Deathstalker (1983) User Reviews (74)

Deathstalker - He's a real gentleman! - *cough!*

[HaemovoreRex · 6/10 · 11 June 2005]

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.

One boobie, two boobies, four boobies, six boobies, eight...

[Vomitron_G · 4/10 · 12 February 2008]

Woosh…! Man… What can I say...?

The opening-scene, maybe? We see a bunch of mongoloid-barbarians with bad make-up jump off the walls of some ruins. They sneak around and attack some dude with a scantily clothed captive girl. The dude runs off, the mongoloids follow him and one of them stays behind seemingly to rape the girl, but instead he exposes one of her breasts and kidnaps her. Then, the dude (still on the run) sees a horse and tries to steal it. Suddenly… a blond god-like looking hero with a bad wig appears, saying "That's my horse!". The Mighty Deathstalker just made his appearance. The mongoloids arrive, Deathstalker kills all of them (including the dude) on the tunes of some rather inappropriate Mexicanos western score (this is supposed to be a Swords & Sorcery flick, so what's with the 'arriba-trompettos'?), and then goes up to Captive Girl and exposes both her breasts. He starts to rub them and Captive Girl seems to like it. She starts liking her lips and caressing Deathstalker. Just when they are about to get down to it, this old dude appears, interrupting what could have been the end of a perfect day for Deathstalker (and a possible perfect ending for a short-film).

Now tell me… Isn't that the point where either a feminist would angrily switch off the movie, or any other male viewer would say "This is going to be one hell of a good movie!" The plot is as simple as throwing a kitten from the balcony: Deathstalker must obtain the Sword of Justice and use it to steal the Amulet of Life and the Chalice of Magic from the evil sorcerer Munkar.

Aside from decapitations, dismemberment, random bloodshed, retarded fist fights and embarrassing sword fights, this film also contains a massive amount of t!ts & a$$ shots. I initially wanted to add one extra point to this movie for each gratuitous shot of naked boobies I could count. After 9 points (not even halfway into the movie), I had to give up counting. It was distracting me from the rest of the movie. And the rest of the movie was worth it. Totally crazy stuff. Check out this mutant cat/worm-like creature Munkar has as a pet and which he feeds eyeballs and fingers. And here's an interesting question: What would you do if a man in a woman's body would enter your bedroom and try to kill you with a knife? The answer is simple: You slap him around a bit, take away the knife and then try to rape him. Then you discover that he's actually not a woman, so you throw him out of your bed and tell him to leave your room. It works out well, I tell you. Deathstalker does it too, and the Deathstalker-way, is the right way!

DEATHSTALKER is a wonderful movie, really, as pointed out in other comments. The villains are vile. The women are delicious. There's blood, sex, violence, rape and tasty chicken. There's a completely pointless tournament which just features a bunch of barbarians beating, slashing and hacking the crap out of each other. My favorite weapon used in that tournament was a giant wooden hammer, used to beat a poor contender to bloody pulp. And my favorite contender undoubtedly was that one brute with the Warthog-head (reminiscent of the Gamorrean Guards from RETURN OF THE JEDI). I won't reveal how the movie ends, but just prepare to ravish in delight when I tell you a 4-way dismemberment is thrown into the movie's climax.

And of course, there's a wonderful display of ineptitude throughout the whole movie. See a guy being dragged behind a horse over a dirt road, and the next point-of-view shot shows him being dragged over grass (no road). See that awesome tattoo on the sorcerer's head magically change sides within the same scene (on shot has it on the left side of his head, the other on the right). Well, after all, Munkar is a magician. It's that, or this movie was shot in an alternate universe where things like "continuity" simply don't exist.

As much as I enjoyed this and as much as I am looking forward to the other 3 installments in this series, I do have enough shreds of decency left in me to not let this movie pass. I am prepared, though, to give it the maximum amount of minimal points, just so I could be able to deduct a couple of more points for the possibly inferior sequels to follow. DEATHSTALKER might be a superbly fun, trashy & sleazy CONAN rip-off, it also is an abominable movie.

Whatever happened to family movies?

[caspian1978 · 5/10 · 12 March 2001]

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.

