Snider described "Krull" as a "film that dares you not to laugh at it," opining that "its plot reads like an oral report on "Lord of the Rings" given by a student who hasn't read the book". Snider described one major problem in the film's writing:  Many aspects of the plot such as magical abilities, wizards, lands, and members of Krull's population are only mentioned by the characters but never elaborated, which was both praised and criticized in Watt-Evans's review of the film. He liked that it made the viewer have to solve mysteries on his own and gave the film "believability". However, he was negative towards one scene in the film where Lyssa sees a projected image of the Beast murdering a girl: "We see the image of the girl die and vanish, but I would have liked a look at that directly, rather than through the image. How did it look to the people around the girl? Did she vanish, as the image did, or was there a body?" He described this part of the film as a "missed ... opportunity", reasoning that "such a scene would have told us something about the Beast's power, and the reactions of the people watching might have been informative, as well". He said "Krull" "drags in spots", such as in the moments Colwyn and his gang climb mountains, and described the film's ending as "singularly lacking in surprises". However, Lambie praised the ending for being the most exciting part of the film as well as "surprisingly harsh, with Colwyn losing allies at every turn. The "Star Wars" franchise never despatched quite so many characters in such a graphic manner." Responses towards the characters and performances of "Krull" were varied. Some critics praised the antagonists of the film. Watt-Evans highlighted the Slayers' "cleverly designed double-ended weapons which provide some nice special effects and make for wonderfully chaotic battle scenes". He also noted they squeal and glow before they break apart when they get stabbed, describing it as "quite alien and frightening". Lambie praised the Slayers' "ominous silhouette of their armour, and the worm-like creature that erupts from them when they're defeated, make them far less derivative than they may otherwise have been". Buchanan described the Slayers as "truly horrific", calling their death screams a "memorable touch", and labeled the Beast as being pulled "straight from the darkest of fairy tales".