Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell (1988) User Reviews

Lackluster entry in the series

[HaemovoreRex · 4/10 · 10 June 2005]

Ah.....did my ears deceive me or was that the same score from 'Battle Beyond The Stars' AND 'Wizards Of The Lost Kingdom'? Oh yes it was! - which told me right from the start that this movies budget was presumably marginally smaller than a dead dogs IQ.

Still....there is the saying 'cheap and cheerful' so I sat and watched the film with low (but quietly hopeful) expectations.

Now I should point out here that having seen all of the Deathstalker movies, I've only really liked number 2 which took the refreshing step of introducing a highly comedic element into what is intrinsically a very stoic and humourless genre.

However, it was evident within a few minutes, and I was pleased to find that this sequel too, continued the tongue in cheek trend, although it is far more subtle here.

John Allen Nelson assumes the role of the eponymous hero this time around and he does an amiable job, delivering some witty one liners to help the action along.

So far not too bad then.....so why the relatively low rating I have awarded this film?

Well you see, nothing of any interest actually happens!

Sure there is some glorious overacting (especially from Thom Christopher), some atrociously choreographed sword fights, enough daft scenes to sink a Frigate and some exceptionally stupid dialogue....all the things in fact that any self respecting B-Movie should boast, however, it all feels strangely flat here.

Even the usual nudity quotient is ominously low in this instalment! (Shock, Horror!!!!)

To summarise then, whilst this is certainly not a particularly unwatchable movie, it certainly fails to enthral and will probably only be of any real interest to people wishing to view the whole Deathstalker series.

Deathstalker and the wussies from hell

[Oosterhartbabe · 2/10 · 3 December 2005]

I've never seen the first two films in this series, and I can't say that i'm sorry about that. This egregiously bad 80's sword swinger ranks up there with the Ator the Fighting Eagle series as the worst of all time.

The main character is a smug, sleazy idiot with a bad 80's hair-do and an accent that fluctuates more than the stock market did on Black Tuesday. No woman in her right mind would touch him, which explains why his love interest in the film is four barrels short of a load. His enemy is a guy who wears more furs and turbans than Liza, and gasps out his lines like he's trying to act during an asthma attack. Rounding out this cast is a really annoying princess, a stupid wizard who's the lost member of ZZ Top, and a sorceress with a grating voice who tries to roast our hero's nuts(my favorite part of the film, by the way).

The movie starts out in a village(Renn Fest) where Deathstalker is being his usual smug, oily self. He impresses the local yokels by fighting a guy while standing on a log, then goes to a fortune teller/wizard to get his fortune told. I pretty much know what the guy would have told him, that his film career was over and he should take that job at the car dealership, but he never got that far because the bushy bearded wiz was in conference with a princess carrying a giant faux crystal door handle. The wizard was toting one of these hideous kitsch baubles around as well, and apparently when you put them together it is a key that unlocks a fabulous city full of wealth(yeah, right). Some men wearing metal bats on their heads attack, and the wizard disappears by spinning rapidly. He leaves his shoes behind, making you wonder(most horribly), why he didn't leave his clothes behind as well. The princess takes off with our hero, and promptly gets killed before she can slap him to head off his sleazy sexual advances. She gives him the Airwick air freshener, so that he can go find the other one himself. It would cut his body odor wonderfully.

Cut to a later time,where the bad guy Truxartis? is doing his best Broadway musical singer imitation while going on about how he means to find the other stone and use its magical power for his own thing. He brings some guys back from the dead, using the powers of deepest, blackest Hell, so that they could lounge around his castle pretty much doing nothing. There was a waste of magic. Deathstalker, meanwhile, has met the dead princess's twin? sister, who is on her way to marry ol feather and furs Truxartis. He also meets his love interest, a fairly slow and rather strange girl with amazingly big hair and a problem with bathing. Her and he get along well together, not a big surprise.

The movie devolves into a quagmire at this point, with plot points trailing off into nothing one after the other. The dead guys catch up with Deathstalker, but instead of killing him as they should, they pretty much do what they've done throughout the movie-which is nothing. The princess arrives at the castle, dresses in a silly looking faux harem costume, and spends the rest of the movie whining. The sorceress tortures idiot boy, the only detraction from the pleasure of this scene being the fact that he's wearing only the tightest of tights while she does this. Arrgh!

