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DVD Review
Director
John Watson
Cast
Richard Hill
Barbi Benton
Richard Brooker
Lana Clarkson
Victor Bo
Bernard Erhard
August Larreta

Distributor
Prism Leisure
Running Time
77 Minutes
Certification (UK / US)
18 / R
Reviewed By
Ryan McDonald
Buy this film
 
DEATHSTALKER (1983)
A mixture of Conan the Barbarian and Masters of the Universe, Richard Hill stars as the title sword-wielder, a somewhat unscrupulous, but generally good-hearted fellow. He is asked by a King to rescue his daughter (Benton) from a wizard named Munkar (Erhard, looking like a mixture of Mikhail Gorbachev and Severn Darden, and sounding like Kelsey Grammer doing a Vincent Price impersonation), who has even less scruples than our hero who has usurped him.

At first, Deathstalker is uninterested in his quest, especially when no monetary payment is involved. But then he hears about a magical sword that holds great power, as well as two other items (an amulet and chalice) that, when combined, will grant Stalker truly great power (Except, instead of He-Man’s cry of ‘I HAVE the POWER!’, it’s ‘I Will BE the power!’). Naturally, the evil Munkar is in possession of the last two items (he also has a malicious, finger-eating hand-puppet sidekick, but don’t ask about that…). Munkar, meanwhile, is holding a tournament of-sorts, allowing anyone to challenge him for the right to the throne, providing a perfect opportunity for Stalker to complete his task. But is he in it for the right reasons? The late Lana Clarkson (whose breast-baring outfit has to be seen to be believed) and Richard Brooker (Jason in Friday the 13th Part 3: 3D, probably the second-best in the terrible series) turn up as female and warrior comrades for Deathstalker.
I’m a sword-and-sorcery fan from way back (The Beastmaster especially, but even Red Sonja is underrated), but have never been a fan of Conan, so the prospect of a film that takes plot points from that film (the business with the King and his daughter especially), didn’t give me a lot of hope for this film, neither did the bad word of mouth. But I’m here to tell you that not only is this a more entertaining film than Conan the Barbarian, it’s also better than Clarkson’s other big hit (I said ‘hit’, you dirty little thing), the ‘sword and boobery’ flick Barbarian Queen.

This is a film that knows what it is and delivers on just about every level (we’ll forget about the bad acting, dreadful dubbing, silly dialogue, poor FX etc. Little of that is relevant here). There’s plenty of violence and lots of bare breasts throughout, even a little bathing, exotic dancing, and mud-wrestling here and there. This is pretty much my kind of movie, folks, every decapitation, dismemberment and breast exposure just warmed my heart. It also gives us a hero that, whilst being a total jerk (early on, he saves a girl from being raped by mutants, only to then take over where they left off. But he’s better looking, so she doesn’t mind as much), is much more fun to have around than the sullen and brutish Conan. At least he seems to enjoy what he does and how he behaves, unlike Conan. Not right, necessarily, but more fun. It’s also a helluva lot better than the Dolph Lundgren version of He-Man, while we’re discussing past sword and sorcery films. And Stalker’s somewhat questionable behavior adds something to the film, a story which concerns achieving great power that can be used for good or evil. What kind of ruler would he make? (I’m not saying the film follows through on this, but hey, it’s schlock, whaddaya want?)
The film isn’t without flaws, with the aforementioned terrible FX, but most of all, it seemed like the most interesting stuff was happening at the villain’s castle before any of the main action was even set there (cue the bathing scenes, etc). And when the main action was set there (for the sword-fighting competition), it wasn’t quite as much fun, though you’ll likely get some chuckles over Brooker (who looks like a steroid-abusing, gay David Cassidy) and Deathstalker all but having a greased-up pillow fight, in their very camp scenes together. And if you like swordfights, you’ll probably not be complaining anyway, unless you’re focusing on the shocking fight choreography. But overall, this is a good film of its type and, although filmmaker Roger Corman may be cheap, his films are rarely dull and Deathstalker has enough swordplay, cheesy production design, and bare-breasts to tide fans of this stuff over. You’ll either dig it, or not bother watching it in the first place. And hey, it’s worth watching simply to chuckle at Richard Hill's ridiculous blonde wig.

Budget DVD masters Prism Leisure have again produced a very bare bones release for the UK market with only a crop of trailers to keep the main feature company. Its obvious that this title will get few plaudits for its production values but it does have many fans, especially those who are fond of exploitation fantasy fodder such as this, and it is a shame that we didn't even get an interview with some of the cast and crew. The full screen image looks worn with a very soft edge and appears to have been transferred straight from a VHS master. It still looks miles better than any tape version I have ever seen, but there is much room for improvement.

7 / 10

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