Deathstalker (1984)

Brawny blond longhair Richard Hill is the rogue barbarian hero Deathstalker in this hilariously slapdash sword-and-sorcery adventure. Armed with a sword that makes him invincible (provided by an otherwise completely useless sidekick), he heads off for a tournament of warriors sponsored by an evil wizard with a nasty plot to kill all his rivals... but don't worry about the plot because it makes no sense. This shot-in-Argentina, Roger Corman production features badly staged swordfights, loads of gratuitous nudity, female mud wrestling, trolls in bad rubber masks, and a funky eyeball-eating demon sock puppet. Former Hugh Hefner girlfriend Barbi Benton seems rather embarrassed in her role as a whiny harem girl. John Terlesky took over the title role in the sequel (Deathstalker II: Duel of the Titans) while topless warrior woman costar Lana Clarkson graduated to her own series, Barbarian Queen. --Sean Axmaker Amazon.com

Cheap Conan knock-off

The swords and sorcery genre was hit hard in the 80's with a barrage of movies. Some of them were good, but many more of them bad. You can blame Conan the Barbarian for making the genre famous and for inspiring every hack writer and moviemaker in Hollywood to jump on board. Deathstalker is just such a movie. With it's extremely low budget look and even lower standards of writing I find it hard to validate any reason why the movie was even created other than to ride in the coattails of Conan and other such movies.

Corman Corman Corman... For such a well-known director you sure do make some really bad movies sometimes. Deathstalker is just such a movie. I can get over the low budget aspect. I can get over only having three songs played throughout the entire movie. What I CAN'T get over is the poor excuse for a plot. Deathstalker has one of the worst plot structures I have ever seen in a movie. Add to that the low budget and weak soundtrack and you really don't have anything to work with as far as making a good movie.

Deathstalker seems to be nothing but a grandstanding of T and A. Lots of scantily clad women in thongs running around a bunch of dirty guys chasing after them. That is the extent of the many scenes in the movie. The story feels like it has no direction to it. Sure there is a plot that was mentioned by an old lady who is in the movie twice, but I can't help but ask why the heck this Deathstalker guy even cares. He comes off as a self-centered brute as it is. Why he decided to save the world is beyond me.

The sets and special effects are laughable. I actually saw stones painted on a wooden platform to make it look like an old castle wall. Makeup and masks are definitely a Corman cost cut. There is some gory violence in the movie, but much of it is cheaply done. The sound is also cheap. Not only do you get redundant music like I mentioned but also those little annoying dialog dubs such as the lamest screams of the dying I have heard in a long time. This movie doesn't have much going for it at all.

Deathstalker has nothing going for it other than camp value, and that it has plenty. Maybe you can play drinking games on how many times the same song is played. I dunno. I suppose if you are really into swords and sorcery it wouldn't hurt to rent it, but there are so many better movies out. Ultimately Deathstalker is not worth your time. If you catch it on TV at least you wouldn't have put any money or effort to find it.
February 27, 2008

I've seen worse

Those of you slamming this one haven't seen enough bad movies. Take my word for it I have seen an abundence of bad movies. This one doesn't stink. "Red Sonja" stinks. I guess partly because with Arnold Schwarzenegger in it I thought it might have a decent story, acting, and music like "Conan the Barbarian". Was I ever wrong. This one doesn't take itself so serious I don't think. That or it was campy enough it seemed to catch my interest. Fans of silly sword and sandal movies probably won't hate it. March 29, 2007

Non-existent, uncomprehensible mess of fantasy schlock-making.

DEATHSTALKER is perfect for B-fantasy movie fans; this barely 80-minute travesty of filmmaking features everything hecklers can ask for--non-existent plotting, terrible acting (save for at least a raspy-sounding old lady), laughable scripting and schlock editing, and bargain-basement style background settings. There are no characters that come across as likeable or interesting (in particular, the lead doesn't have ANYTHING appealing about him), and the actors assembled barely do anything to rise above the F-grade material. If that's not enough, then how about the lack of a compelling plot (which this movie has nothing of the sort) to make DEATHSTALKER qualify as a major turkey? I was also offended that the women in this movie barely serve any purpose other than to 1) be topless and/or scantily clad; 2) get raped; 3) have sex with the hero; 4) all of the above. In addition, the background music is hideous; a bizarre mess of electronic noise, cheesy choral bursts, and blaring orchestral cacophony. Ear numbing and eye numbing all in one packed with nary a thing to keep one interested, DEATHSTALKER is probably best suited for folks looking for something to laugh at (and believe me, there's plenty of that in here). Otherwise, I do not recommend this 100th-grade CONAN wanna-be to anyone in the least. March 4, 2006

Deathstalker DVD

Quality of color and sound of DVD is first rate. The packaging was basic, but acceptable. July 19, 2005

The Worst Sword and Sorcery Film

Ever wonder what really makes a film bad? Look no further as you will find every element of bad film in this atrocious production. This film has absolutely no comprehensible plot. At the same time, Richard Hill and pretty much every other actor who participated in this film is a prime example of bad acting. A bad Kung-Fu film from China would be Oscar material compared to this worthless crap: it would even have a better script and dialogues. I could go on and on but let me just say that I recall seeing this film 22 years ago when I was 12 and I found it comically repugnant even then. One star is too kind of a rating for this piece of junk. June 2, 2005

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