by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: Discs: 6, The Film: 3.5/5, The Extras: 3.5/5, Overall: 7/10
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Rick Hill, John Terlesky, Daniel Bernhardt, Barbi Benton, Lana Clarkson, Monique Gabrielle, John LaZar, Patton Oswalt, Christina Orjalo, Paul Lazenby
Intro:
… a must-own for anyone who came across this series as it sat enticingly on the video shop shelves of yesteryear.
The Films:
It was an age of wonder and terror, of joy and fear. It was the 1980s: a time when all the video shops across the lands were populated with hundreds of VHS cassettes and, half a dozen BETA ones. Action, horror, comedy, drama and every subgenre you could think of was catered for. Post 1982, and the massive success of Conan the Barbarian, those shelves abounded with cheaper sword and sorcery knock-offs, ranging from the terrible to the divine. The Deathstalker series, comprising five movies from 1983-2025, covers all those bases which you can (mostly) experience in the fancy (albeit incomplete) Deathstalker Collection.
Into that same cinematic gold rush of ‘buff shirtless blokes in skimpy togs’ that gave us classics like The Beastmaster and The Sword and the Sorcerer, Deathstalker came a-swaggering. Four older films and one newer one, this collection only includes the three entries that people seem to care about. Which begins with…
Deathstalker (1983), dir: James Sbardellati
Set in a bleak and nasty fantasy world where none of the men even try to be heroes and all the women wear outfits spun from the flimsiest crepe paper, hunky barbarian Deathstalker (Rick Hill) seeks nothing but some easy money and the odd root or two. Set on a quest by an ancient crone to hunt down not one, not two but three magical McGuffins, Deathy soon finds himself on a collision course with evil wizard Munkar (Bernard Erhard), a villain so bold that he’s tattooed his combover on his bald bonce! Truly diabolical.
Deathstalker features a mostly unlikable protagonist, a generic plot and oddly poor fight choreography. What it lacks in those pillars, however, it more than makes up for in sleaze. Some of it feels quaint and fun: such as the skilled warrior woman Kaira (Lana Clarkson*) who fights wearing only a cloak and a G-banger and no one ever questions her about it. Some of it is a bit dodgy: Deathstalker’s concept of consent is more than a little dubious, which can be a little jarring by modern standards.
Still and all, there’s something here, imperfect and ropey as it is at times. Funnily enough, Deathstalker made decent bank which led to the inevitable…
Deathstalker 2 (1987), dir: Jim Wynorski
Deathstalker 2 nixes the sleaze (although keeps the gratuitous nudity) and amps up the comedy and fun. New director Jim Wynorski reimagines the antihero as less a rapey thug and more a smirking rogue, recasting the titular character with John Terlesky and composing a really catchy bloody theme tune with Chuck Cirino. The result is a film that’s just as engaging as the original, absent some of the elements that would upset your nan if she’d walked into the room.
Mind you, there’s still plenty of B-grade exploitation on hand. Monique Gabrielle, who caused an entire generation of young men to go through spontaneous puberty with 1984’s Bachelor Party, plays the dual role of Princess Evie and Reena the Seer, the latter being a magically cloned evil, vampish version of herself. Gabrielle remains one of the most stunning physical specimens of the 1980s (sort of the Shannon Elizabeth of that decade) and she tackles the twin roles with gusto, although it has to be said that she’s not the world’s most accomplished thespian. Terlesky is a likable if smarmy version of the hero and the fact that the end credits play over a blooper reel tells you exactly the kind of film this is.
Goofy but knowing, a twinkle perpetually in its eye and less rapey, although also a little less unique, than the original. The fight choreography remains surprisingly bad, however.
The next two entries in the series, Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell (1988) and Deathstalker IV: Match of Titans (1992) are generally considered a bit shit. Warriors from Hell at least had the great honour to be lampooned by the MST3K crew, whereas Match of Titans reused so much footage from previous flicks that it’s mostly ignored by fans. The series appeared to be well and truly dead… until last year when we saw the surprise appearance of …
Deathstalker (2025), dir: Steven Kostanski
Breathed into life by a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign, the Deathstalker reboot comes to us courtesy of talented director Steven Kostanski (Manborg, The Editor, The Void, Psycho Goreman), a genre savvy lunatic known for his spectacular practical special make-up effects and achieving a lot of visual style without spending much dosh. And, well, the lad really brings the goods this time around.
Easily the most skillfully directed of the collection (with good fight choreography at last!), Deathstalker has a real sense of framing and style. Deathstalker (now played by Daniel Bernhardt) is an older, more cynical fellow these days and is reluctantly set on a quest after flogging some jewellery off a corpse! Bless.
He is joined on his epic adventure by diminutive wizard Doodad (voiced by Patton Oswalt) and young thief Brisbayne (Christina Orjalo), on a quest that contains plenty of goopy creatures, graphic violence and cheerful fantasy nonsense. It does go on a little too long, mind you, and probably should have stuck with a brisk 80-90 minutes. Also, the complete lack of gratuitous nudity feels out of place for the series.
Still, great creature design, some funny moments, a genuinely charming cast (particularly Orjalo) and a metal version of the score (from Slash!) make this a very solid Kickstarted homecoming for rusted-on fans or just nerds who like this kind of gear.
All three movies look great in 4K, with the newest iteration obviously faring the best.
The Extras:
A mixed bag. The older movies definitely get short shrift with Deathstalker (1983) and Deathstalker 2 (1987) only receiving an audio commentary each. The original film’s one is a tad bland, but the sequel is a lot more lively, with the director and actors cheerfully taking the piss out of the low budget sequel’s shortcomings with good natured alacrity.
Deathstalker (2025) is where the bulk of the goodies sit, with two audio commentaries: one by writer/director Steven Kostanski and actor Daniel Bernhardt and another with writer/director Steven Kostanski, director of photography Andrew Appelle, and editor Robert Hyland.
There’s an Interview with Steven Kostanski and actor Daniel Bernhardt by actor Todd Stashwick, which is fun and informal. And another interview with visual effects supervisor Cody Kennedy, and visual effects artists Matthew Satchwill and Adarsh Bora by Steven Kostanski, which really showcases the writer/director’s love and knowledge of special make-up effects.
There are also a couple of featurettes: Animating Stop-Motion Skeletons, a lovely little piece where Kostanski talks about his love of stop motion and how he made the throwback effect happen and – best in show – the Deathstalker music video, featuring the skills of Bear McCreary, Slash, Brendan McCreary and Chuck Cirino as they put together a fun little metal riff on Deathstalker’s 2’s theme. Now with very silly lyrics and one of Slash’s endless but awesome guitar solos.
The whole package comes inside a very cool lenticular hardcase which contains a great little steelbook for the 4Ks and three decent-sized posters to boot. It’s a niche collection for sure, but those who came across these odd flicks in their younger years will likely want to embark on the adventure all over again.
The Verdict:
Buff oily men, scantily clad women, gross slimy monsters and evil, leering wizards – the Deathstalker films offer a violent, gory, sleazy and sometimes very funny brand of fantasy that is ropey yet charming and hard to ignore.
The best three of the series are bundled together in a handsome looking package that would have benefited from a few more special features for the older films, but is nonetheless a must-own for anyone who came across this series as it sat enticingly on the video shop shelves of yesteryear.
*Clarkson, horrifically, went on to be murdered by Phil Spector in 2003. Which is a pretty bloody grim end for such a vivacious talent.