Roger Cormen dabbles with early 80s fantasy material

[AlsExGal · 4/10 · 9 December 2017]

This is an incredibly silly yet entertaining swords and sorcery flick from executive producer Roger Corman. Richard Hill stars as Deathstalker, an oiled-up beefcake of a hero with long blond hair and a lantern jaw, who is tasked by an old witch with finding a trio of magical artifacts before the evil wizard Munkar does and can become all-powerful. Along the way on his quest, Deathstalker meets up with a variety of friends, including a guy who starts off as some kind of goblin in a cave, another happy-go-lucky adventurer, and a warrior-woman who remains shirtless throughout (played by Lana Clarkson, the B-actress who was shot dead by Phil Spector in 2003).

The early 1980's were a big time for fantasy films, with the two Conan films with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dragonslayer, The Beastmaster, and The Sword & the Sorcerer. Deathstalker is their trashy exploitation cousin. This film has it all: a bald bad guy with a dumb tattoo on his face, a pig-man with a snotty nose, giants, lots of people with no shirts, a weird puppet monster in a box that eats fingers and eyeballs, a fighters' tournament, lots of people with no pants, gangs of mutants, silly costumes, harem girls, flashy spells, and Barbi Benton. I was able to appreciate its good points - maybe it's just nostalgia - but most rational people will find it lurid and dumb. This was an American-Argentinian co-production with a sequel that actually is an improvement.

The days of heroes are over

[unbrokenmetal · 5/10 · 16 April 2006]

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.

Rick Hill Is Awesome As The Fearless Deathstalker

[Big Movie Fan · 23 June 2002]

This is a classic little gem from 1984 which I would love to own on DVD one day. If you love fantasy films you will love this movie.

Rick Hill is great as the fearless Deathstalker who is a brilliant warrior, particularly adept when it comes to chopping villain's heads off and facing evil villains.

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

Throughout the movie the scenes are great-from the beginning scene where Deathstalker saves a woman from a bunch of creatures and a scoundrel right up to the final scene where Deathstalker battles Munkar the evil wizard. The fight scenes in this movie are great particularly during the scenes where Deathstalker is in Munkar's brothel. There's also a great scene where Munkar the evil wizard turns one of his men into a woman, another scene has a man turned into a snake and we also get to see a brutal battle between Deathstalker and a boar-like creature. The movie is awesome throughout. I first picked up this movie in 1991 at an old video store and I'm glad I did otherwise I might not have discovered it.

If you like swords and sorcery,women in skimpy clothes,evil wizards and plenty of heads being decapitated then you will love this classic movie.

The Epitome Of A 'So Bad It's Good' Movie

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 5/10 · 24 May 2007]

...Or, more precisely, so bad that you are going to have the time of your life laughing your ass off when you watch it! James Sbardellati's "Deathstalker" of 1983 is certainly one of the most awful productions the Sword & Sorcery sub-genre has brought along, but it is highly amusing. The acting is terrible, the plot is pure crap, and the effects and photography couldn't be more amateurish. But it is the bad acting, the cheesy effects, and the many errors, that makes this movie so hilarious.

• SPOILERS AHEAD -

Deathstalker (Rick Hill) is an extremely strong and skilled warrior. One day, a good witch tasks him to unite the three powers of chaos and creation, a sword, an amulet and a chalice, in order to free the country from its brutal ruler, the evil king and sorcerer Munkar. Obtaining the sword is quite easy, but the amulet and the chalice are in Munkar's possession. Fortunately, the evil king has arranged a tournament in which the county's most skilled warriors fight each other until death. The winner is then to take the king's place. Of course, the king doesn't want anybody to take his place, an therefore he has planned to kill the winner (instead of just not arranging the tournament in the first place). Deathstalker is not only to obtain the the three powers of creation, but also to save the old, good king's gorgeous daughter (Barbi Benton) from the claws of evil Munkar. Luckily, he doesn't get bored on his way to the tournament, since he is allowed hump the gorgeous female warrior Kaira (Lana Clarkson) in the meantime...

The film has many great, incredibly stupid and funny scenes. Some of my favorite scenes include:

• Deathstalker beheads a bad guy with his sword. The head that falls down, however, is not that guy's head. The falling head has a red goatee, while the guy beheaded by Deathstalker had dark hair and no beard.

