Deathstalker III - I guerrieri dell'inferno

I only saw this from Mst3000, and this movie is a perfect candidate. Bad acting, bad effects, stupid story. John Allen Nelson (or relson, your choice) loses his English accent within 5 minutes of this movie, and the guy playing Truxardis is wearing the shortest skirt even worn on a man before. from what I understand there are 4 of these films, I think MST should have done all of them, but hey we'll take this one. Potatoes are what we eat!!

My review was written in May 1989 after watching the film on Vestron video cassette.

Third edition in Concorde's "Deathstalker" series is a bland, made-in-Mexico affair constituting little more than a title and pretty package for undiscriminating video retailers.

Soap opera thesp John Allen Nelson is miscast in title role, smirking his way through a non-adventure in a mythical medieval land searching for the secret treasure city of Erendor. He accompanies Princess Carissa (Carla Herd) and her big diamond in quest for a matching stone. She's killed and he finds her twin Princess Elezena (also Herd) and eventually to matching gems, for chintzy visual effects when the powerful diamonds are joined.

Herd is upstaged by a pretty Amazonian warrior played by Claudia Inchaurregui, as well as Concorde regular Terri Treas as a villainess with arch dialog readings. Nelson's all-American approach is way out of place and supporting cast is weak. Previous pics in this series had some campy material but this one's a stiff.

Many commenters have failed to mention something that sets this movie apart from the other deathstalker sequels... namely, the lack of stock footage. To me nothing is more annoying in a fantasy movie than when the elements of fantasy are yanked from other movies that did a good job(For example, Almost every Fred Olen Ray movie you can get your hands on will have stolen footage of stop motion dinosaurs from a masterpiece called planet of the dinosaurs.) Deathstalker 2 and 4 are horrible about this problem. they feature minutes upon minutes of unmistakable battle scenes from the first deathstalker. Now I suppose part 3 isnt entirely innocent since it yanks the theme song from battle beyond the stars, but thats okay. Also, I would like to mention that people who see a cover of a deathstalker movie and are disappointed to find the movie is nothing like it are falling for the oldest trick in the exploitation book. Deathstalker 3 is by no means a classic. its a little bit boring and this time the guy playing deathstalker isn't as cool, but I give it much credit for not showing me scenes from the other movies in the series.

This wouldn't have been as bad if they had a tighter script, better actors, a good director, ANY kind of lighting, a plot, etc... But for me, by far the worst offense is that a large group of the supporting actors stay in character "Who dares trespass the halls of mine castle!" then there are a few of the main characters who felt they had a good handle on how to portray their character, Deathstalkers reply to the above inquiry: "Hey, I'm lost, I'm just trying to grab some grub." This is mildly paraphrased, but you get the idea. Later, when speaking to a group of warriors that are supposed to be zombified and commanded to kill Deathstalker they suddenly start a conversation. When DS asks them to switch sides and fight for him (since their master is an evil jerk) one warrior from hell says "We cannot turn uponst our master, he controls our very souls!" Not a bad reply, then the next zombie ads "yeah, he's got 'em in a jar back at the castle" in much the manner of a bored co-worker telling you about their weekend. This stinking movie is all over the place. It's pretty fun with MST3K, otherwise, get plastered before you attempt this.

As a avid watcher of Mystery Science Theater 3000, I am used to the bottom of the cinematic barrel. However this movie is so irritating, it is in a category of pain all its own.

First, John Allen Nelson makes a particularly loathsome 'hero' as Deathstalker. His arrogance comes off angering, and his attempts at sexuality come off as repulsive. You don't believe that anyone has ever desired his help or praised him. Plus, his accent lasts about 2 lines.

Second, the support characters are laughable. The princess is wooden and unpleasant. The other characters are overacted and thoroughly unbelievable-especially in the case of Thom Christopher (Troxartas).

Lastly, it is possible to make a good movie with a low budget. It is also possible to turn this type of movie into light-hearted and fun. But, with the hideous characters, bad editing, and vague plot, this movie feels pained and leaves you caring less what happened and praying they didn't make Deathstalker 4.

The only positive thing I can say is that the MST3K crew does a decent job of poking fun at it, although it is obviously painful for them as well.