After the warrior Deathstalker stumbles across an old witches' lair, He is tasked by the witch to obtain the three "powers of creation" which consist of a sword, chalice, and amulet. It's a race against time, as these three items are also being seeked out by Munkar, the evil sorcerer, who plans on using them for nefarious purposes. On his journey Deathstalker enters the Big Tournament run by Munkar himself, which sets out to find the strongest warrior and make him king. Of course Munkar's intentions aren't trustworthy, as he holds the princess of the land hostage and plots to have Deathstalker killed. James Sbardellati's Deathstalker is a low-budget, Conan the Barbarian rip-off thats cheesy and sleazy fun. Richard Hill as Deathstalker can only be described as a Fabio version of Conan the Barbarian, He's not so much a brute though, more a John McClane type character whose disenchanted by this idea of heroism, having no desire to go on this mythical quest. Deathstalker makes the most of its low budget with creativity and atmosphere, making a world that is quite impressive. Through large amounts of handheld photography and smoke & lighting effects, Deathstalker creates a chaotic and deadly world where danger lies around every corner. The script for this film is loaded with machoism and nonstop adventure but what I found interesting is its comedic merits. There is a lot of silly dialogue throughout Deathstalker, much of which is unintentionally funny, but there is also some great intentional comedic moments too. This is one of those "bad" films that's so charming in its go-for-broke attitude that you can't help but enjoy the experience, however flawed it may be. There are so many bizarre moments throughout Deathstalker like when the Sorcerer turns one of his henchmen into a woman, or the little muppet monster he feeds eyeballs, fingers, etc, making Deathstalker creative in the funniest way possible. 7.25/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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