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Fans of fantasy dungeon-crawlers, glorious 80s schlock, and Astron-6’s brand of resourceful independent horror goodness can rejoice! Steven Kostanski’s remake of James Sbardellati’s cult classic Deathstalker is the sword-and-sorcery adventure you’d expect from the do-it-yourself visionary behind PG: Psycho Goreman and Frankie Freako. It’s appropriately silly as this brawny hero slays his way through one-eyed demons and two-headed trolls, all brought to life by Kostanski’s brand of latexy, plaster-molded, arts-and-crafts dedication to practical effects. Deathstalker echoes everything from Ray Harryhausen to Army of Darkness, pre-Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson to Heavy Metal, but most of all, it’s another unique Kostanski horror-comedy as only he can imagine.
Swiss actor and stuntman Daniel Bernhardt plays the role of the vascular scavenger “Deathstalker,” a muscly thief who roams the Kingdom of Abraxion collecting riches off corpses. Over his travels, he swipes an amulet from a dead soldier (Adam Brooks) that turns out to be coveted by the evil sorcerer Necromemnon. With the help of the pint-sized wizard Doodad (voiced by Patton Oswalt) and slippery thief Brisbayne (Christina Orjalo), Deathstalker must defend the amulet from red-suited Dreadite soldiers and other Abraxion foes. It’s not the quest he asked for, but it’s the quest he must now fulfill.
There’s a “Saturday Morning Cartoon” vibe to Deathstalker besides all the decapitations and surging rivers of gore. Once our barbaric Fabio-like protagonist meets Doodad, who looks like the cousin of Mel Brooks’ Yogurt in Spaceballs, loveable hijinks ensue. Kostanski’s charming brand of tongue-in-cheek storytelling pokes fun at titles like Conan the Barbarian or Red Sonja while playing in this mystical medieval sandbox. Doodad’s inability to shoot his energy balls anywhere but at Deathstalker or the ghoulish Slimer knockoff he summons is all worth its low-hanging, nonsensical laughs. That’s what you’re getting with Deathstalker, much like any of Astron-6’s zany riots.
However, don’t think Deathstalker pulls any nose-breaking punches. The blade-wielding punisher delivers badassery on a budget with the help of a headbanging score. Composer trio Blitz//Berlin unleashes their own assault of crunchy guitar riffs as metal pierces undead flesh, like a rippin’ and tearin’ Mick Gordon Doom score. Not to mention, supercomposer Bear McCreary and guitar virtuoso Slash (who also produces) contribute an awesome end-credits song adapted from “Deathstalker II: Duel of the Titans.” If there’s a god, they’ll make sure there’s a vinyl release of this righteous OST and additional songs, because musicianship is the secret ingredient that keeps Deathstalker so dang entertaining.
The film is, unavoidably, rough around the edges and sometimes too throwback cheesy for its own good. Oswalt’s voice doesn’t match Laurie Field’s live-action performance, no doubt as a spoof, but that doesn’t diminish the distraction. Bernhardt does (mostly) a fantastic job delivering thematic one-liners while vanquishing enemies, but they can sometimes land flat in the mud. There’s a level of battlefield scope that can feel sparse given the film’s obvious lower-budget nature, while Deathstalker’s progression through plot milestones advances like a Dungeons & Dragons campaign on autopilot. If you’re here for the genre splendor, that might be an issue.
Deathstalker will play better for diehard Kostanski fans; no filmmaker is showing off their creativity like he is these days. Bernhardt’s stuntwork background (John Wick, Atomic Blonde) keeps fight scenes engaging, but the variety of bog ghouls and winged oddities Kostanski brings to life shine brightest. There’s glowing green goop, crimson henchmen suits like out of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and creatures galore, which all have that handcrafted, reach-out-and-touch-it authenticity. Kostanski’s puppetry, miniatures, and stop-motion techniques celebrate a wonder-filled art form lost to computers that he so fearlessly celebrates. It’s a callback to Labyrinth or The Dark Crystal, except way more gruesome, and with a hilariously timed, kid-unfriendly f-bomb.
Of Kostanski’s recent canon, Deathstalker lands smack between PG: Psycho Goreman (as the best) and Frankie Freako (lesser by comparison). It’s an enchanting ode to light versus darkness in a time where swordfights solve all issues, keeping things approachably unserious. Kostanski’s hallmarks are evident and maximized, which should be great news for the lunatics who would hang Bio-Cop posters above their beds. The film’s sense of humor might not win everyone over, and there’s a subgenre novelty that requires a more profound appreciation to fall in love with, but Kostanski executes the title’s niche appeal with aplomb. Simply put, Deathstalker executes as advertised—hell yeah.
Movie Score: 3.5/5
