Steven Kostanski's Deathstalker

Cody takes a look at the new Deathstalker movie.

Back in 1983, legendary B-movie producer Roger Corman brought the world Deathstalker, a sword and sorcery film set in a mythical land that was overrun with conflict and populated by the likes of witches, sorcerers, mutants, pig-men, imps, and ogres, not to mention scantily clad women. Played by Rick Hill, the title character was a sword-wielding man who had to resort to stealing and killing to survive. The movie was a hit, so we got a series of what seemed to be increasingly lower budgeted sequels: Deathstalker II: Duel of the Titans in 1987, with the title character played by John Terlesky; Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell in ‘88, with John Allen Nelson taking over the lead role; and 1991’s Deathstalker IV: Match of the Titans, with Rick Hill circling back to star in what ended up being in the last movie in the franchise for more than thirty years. The Deathstalker movies were cheap, goofy fun, and I was a big fan of them when I was a little kid, probably because cartoons like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and ThunderCats were raising me to be a fan of sword and sorcery entertainment.

I went decades without watching the Deathstalker movies, but they always held a special place in my heart due to nostalgia for the good ol’ days. Thankfully, I still found them to be entertaining when I recently revisited them – and since my appreciation for this franchise stretches back to the time when the sequels were new releases on VHS, I was hyped to hear that Psycho Goreman director Steven Kostanski was going to be bringing Deathstalker back with a reboot / remake. So hyped that I even contributed to the crowdfunding campaign (which, full disclosure, earned me a “thanks” in the end credits). Now, Kostanski’s movie is here – and I think that anyone who enjoyed the sword and sorcery movies and shows of the ‘80s, not just the Deathstalker franchise, and the glorious practical effects of the ‘80s, will get a kick out of this one.

We get the set-up right up front: The kingdom of Abraxion is under siege by the Dreadite horde, which are vicious warriors wearing what appears to be organic armor. The Dreadites are cutting a path of death and destruction through the land. We’re asked, “Who wields the power to stand against the might of never-ending darkness?” Of course, the answer is probably right there in the title.

Previous movies never did much to flesh out the character of Deathstalker. He was just a scavenger with a cool name who would wander into battles with the forces of evil. Kostanski gives us a back story and even reveals the character’s real name, and also attempts to do some world-building and mythology crafting… but this dialogue, packed with weird names and references to locations and events that mean nothing to us, will probably just fly over the heads of a lot of viewers. Don’t worry about trying to keep track of all that, just sit back and have fun watching the fights, which occur frequently, and the crazy creatures Kostanski brought to the screen.

This time around Deathstalker is an older character, played by Daniel Bernhardt as a grizzled former warrior – and since the actor is a former stuntman with martial arts training, that means we get to see him participate in some impressive duels with a variety of enemies. He’s introduced in a great way, walking through the site of a Dreadite vs. Abraxion battle, dispatching attackers, then stealing whatever interesting items he can find on the body of a dying Abraxion. One of the items he steals is an amulet, which immediately attracts the attention of the greatest assassins in the land, as this amulet is wanted by a cult of sorcerers that was believed to have been wiped out long ago. They’re still around, led by the evil Nekromemnon (Nicholas Rice), and they could use the amulet to bring a never-ending reign of darkness to the kingdom. Deathstalker isn’t too concerned about that. Problem is, the amulet has bonded to him, he can’t get rid of the thing no matter what he does. At the advice of a witch, he seeks out the help of a goblin wizard called Doodad – played by Laurie Field and voiced by Patton Oswalt. That’s sort of the Gwildor of the movie.

As it turns out, the process of getting rid of that amulet is quite complicated. And so begins an epic journey, with Deathstalker and Doodad being joined by thief extraordinaire Brisbayne (Christina Orjalo) as they’re pursued by assassins and Nekromemnon lackeys every step of the way. As things play out, Kostanski shows us all sorts of freaky creatures, including a two-headed troll, a pig-man, a flying eye creature, bog creatures, and even a lazer-blasting assassin who seems to be directly inspired by the Masters of the Universe character Man-E-Faces. The movie never goes too many minutes without a fight breaking out or some kind of cool, practical effects creature showing up. It might be a bit long at 102 minutes (sort of like this review is getting long), but it’s not dull. And if you liked the three-bladed sword in 1982’s The Sword and the Sorcerer, you’ll be very pleased to see the weapon Deathstalker gets his hands on.

This Deathstalker is a really fun homage to the sword and sorcery movies of the ‘80s. It didn’t necessarily have to be Deathstalker, Kostanski could have just made it his own, original sword and sorcery movie – but it does have some structural similarities to the first Deathstalker early on, and this franchise was never one for continuity, so this new movie can easily be slotted into it. It is missing one key element, though. The gratuitous nudity. Nudity was so prevalent in the previous movies, you have to wonder, can a movie that doesn’t have gratuitous nudity really be considered part of the Deathstalker franchise? It’s truly a sign of that times that we’ve got a new Deathstalker movie that has been completely de-sexed (apparently at the encouragement of Gen Z).

Well, the Deathstalker reboot is severely lacking in the bare breast department, but it’s definitely worth checking out for the creatures and the swordplay.