• When the character of female warrior Kaira (Lana Clarkson) is introduced, she is first seen in a black robe, hiding her face and body. Deathstalker's traveling companion Oghris (Richard Brooker) fights her, and during the sword fight her robe (under which she is, of course topless) opens, exposing her breasts. Her breasts are the first thing we see of Lana Clarkson, even before her face.

• The last warrior Deathstalker has to fight in the tournament, is a giant guy with the body of a man and the head of a pig.

• Evil Munkar has an ugly little creature locked in a chest. He feeds that little creature human eyeballs and fingers.

... There are many other unintentionally funny, hilarious, and great scenes. The acting is terrible but Barbi Benton and the late Lana Clarkson are eye-candy, and although I described this movie as 'unintentionally funny', I sometimes had the impression that some of the actors were absolutely aware of how crappy the movie is. There is a fair amount of gore, and lots of female nudity to keep the viewer entertained. "Deathstalker" is an incredibly awful movie, but I still highly recommend it. People with a sense of humor will have the time of their lives!

Sex and sandal.

[gridoon · 5/10 · 23 June 2002]

If you take this as a fantasy, you'll probably be disappointed: it's as second-grade as they come, with a total blank for a hero and plenty of chaotically staged swordfights. But if you take it as a soft-porn film, you may be more pleased; there is a stimulating (if brief) sex scene midway through, and abundant nudity throughout, though only the beautiful Lana Clarkson escapes the film's depraved attitude toward women. Anyway, the film certainly isn't as bad as the two Ferrigno "Hercules" movies.....(*1/2)

They don't make 'em much worse than this

[Danimal-7 · 1/10 · 27 August 1999]

This sword-&-sorcery story of an appallingly brutal and callous "hero" vanquishing an evil king is worthless in almost every detail. The acting is horrible from the leads to the supporting roles. The leering, gloating glee with which the director shows the hero smearing blood around is absolutely disgusting; nor is it redeemed by any justice to his cause, since he is as bad as the people he's fighting. Z-movie editing is abundant, including a scene where a character "dies" from a sword thrust that very obviously missed completely!

The movie is clearly banking on the charms of the female leads, Barbi Benton and Lana Clarkson, who are paraded around mostly naked throughout the movie. As a 20-something male, I will not pretend that female flesh on the screen doesn't attract me. But the treatment of their characters is so degrading and the sex scenes so casual and joyless, that I couldn't enjoy even this aspect of the movie.

Most cheesy movies of this era are at least somewhat redeemed by a light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek feel (the sequel is better in this regard), but DEATHSTALKER seems to take itself completely seriously as heroic fantasy. No way! Avoid at all costs!

Rating: 1/2 out of ****.

Good fantasy adventure

[dorotka24 · 7/10 · 21 August 2007]

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.

My father was Mr. Deathstalker. I'm just Deathstalker.

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 29 January 2019]

My wife thinks that the only reason they made sword and sorcery movies was to basically make porn. She doesn't realize that in 1983 the porn industry was in its VHS heydey, with films finally showing up in video stores. And that the internet didn't exist, so for teenage boys that wanted to see some flesh, the only choice they had was to find a Penthouse magazine in the woods, sneak some Cinemax After Dark or watch these movies. Or be like me, someone that watches them specifically for the sword and sorcery!

The first of four films about the Deathstalker character, this movie is all about a quest to find a chalice, an amulet and a sword, two of which are held by the wicked sorcerer Munkar. Oh yeah - and when we meet our hero, he's easily killing monsters and humans alike, they making out with a tied up woman. Because hey, he's Deathstalker. You got a problem with it?

Deathstalker finds the sword first and frees the thief Salmaron, who goes with him on his quest. On the way, he learned about Munkar's tournament to see who will inherit his kingdom from Oghris. There are about ten sex scenes before we get there, so my wife might be right about this porn theory. One of those sex scenes is between female warrior Kaira and Deathstalker. Kaira is played by Lana Clarkson, who was in the two Barbarian Queen films, but is perhaps better known for being shot and killed by Phil Spector.

