings him Sonja's head. Sonja tries to distance herself from her allies so Dragan will target her alone, but they insist on staying together. They plan to attack the town supplying Dragan with creatures to draw him out. While preparing, the missing Hyrkanians find Sonja and reveal they have the second half of the holy book Dragan seeks.
When Dragan arrives with his forces, a battle begins. Dragan's army defeats the Hyrkanians and he gains the second half of the book. Sonja and Annisia face off in combat, and Sonja is mortally wounded. She is saved from a killing blow by her horse, which knocks Annisia away and brings Sonja to the statue of Asherah in the forest's heart. In near-death delirium, Sonja sees Asherah speak to her in the guise of her dead mother. Asherah heals Sonja and sends her back to battle to bring justice to evildoers.
Sonja reunites with her allies who thought she was dead, and they attack Dragan again. Dragan confronts Annisia, who told him Sonja was dead, and she learns he caused her schizophrenia with fake medicines. They stab each other in a lovers' quarrel, and Dragan escapes into the wilderness.
Sonja tracks Dragan and confronts him as he takes his dying breaths. He says the second half of the book is worthless since it focuses on healing and nature instead of power and energy. Sonja reveals that she knows he was also a child refugee of Hyrkania, and she feels responsible for his dark turn in life because she lost her connection to him after the disaster. Dragan dies holding her hand and the ripped pages of the book are lost in the wilderness.
Sonja leaves the forest to explore the world. In an epilogue set years later, one of her fighter allies finds her in a tavern and tells her that her help is needed. She gathers her weapons and leaves for a new adventure.