'Deathstalker: Ghoulish Fantasy Junk Food' [movie review]

Classic fads have a way of resurrecting when you least expect it. Retro always comes back, and nostalgia for the 1980’s seems to be lasting longer than the decade itself. As luck would have it, more to come as the Sword and Sorcery subgenre is set to retake flight. Not only are we expecting the Masters of the Universe reboot to kick off the summer, but we recently received an announcement that the long-teased King Conan starring Arnie will finally be entering production

You know the revival era is getting serious when the one that started it all is coming back with a vengeance. Conan was instrumental in the 80’s, unleashing power fantasy upon the screen, and like any major success, many imitators and cash-ins would follow. Films with similar titular heroes like Beastmaster, Ator, & Yor but arguably, the most well-known of the bunch was Deathstalker.

Produced by the late Roger Corman, four films were made between 1983 and 1990 and became late night cable cult favorites. They found a second life through their re-releases from Shout Factory’s Roger Corman Presents label in the 2010’s. Obviously, when every IP with a name is coming back, it should come as no surprise that even Deathstalker would get a reboot, courtesy of cult filmmaker, Steven Kostanski.

On a ravaged battlefield, a disgraced knight turned lone wolf drifter, Deathstalker (Daniel Bernhardt) is scavenging loot off of corpses and acquires a cursed amulet from a dying prince. It imprints onto him, drawing more grotesque enemies than he has the patience for. Despite his attempt to get rid of the amulet, the plot device returns to his pocket, forcing him to seek the assistance of a witch. She tells him the only way to break the curse is either death or a quest to find a wizard, named Doodad (Patton Oswald/Laurie Field), who can read the language of the amulet. After rescuing Doodad from his cave prison, the duo set off to locate a scroll that will aid in the translation (cause it’s never that easy), while the amulet continues to draw in the forces of Nekromemnon (Nicholas Rice), an ancient evil sorcerer with an army of the undead ready for conquering.
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Coming off of fifteen plus years as a special effects technician, as well as becoming the most known name to come from the Astron-6 collective, Steven Kostanski crafts a practical and visual fun house. With Deathstalker’s borderline frugal looking set, you’ll find yourself surprised and in awe of the creature effects that grace the screen. You get your dark fantasy mainstays like trolls, swamp creatures, and the crimson coated Dreadite minions of the dark lord (clearly the same handful of suits recycled, but they’re a blast when they’re on screen). Even the classic series mainstay of the boar-barian makes a fan-service cameo for a quickie fight. The Kickstarter money was well spent, and that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the production of Astron-6’s earlier film, The Void, that also ran a successful Indiegogo just for the creature budget.

Deathstalker is wearing its love for schlock on its sleeve, perhaps to a degree that some viewers might grow tired of. Though not stooping to self-awareness, certain jokes like Doodad’s inability to aim a spell or a later flamboyant noble’s indecisiveness about a cloak on a cold night, run the risk of overstaying their welcome. These moments are trying a little too hard to add levity. Like entries in the original films, humor just emerges from the absurdity, or from how seriously the titular lead takes himself (at least in the first one), but it’s not even the type of humor the later sequels would be known for. We’re left with delivery that feels more akin to your friends breaking character during DnD night.

On the casting side, Daniel Bernhardt fills the shoes of a lone wanderer, with the build to match (see the ronny/lily episode of Barry if you haven’t), channeling Rick Hill’s presence from the original, with a pinch of the self-aware snark of John Terlesky from the sequel. Though the always welcome and energetic voice of Patton Oswald gives comic relief Doodad personality and balances the fantasy Good Cop/Bad Cop with Bernhardt, more credit does have to go to Laurie Field for bringing Doodad to life. This is her first feature, and performing under heavy make-up and prosthetics is never an easy task for any actor. She ends up carrying a good chunk of the film as this unlikely Yoda, and her facial expressions are readable behind the green paint.

A late addition to the cast comes with Christina Orjalo who plays the warrior Brisbane. She adds an extra bit of conversation, and steers the plot to a few set piece sequences. Aside from being the token female barbarian of these types of movies, she feels more like a plot device. Paul Lazenby is a lot of fun as the secondary villain, Jotak, the undead second in command to the big bad. He has a personal grudge with Deathstalker but unfortunately suffers the fate of being a missed opportunity who doesn’t quite reach his full potential for this type of heel. Rounding out the cast is Nicholas Rice as the dark lord with a name he clearly gave himself, and a cloak that might be comically too big for him. All jokes aside, Rice is reveling in his chance to play a villain and takes the full opportunity to ham it up, almost channeling Ernest Borgnine in The Devil’s Rain.

Overall, the best way to sum up Deathstalker is that it’s the equivalent to that bag of chips you haven’t thought of buying from the corner store in a long time. You know it’s there and you’re happy that one flavor hasn’t been discontinued, so once you get that craving for it, it hits the spot. It’s junk food cinema made with love, and not trying to step out of its lane. It’s a fun reminder of the type of movies that captured a generation, when you had to gamble on a catchy title on a poster or VHS cover. Maybe it was good, maybe it was bad, but they found an audience, and that audience doesn’t want practical effects to fade away. Monster fans and genre buffs are going to get that dopamine boost they’re seeking out. Missed opportunities aside, Corman would have cracked a smile if he could have seen it, and that’s the best compliment one can give to a reboot of Deathstalker. Watch it now on Shudder.

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Alex Ayres is an Atlanta-based filmmaker and writer with a passion for genre storytelling, especially horror. A graduate of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, he has written multiple short and feature screenplays, including 6/09, which earned Best Comedy at the Austin After Dark Film Fest. He works on film sets in various roles and continues developing new projects, including his short Soup's On. Alex has been part of HorrOrigins since its inaugural year and remains a valued contributor to the festival's continued growth.