The real reason for the tournament is that Munkar wants to take out any threat to his competition. To get them weakened, he invites them to drink and have sex with any of his harem girls before their fights, including Princess Codille (Barbi Benton, who was never a Playmate of the Month, but dated Hugh Hefner and was on the covers of the July 1969, March 1970, May 1972 and December 1985 issues, as well as being in layouts in December 1973 and January 1975).

Munkar is a tricky one - he sends one of his guys made up as the Princess and she fools Deathstalker until he finds that meat. That said, our hero is somewhat woke and doesn't kill the assassin. The killer pays back that kindness by killing Kaira. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the long transformation scene where a dude changes into Barbi Benton while his penis goes back inside his body, resulting in great pain. It goes on. And on. And then some more. Also, there's a weird puppet creature that Munkar has, along with a tattoo on his bald head, that likes to eat the eyes of teenagers. So there's that.

The day of the tournament - please nobody yell Mortal Kombat or Enter the Dragon or Kickboxer or Bloodsport - Salmaron is trapped in the harem (not a bad thing) and Oghris is forced to fight Deathstalker. During their fight, Oghris says that they are friends and demands that our hero leaves. Instead, they fight and Oghris has the chance to kill him, but fights fairly and loses. Our hero responds by saying goodbye and killing the guy! What the hell, Deathstalker?

That would have been a better final battle than Deathstalker against an ogre, but that's what we get. After all this work and this whole movie and all the sex, Deathstalker doesn't want any of the magic stuff. He just destroys all of the objects of power as Salmaron leads a harem rebellion. Our hero throws Munkar to the people who rip him to pieces.

Deathstalker isn't a great hero. He doesn't have a great quest. He just randomly kills people who have shown him kindness and he throws all the objects of his quest away at the end because he must be some kind of nihilist. But this is one movie that's all about the journey and not the destination. After all, there's a great scene where the ogre hammers a man into pulpy liquid while an entire family eats a picnic lunch and cheers him on. Seriously, that scene alone earned this movie most of its decent score. And hey, if you want to see 1980's breasts and beasts, it's there for you.

Fantastically bad!

[BrickNash · 10/10 · 28 November 2008]

Firstly let's not beat around the bush! This is a low budget, and I mean LOW budget fantasy film. Right now if you accept that then this film is great fun. Especially for a bunch of guys to watch with a few beers. The film makes no apologies, it's just totally gratuatious with heads flying off all over the place and barely a scene goes by without a good solid flash of naked females. Rape scenes, free sex, mud wrestling, magic, swords, muscles, blood it's all in there.

As a film it is nowhere near the quality of Conan The Barbarian, but it's one of these films you don't watch expecting to be moved to tears (Except by laughter!) Overall a fantastically bad fantasy epic that film snobs should avoid at all costs but everyone else should give a bash on those Saturday nights in with the mates.

One of the Raunchiest Sword & Sorcery Flicks Ever!

[wwkirk · 7/10 · 18 August 2020]

The plot is basic sword and sorcery fare, featuring a muscular warrior-hero, a witch, a wizard, and a variety of magical talismans. What distinguishes the film, however, is the abundance of sexual violence, graphic non-sexual violence, and female nudity. It well deserves its R rating.

Nevertheless, it's a fairly entertaining adventure overall. Nothing deep. Just your basic battle between good and evil, spiced up with fighting, gore and sex.

Lastly, it may be worth mentioning that Deathstalker was popular enough to spawn three sequels.

"Heroes and fools are the same thing."

[bensonmum2 · 3/10 · 10 April 2020]

The plot to Deathstalker is straight out of the 80s sword & sorcerer playbook - A reluctant hero goes on a mission to save the land from an evil tyrant. If he gains possession of three magical items, he'll get the power he needs to succeed.

In 1983, I was 18. Back then, you could count on either a new horror movie or a new sword & sorcerer movie opening every weekend at the local multiplex. The horror movies were usually cheap knock-offs of Halloween or Friday the 13th. And the sword & sorcerer movies were pale imitations of Conan. I remember seeing Deathstalker in 83. Until last night, I couldn't remember much about the movie (other than the scene where the pig-headed warrior eats the pig), but I'm pretty sure I loved it. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that. Either, time has not been kind to Deathstalker, or my tastes have grown as I've aged.

