BA_Harrison 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.

calvinnme 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.

jessegehrig For my sins, minor they may be, this review will not redeem me, but perhaps for the Deathstalker series there might be hope of redemption. Nothing is any good about any of the Deathstalker movies, oh the nudity is always welcome but its used as a substitute for better story telling, the action scenes are awful Saturday afternoon TV quality, sets are a joke,the acting and directing are physically painful to watch- It all raises more serious questions, "got the money why make this movie?" "if you are going to have rampant nudity why not just make a porno?" "if its an action movie why not pay for better stunts?" "if this is just going to be a train-wreck B-movie tits-and-ass sword and fantasy thing, why not actually have fun with it?" So what can redeem this movie? Time-travel. It is possible, don't listen to the doubters, we will travel through time someday and someday maybe some one shall take the money,sets,and actors of Deathstalker and make a better movie. Redemption lies in the possibilities of tomorrow.

Coventry 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 …um…discriminating. 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.