Overrated and overhyped

Load of rubbish!!

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

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.

The warrior Deathstalker (Rick Hill) is sent by a witch on a quest to find a chalice, an amulet, and a sword, two of which are held by the wicked sorcerer Munkar (Bernard Erhard). Deathstalker finds the sword almost immediately, which has been hidden by the witch in a cave. Sword in hand, Deathstalker sets out to Munkar's castle.The film is noteworthy for launching the career of Lana Clarkson, who became a recognizable cult celebrity in the genre. Clarkson would go on to work with executive producer Roger Corman on the films Barbarian Queen and Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back, and guest star in an episode of the television show Black Scorpion.Basically, this is just pure fun. Nothing great, and not even a high quality cheese. This is what happens when you get Roger Corman mixed up with the folks in Argentina, throw in Playboy Playmate Barbi Benton and stunt man Richard Brooker (one of the guys to play Jason Voorhees).

I've seen plenty of cheesy B Movies that rode behind on the success of Conan the Barbarian and Excalibur, and can without a doubt say that this is the best of the lot. The early to mid 80s were the pinnacle of fantasy adventure films, and there are a lot of them from this time. Most are very poorly done with atrocious dialogue and unimaginative (go figure) action sequences. I'm not saying that Deathstalker lacked either of these flaws, it did not, but it made up for it somewhat with ambition and attitude. I must confess that it has been many years since I've seen this film, and it may not stand up as well on a second viewing. But I've always known the difference between a good and bad B movie. I actually miss the times that bred Deathstalker a bit. Although most of the fantasy adventure movies were bad, they at least tried to take themselves seriously. The neat thing about the movie is that it is not epic in scope. For those used to Lord of the Rings or the like, this may actually be a refreshing change. If you haven't seen Conan the Barbarian, watch this movie first, to save the best for last.

DEATHSTALKER is perfect for B-fantasy movie fans; this barely 80-minute travesty of film-making features everything hecklers can ask for--non-existent plotting, terrible acting (save for at least a raspy-sounding old lady), laughable scripting and schlock editing, and bargain-basement style background settings. There are no characters that come across as likable or interesting (in particular, the lead doesn't have ANYTHING appealing about him), and the actors assembled barely do anything to rise above the F-grade material. If that's not enough, then how about the lack of a compelling plot (which this movie has nothing of the sort) to make DEATHSTALKER qualify as a major turkey? I was also offended that the women in this movie barely serve any purpose other than to 1) be topless and/or scantily clad; 2) get raped; 3) have sex with the hero; 4) all of the above. In addition, the background music is hideous; a bizarre mess of electronic noise, cheesy choral bursts, and blaring orchestral cacophony. Ear numbing and eye numbing all in one packed with nary a thing to keep one interested, DEATHSTALKER is probably best suited for folks looking for something to laugh at (and believe me, there's plenty of that in here). Otherwise, I do not recommend this 100th-grade CONAN wanna-be to anyone in the least.