Instead of the fun adventure-filled movie I remember, the Deathstalker I re-watched was pretty bad and boring. The plot (at least what there is of it) is predictable, the acting is abysmal, the special effects are laughable, and the fight scenes are unoriginal. But what bothered me the most (and I can't believe I'm about to write this) was the misogyny of the whole thing. The treatment of women really bothered me. There's a rape scene around every corner - even involving the film's supposed hero. Don't misunderstand - I don't consider myself a purde. There's plenty of nudity and sex in a movie like The Great Texas Dynamite Chase (which I watched just a couple of nights ago), but at least there, the women appear to be willing participants.

I think I may give up on revisiting these 80s sword & sorcerer movies. Everytime, I seem to end up disappointed.

3/10

Loved It

[exendu · 16 January 2014]

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

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

[JTurner82 · 1/10 · 14 June 2007]

DEATHSTALKER is perfect for B-fantasy movie fans; this barely 80-minute travesty of film-making 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 likable 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.

Excuse me, Miss ... But your boobs are hanging out the whole time.

[Coventry · 3/10 · 20 February 2008]

Wha-BAM! Someone surely had fun devouring a whole truckload of acid-mushrooms and then subsequently scripting this crazy excuse for a motion picture! Writer Howard Cohen expands the "Sword & Sorcery" concept with a couple of extra S's, like Sex, Silliness, (more) Sex and Sheer Stupidity! This isn't just a movie, this is every juvenile pervert's dreams & fantasies come true! "Deathstalker" has it all: blood, violence, trolls, female mud-wrestling, attempted rape, successful rape, life-sized pigs (!), awful hairstyles, hideously oiled muscular bodies, multi-sexual orgies, gay warriors, tournaments-to-the-death, delirious witches, dismemberment, laughable villains and boobs, boobs, BOOOOOOOOOBIES!! "Deathstalker" literally wipes the floor with its obvious role-model "Conan: The Barbarian" when it comes to terms of cheesiness and sheer flamboyance. The story is, evidently, of minor importance. Lone and gay (only he doesn't know it yet) warrior Deathstalker goes on a mission, as commanded by an annoying witch, to gather the three notorious elements of creation or something like that. On his journey he combines forces with a troll-turned-human, a fighter who's even gayer than he is and - last but not least - a luscious lady who doesn't really seem to be a big support of the concept of bras. Together they head for the kingdom of the ultimately evil Munkar where they'll participate in a warriors' tournament and conquer no less than two out of three elements. Munkar is bald guy with half a spider's web tattooed on his skull and an impressive harem that would even make the wealthiest oil sheik jealous. Okay, granted, "Deathstalker" is a pretty damn awful and at some times even unendurable movie. The fight sequences are lame and the costumes and make-up effects are downright pitiable. For a moment, when beholding the opening sequence, I actually feared I was watching "Troll; the Prequel". The monsters look incredibly cheesy and the complete opposite as menacing, but it's undeniable entertainment if you're in an undemanding mood. I presume this isn't a favorite amongst feminists, as the overall portrayal of women is somewhat umdiscriminating. Most of the gals exclusively serve as eye-candy in the harem. They're allowed crawl over the floor naked and play around in the mud, but strictly forbidden to open their mouths. The two "leading" ladies (Barbi Benton and Lana Clarkson) are ravishing but - in all honesty - if it wouldn't be for their continuously exposed racks, they would hardly be worth mentioning, either.

A Conan rip-off from the 80's - Need I say more?

[Bogey Man · 4/10 · 14 June 2002]

Deathstalker is directed by John Watson and it stars Rick Hill, who is some kind of body builder and famous of that, if I have understood right? The plot follows as Deathstalker (Hill) tries to get something back from the evil lord, and he has to travel to the lord's cave. He meets many dwarfs and monsters during his journey, and the settings are very close to Tolkien, and of course Conan the Barbarian. This is a rip off of huge success of Conan, and even though this is very stupid film, it has many nice trash merits and is recommended for trash fans and tolerating film junkies!

