We aren’t positive who was clamoring for an replace to the defunct Deathstalker sequence aside from Patton Oswalt (who seems on this sequel), however the fantasy reboot really obtained made, and is out subsequent month in all its tacky glory. This go-around, actor Daniel Bernhardt (Logan, John Wick, No person) assumes the mantle because the Schwarzenegger-esque title character. Director Steven Kostanski (The Void, Psycho Goreman) takes the helm in a collaboration between distributor Shout! Studios, manufacturing firm BerserkerGang, and comedian e-book writer Vault Comics. The movie sees the hero return to struggle the Dreadites in a fantasy universe that appears prefer it comes straight off the quilt of a classic heavy steel album. That final bit is far more necessary than it initially appears.
An unbiased motion movie is a nifty concept on paper. Nonetheless, these sorts of retro-homages are tough in follow, contemplating they cater to an already small section of the market. Deathstalker, not surprisingly, couldn’t safe funding by conventional means, because the franchise was nowhere close to fashionable sufficient to draw a big studio prepared to gamble on a cult traditional. Alas, the Deathstalker reboot is returning to the massive display screen because of an unlikely patron of the humanities and top-hat aficionado. All we wanted was just a bit persistence.
When Monosyllabic Buff Males With Giant Swords Dominated Cinema
Does anybody bear in mind Deathstalker? Devised as a Conan the Barbarian knockoff — within the signature opportunistic model of producer Roger Corman — the 1983 sword-and-sorcery movie Deathstalker is principally memorable at the moment as a peculiar little bit of movie historical past trivia. It starred the Jason actor from the Friday the thirteenth motion pictures, Jason Brooker, and an actress, Lana Clarkson, who later grew to become tragically well-known resulting from her homicide. It additionally starred Barbi Benton, higher often called the previous Mrs. Hugh Hefner. A spate of sequels adopted, with Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell infamously featured on the Comedy Central present Thriller Science Theater 3000.
Suffice to say, these flicks have been responsible pleasures, the staple of many a late-night viewing session. The unique movie sequence rode on the coattails of the fantasy pulp characters created by creator Robert E. Howard, akin to Conan the Barbarian, with Corman by no means concealing his want to repeat no matter was fashionable. When the ’80s fantasy revival petered out, Deathstalker continued, however by no means caught on.
Hollywood has by no means been capable of replicate that vibe of early ’80s gory journey, both, till Sport of Thrones. The one profitable entries in that style have been meager-budgeted, syndicated episodic tv sequence, akin to Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess. The mass attraction might have evaporated, however the want for old-school fantasy adventures clearly by no means died. Director Kostanski admitted, “I actually simply wished to try to reinvigorate that subgenre, and it was only a serendipitous aligning of items to get this movie made,” to interviewers on the Locarno Movie Pageant, the IP holder lucking out by the appropriate connections.
Slash Involves the Rescue
We first lined this marketing campaign two years in the past, however as of writing, it has solely raised $150,000 in two separate Kickstarters. It is clear that the film obtained funding from someplace, as that quantity does not even cowl the catering invoice in 2025. Fortunately for fantasy followers, the Deathstalker IP was blessed with an sudden champion who saved the movie from obscurity. That benefactor? Slash. The Weapons N’ Roses member additionally contributes music to the movie, leaving his imprint on the manufacturing, slightly than sitting idly on the sidelines. He instructed The Hollywood Reporter that it is not a parody, however made in the identical model of motion movies of the ’80s, the place escapism was the one objective:
“I used to be conversant in the unique motion pictures again once I used to work at Tower Video in Los Angeles within the ‘80s, in order that’s form of how I got here to be curious about doing this… The unique Deathstalker simply had a sure type of looseness to it and a sure type of enjoyable, and likewise a sure type of B film high quality that made it actually interesting to me.”
That blend of levity, motion, and character-building is tougher than it sounds, because the latest Purple Sonja flop painfully illustrated. The lasting legacy of the 1982 John Milius epic Conan the Barbarian is a testomony to the director, Milius, co-writer Oliver Stone, and the forged, which featured Arnold Schwarzenegger alongside James Earl Jones. Deathstalker was additionally an enormous success for Corman’s firm, incomes sufficient for New World Photos to spawn a long-running franchise, with actor Rick Hill reprising his function in a later sequel. Slash (actual identify Saul Hudson) has said that he’s additionally curious about sequels, founding his personal horror-themed manufacturing firm, BerserkerGang, in 2023 to interrupt into the film enterprise. After six albums bumping heads with Axl Rose, enjoying film mogul ought to be a breeze compared.
‘Deathstalker’ Is a Love Letter To Low-Funds Schlock of Yesteryear
A aim for the movie, Slash says, was to embrace sensible results, extra consistent with the appear and feel of traditional motion pictures. Disavowing CGI, the producers opted for a director who had already proved his bona fides within the style. Hinting in the identical interview that the finances was at all times a priority, even when it wasn’t a serious limitation. Nothing fairly places a crew in the appropriate headspace like anxiousness over cash, a actuality that Corman knew all too properly.
In that regard, it is essentially the most genuine retro-fantasy movie we have seen in many years. In an period the place the John Carter sequence was DOA, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Energy depleted goodwill amongst Tolkien loyalists, and Jason Momoa’s 2011 Conan remake by no means broke even regardless of preferrred casting, a return to modest unbiased filmmaking seems to be the one viable route for producing fantasy fare, echoing Roger Corman’s shoestring-budget film manufacturing unit. After 4 many years, we’re again precisely the place we began. Deathstalker hits theaters on October 10.
- Launch Date
-
October 10, 2025
- Runtime
-
102 minutes
- Producers
-
Michael Paszt, Pasha Patriki, Avi Federgreen
-
Daniel Bernhardt
Deathstalker
-
Christina Orjalo
Brisbayne
-
-
