Warrior and scavenger Deathstalker (Daniel Bernhardt) is pulled into the "machinations of the gods" when he steals a magical amulet from a dying prince on a battlefield.
Teaming up with goblin-dwarf wizard Doodad (Laurie Field, voiced by Patton Oswald) and thief Brisbayne (Christina Orjalo), this trio of rogues have to first undo the curse on Deathstalker that has bound the amulet to him.
Then they have to find an (
impractical) four-bladed magical sword and thwart the apocalyptic plans of the evil sorcerer
Nekromemnon (Nicholas Rice), his right-hand goon, the undead Jotak (Paul Lazenby) and their legions of monstrous Dreadite soldiers.
Written and directed by
Psycho Goreman's Steven Kostanski (
who was born three years after the original Deathstalker was released)
Deathstalker (2025) is a loving tribute to vintage, low-budget, swords-and-sorcery flicks.
It is set in a land awash with
Hawk The Slayer mist, and our heroes fight their way through a never-ending onslaught of
Power Rangers (
and Psycho Goreman) style rubber-suit monsters and
Evil Dead-style stop-motion creations.
And, yes, the infamous porcine-faced humanoid makes a return appearance, although he's had a bit of a glow-up since the original movies.
You may call him a pig-man, but to me he's a Gygaxian orc.
The ultimate weapon that Stalker is seeking -
as I suspected the other day - is even an on-the-nose homage to Alert Pyun's
The Sword and The Sorcerer.
In fact, the only thing that really differentiates this from the earlier
Deathstalker movies is the total absence of sleaze. There's no nudity (
gratuitous or otherwise), not even a hint of sexual tension between Stalker and Brisbayne.
Instead, they are treated as <shudder> equals!
And, you know what, I didn't miss it.
Deathstalker's linear plot is a blood-spattered, non-stop riot of over-the-top cartoonish violence, interspersed with some witty dialogue, subtle foreshadowing, and a cavalcade of rubbery monsters that could easily have just rolled out of
an old school Dungeons & Dragons adventure.
You may recognise him as Kirill from
John Wick or Agent Johnson from
The Matrix Reloaded, but Daniel Bernhardt, who has a definite air of Jon Hamm in his mien, is superb as the titular antihero and the door is definitely left wide open at the end for sequels.
I, for one, would welcome further adventures with Bernhardt reprising the role.
The only nit I would pick with Kostanski's script - and this is as much personal taste as anything - is giving Deathstalker a backstory that necessitates him having a "pre-Deathstalker" name.
Honestly, this is completely unnecessary as the name could have been excised from the script and it would have read just as well if he was a "man with no name" type.
The film was part-funded by
Kickstarter in 2024, but (
for reasons) as there were no Blu-Rays (
or even DVDs) on offer as incentives I just chipped in at the lowest level to get my name in the credits... because I'm easily pleased.
This did mean I had to import the Blu-Ray off my own back this week - thanks to eBay.
I know there are going to be those who moan about what's missing from the traditional
Deathstalker formula (
even though, surprisingly having now seen the film, it is front-and-centre in the comic book spin-off released by Vault Comics in the wake of the Kickstarter).
However, if anything, 2025's
Deathstalker proves you can still make outrageous, trashy, dark fantasy sword-and-sorcery movies in this day and age that cater to audiences both old and new.
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| My "thank you" in the credits: best $10 I've ever invested in a Kickstarter 😉 |