There are no many cinematic merits in this film. Couple of scenes are almost atmospheric and fascinating, but what Deathstalker concentrates to show, are nude females and huge muscles of Hill. Females are usually helpless victims and very stupid, too, so this is very macho film and thus may not please many feminists! The fight scenes are nothing special and pretty dull, and the monsters are not either anything special. And all the other aspects of the film are also very amateurish and badly done, but what did you expect from low budget effort like this? This tries to be as great as Conan but fails pretty miserably. As I said, this can please fans of turkey cinema but no one else. This belongs to the category it's so bad it's great!

Deathstalker is still not as near as bad as it could be, and as a turkey film, I appreciate this almost as much as other turkeys, enjoyable ones of course! If bad films are your cup of tea, then try this and have fun, but if you don't understand "enjoyably bad films" then stay away. And if somebody can't stand large amount of nudity, then stay away as well. There is more nudity here than violence, and due to these scenes, the film has an R rating. Otherwise this could be some safe PG family film!

4/10

Possibly the Worst Hero Since Mitchell.

[Citizen_Braaaains · 1/10 · 19 November 2004]

This is one of those movies that you and a bunch of friends sit around drinking beers, eating pizza, and laugh at. Unfortunately for me I found myself watching this one alone. My friends and I rented a big block of movies and never got around to seeing this one. It was due back and I figured that it was a waste not to watch it. So I did, and I was impressed at how absolutely terrible this movie is.

Now, I love bad movies quite a bit, and I probably would have liked this one if the "hero" wasn't so utterly loathsome. The entire movie I was hoping that he'd put that stupid sword down and let someone kill him! He does very little heroic things in the movie. He's a beefy, disgusting, stupid thing. He has less redeeming qualities than the villains do. And what was it with all the naked chicks? I mean, I love naked chicks just as much as the next guy, but this movie went a tad overboard in that department.

Well, anyway, if you love bad movies and can stand a disgusting "hero" then I'm sure you'll like this schlock of a film.

Skin flick masquerading as fantasy

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 14 March 2021]

Shot in Argentina on the cheap, DEATHSTALKER purports to be a sword and sorcery epic in the vein of CONAN THE BARBARIAN but instead it turns out to be nothing more than a skinflick. The likes of Barbi Benton and Lana Clarkson are constantly paraded in front of the viewer sans clothing while the cameraman watches on. Elsewhere, we get non-actor Rick Hill as possibly one of the most unlikeable heroes of the genre - the kind of guy who rescues a woman from potential rapists befor stripping and abusing her - and very little in the way of action or incident to recommend it. The whole thing has a cheaper-than-cheap vibe which makes it tough to sit through, and it only improves for the final battle between good and evil, which is quite well directed and atmospheric. If only the director had made more effort earlier on.

Trashy sword and sorcery fun.

[BA_Harrison · 7/10 · 10 July 2018]

Sword-swinging warrior Deathstalker (Rick Hill, in an unconvincing blond wig) embarks on a quest to unite the three powers - a sword, an amulet and a chalice - in order to defeat evil magician Munkar (Bernard Erhard), who has seized the throne from the rightful king. Or some such nonsense.

To be honest, the plot isn't all that important. What is important is that the makers of this sword and sorcery movie know not to take matters too seriously, taking the cheeze-o-meter up to eleven, making the film a lot of fun despite its obvious budgetary restraints.

The result is a gloriously tacky flick featuring all manner of silliness, with lashings of nudity and a smattering of gore. Female warrior Kaira (the lovely Lana Clarkson) wanders around with her tits out (as do most of the women in the film); Deathstalker encounters a troll-like creature in a cave (a crappy John Carl Buechler creation); Munkar keeps an eye-ball-eating pet monster in a wooden chest; there's a debauched feast at Munkar's castle that features female mud-wrestling; a pig-man pulls a bloke's arm off and uses it as a weapon; and Munkar meets a bloody demise, pulled apart by horses.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for Clarkson, and beautiful Barbi Benton as sexy Princess Codille.

