Deathstalker

The man known as Deathstalker (Rick Hill) is asked by an old king to rescue his daughter from the evil wizard Munkar (Bernard Erhard). Deathstalker rejects this plea saying that the days of heroes are over. But when all sword-fighters of the land are called by Munkar to a tournament, he can't resist...

"Deathstalker" picks up all the clichés of fantasy movies, from wizards and princesses to mystical artifacts with great powers, and it adds a whole lot of sex and violence. Actually that happens to a degree that it gets hilariously funny. For example a giant kills a dwarf with several strokes of a heavy war hammer - and only a bit of blood red mud remains. Or the female warrior Kaira (Lana Clarkson) fights topless throughout the film. Go figure. "Deathstalker" goes w-a-y over the top, the ironical music indicates this was probably intended, and the action scenes are at least better directed than those of all the following flicks.

Lana Clarkson became the "Barbarian Queen". Screenplay writer Howard Cohen went on to script "Barbarian Queen" and "Deathstalker 3". Rick Hill returned for "Deathstalker 4". Executive producer Roger Corman spent another 75 bucks (roughly estimated) on the 3 Deathstalker sequels and "Wizards of the Lost Kingdom", to name but a few. And why not, if "Deathstalker" was a success.

I've seen plenty of cheesy B Movies that rode behind on the success of Conan the Barbarian and Excalibur, and can without a doubt say that this is the best of the lot. The early to mid 80s were the pinnacle of fantasy adventure films, and there are a lot of them from this time. Most are very poorly done with atrocious dialogue and unimaginative (go figure) action sequences. I'm not saying that Deathstalker lacked either of these flaws, it did not, but it made up for it somewhat with ambition and attitude. I must confess that it has been many years since I've seen this film, and it may not stand up as well on a second viewing. But I've always known the difference between a good and bad B movie. I actually miss the times that bred Deathstalker a bit. Although most of the fantasy adventure movies were bad, they at least tried to take themselves seriously. The neat thing about the movie is that it is not epic in scope. For those used to Lord of the Rings or the like, this may actually be a refreshing change. If you haven't seen Conan the Barbarian, watch this movie first, to save the best for last.

The makers of this movie gave absolutely ZERO F**ks, and i respect that. Kill the bad guys, Save the girls, pretty straightforward and fun. Good guy is a blank slate easy to identify with and the bad guy is a good and easy target to hate. lots of random careless nudity and plenty of 'classy' one liners. It's nothing to write home about certainly but those of you who like the 80's metal movies like Conan will love it. pretty basic as far as plot and story line but that's nothing you won't expect from the poster. I think it has great potential as a background movie for any good D&D campaign or reckless party. Epic Metal Movie, get drunk and enjoy

WOW ! If there ever was such a thing called a "guy movie" this is it. Deathstalker is one of few films that includes sword fighting, nudity, mud wrestling, full frontal nudity, and mid evil characters that talk like they're from New Jersey! You got to love it. Take my advice and rent this flick, buy a six pack and a pizza and lock the doors. This is one worth watching if you just broke up with your girl friend.

This is the first of four movies (so far) to feature the hero/barbarian/rogue character of Deathstalker.

Now when you think of heroes in the Sword & Sorcery genre, they often have, shall we say, somewhat loose morals.....fair enough, as the films are often set in the dark ages or even earlier and we could therefore theoretically suppose that chivalry, at least as we know it today was not exactly in place back then (for that matter does it exist now?!) However, having said this, the heroes do still tend to be basically amiable chaps who adhere to some form of justice and honour.

Take Dar from The Beastmaster for instance, he seems like a really decent chap in fact (as long as you don't get on the wrong side of him - in which case he'd probably slice you in twain!)

The case of the eponymous Deathstalker is rather different however, for here we have a 'hero' who's immoral actions (particularly against women) give the main villain of the film a good run for his money! Yes, it has to be said that in the annals of cinematic good guys, Deathstalker (at least as portrayed in this entry in the series) will hardly be winning any accolades for his chivalry!

Aside from the somewhat unlikeable hero, the film itself starts off in a decidedly disjointed manner.

In fact, the first half of the film is filled with a series of scenes that make very little sense whatsoever! For instance one particularly stupid, pointless scene set in a cave from which our hero must retrieve a magical sword, left my jaw agape at just how ridiculous it was!

Thankfully, the second half of the movie is much better and features some rather exciting fight scenes as our hero battles it out in a gladiatorial contest. There is also a fair amount of gore on display here to, a factor which always ups the enjoyment value in these type of films.

Another positive for the movie (at least from a red blooded males perspective) is the copious amount of nudity displayed by the female cast in this. Hardly a minute seems to go by without a beautiful woman baring her breasts (all in the most gratuitous manner of course!)

Overall then, whilst this film isn't likely to be remembered as a milestone in cinematic history, it does have a few of it's own (B-movie) merits and is certainly not a bad way to spend an hour and a half or so, on perhaps a lazy night in.