Beast mode

[kosmasp · 5/10 · 3 December 2019]

Stalking Death are we? Well not politically correct we are. Yoda has nothing to do with this movie, I couldn't tell you why I decided to use that grammar style. I can tell you that the movie has nudity and I guess depicts a fantasy that some might find very offensive. Then again it's a movie and maybe we shouldn't take things too seriously? Whatever the case there are better fantasy movies out there, but there are also way worse. And this was succesful enough to spawn more of the same.

Nudity and a lot of fighting and a lot of nonsense ensue. Prepare yourself for that or don't watch at all

The best of the sword and sorcery flicks!

[rlcsljo · 8/10 · 1 May 2000]

This movie is packed with everything you would expect in a sword and sorcery film(except explicit sex)!

There are twenty-five breast shots, twenty-seven butt shots, six sword fights, fifteen impalings, two amputations, one arrow in the neck, three beheadings, on horse dragging, one eye-candy, one finger food, one mud wrestle, one pig face, one magical trans sexual operation, two bitch slappings, one crotch stabbing, one head smashing, and one draw and quartering.

It doesn't get much better than this!

The cheese and the sleaze just ooze right off the screen.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 25 April 2015]

Entertainingly silly and tacky low budget sword and sorcery feature, one of Roger Cormans' "Conan the Barbarian" derivations. Beefy blonde Rick Hill plays the title role, a lone wolf warrior assigned a very special mission by old witch woman Toralva (Veronica Llinas). He's to gather a chalice, an amulet, and a sword. Should the nefarious wizard Munkar (Bernard Erhard) get his greedy hands on these items, he will have unlimited power. Deathstalker joins with other characters such as Kaira (Lana Clarkson) and Oghris (Richard Brooker) on the journey to a tournament overseen by Munkar to determine who is the mightiest of all.

Joining in the fun are Barbi Benton as Princess Codille and Victor Bo as the villainous Kang. Hill, not surprisingly, is rather stiff as an "actor", but he certainly does look his part. Gorgeous ladies Benton and Clarkson are outstanding scenery attractions. Erhard is a predictably theatrical bad guy, and is rather striking what with his bald, tattooed head. Brooker, best known as Jason in "Friday the 13th Part III", was also the stunt coordinator and is pretty engaging in the role of the easygoing Oghris. The rousing music score is courtesy of Oscar Cardozo Ocampo, and the location filming in Argentina is sufficient.

Adequately directed and produced by James Sbardellati, "Deathstalker" does earn some points for presentation even if the script by Howard R. Cohen isn't too hot. This is definitely a fantasy film for adults, with a lot of breasts bared by our female cast members, and a generous dose of splatter. There are also some pretty amusing makeup effects done by John Carl Buechler. The "pig man" is a hoot!

This is all enjoyable enough; it kills 80 minutes in capably raunchy fashion.

Seven out of 10.

"Heroes and fools are the same thing."

[lost-in-limbo · 4/10 · 3 August 2011]

"Deathstalker" is just one of many ultra-cheap, b-grade sword and sorcery features that found themselves on the market after the success that was "Conan the Barbarian" and rarely does this cut-and-dried sleazy fable set itself apart from the ilk. The poster-artwork is what sells it (and again many of these sword and sorcery fares had eye-catching artwork), but unfortunately it doesn't quite live up to it. For most part it's rather primitively ramshackle, slight in story structure and goes about providing an overabundance of females in skimpy outfits or in little to nothing at all. It's exploitative trash and unimaginative schlock too, but it however manages to hold a hypnotic spell over you. Cut-rate sets, props and costumes show it up, but even its action is no frills. At times it could be gruesome, but the sloppy direction made those moments feel tacky like its bloody final climatic curtain. A fitting Rick Hill as the title character, suit's the dashing physic giving a straight-laced performance with sardonic shades as he goes about his business. Sometimes he even likes to sit back, but eventually he finds himself caught in whatever transpires. Richard Brooker as the evil wizard tyrant hams it up and looks the part, but he's far from a potent villain and I guess that's just part of the illusion. Also there was a memorable part for Lana Clarkson (watch it for her role alone) and Barbi Benton as the damsel in stress that Deathstalker must rescue. Writer Howard Cohen would go on to pen the third film, while also write and direct the fourth entry. Brainless, but choppy and shoddily amusing low-grade sword and sorcery.

"This isn't my day either".