The scrubby bearded wizard shows up again, nobody knows why, is captured and tortured by the femme fatale Truxartis, and is rescued by Deathstalker in a really lame fighting scene. Deathstalker frees the souls of the dead guys by giving them a mason jar, which was no loss to anyone since they were neither scary nor effective, and terminally lazy to boot. Truxartis comes to his stupid end, the princess and the wizard move into the fabulous city(didn't look that fabulous to me, but since the whole budget for the entire movie seems to have been about five dollars and some bags of peanuts, that's not really surprising), and Deathstalker rides off into the sunset, where we hope he gets a severe sunburn.

Why?

[boundlaw · 2/10 · 23 July 2022]

It is impossible to understand why they made this film.

Apparently, that is what the filmmakers were thinking, too, as they didn't even try. And their lack of trying is what is inexcusable.

MST3K did it justice.

Potatoes are what we eat!

[zmaturin · 17 June 1999]

The action is nonexistent, the "Warriors From Hell" never quite get their act together, and the hero is an unlikable prig, but this film does contain a bewitching performance by "Potato Loving Woman" (Claudia Inchaurregui).

Claudia "Potato Loving Woman" Inchaurregui, despite her small role, imbues the film with a sense of heart. Buried beneath inches of grime and muck, wearing a burlap sack and sporting hair that would shame even Dee Snider, "Potato Loving Woman" has a sense of quiet dignity altogether missing in the other female characters in the film, especially the frigid princess played by the Kirstie Ally-eqsue Carla Herd.

So, Claudia Inchaurregui, I don't know where you are now, but know that my life was forever changed when I heard you utter those magical words... "Potatos are what WE eat".

A more "family-friendly" deathstalker.

[gridoon · 5/10 · 29 June 2002]

This third part of the "Deathstalker" series has some amusing moments, but bogs down in the second half because of too much plot, and many of the swordfights are badly and clumsily choreographed. Still, if you like your violence completely bloodless and your hero totally self-conscious about the kind of film he's in, you may like this. (**)

Couldn't Bear It If Not For MST3K

[eabinder02 · 1/10 · 30 January 2006]

As a avid watcher of Mystery Science Theater 3000, I am used to the bottom of the cinematic barrel. However this movie is so irritating, it is in a category of pain all its own.

First, John Allen Nelson makes a particularly loathsome 'hero' as Deathstalker. His arrogance comes off angering, and his attempts at sexuality come off as repulsive. You don't believe that anyone has ever desired his help or praised him. Plus, his accent lasts about 2 lines.

Second, the support characters are laughable. The princess is wooden and unpleasant. The other characters are overacted and thoroughly unbelievable-especially in the case of Thom Christopher (Troxartas).

Lastly, it is possible to make a good movie with a low budget. It is also possible to turn this type of movie into light-hearted and fun. But, with the hideous characters, bad editing, and vague plot, this movie feels pained and leaves you caring less what happened and praying they didn't make Deathstalker 4.

The only positive thing I can say is that the MST3K crew does a decent job of poking fun at it, although it is obviously painful for them as well.

If Robert E. Howard saw this, he'd probably take the whole thing back.

[lemon_magic · 3/10 · 21 October 2006]

This is the kind of movie that makes you go back and look at the two Conan movies (even the crappy "Conan The Destroyer") and appreciate what was good about them, silly and immature as they were. The Conan movies may have been escapist pulp, the 2nd one may have been misguided and inept, but they obviously had the money and the production talent to LOOK good. Nothing looks good here, and it short circuits everything the actors are trying to do. The director seems to be fond of his material, but he has no ability to mold it into anything compelling, or even interesting.

It is apparent that DS&TWFH is counting heavily on whatever good will the first two movies in the "Deathstalker" franchise generated. The filmmakers seemed to have swapped out the original actor for a new guy, cut the budget and production quality back to "Direct To Video/Made For TV" levels (seriously, can you imagine this getting a theatrical US release EVER,even in the late '80s?) and generally done everything they could to kill the series dead. (Apparently there was a Deathstalker IV, though; the mind shudders to think of what it must have been like.) What little I know about the DS series implies that it tried to distinguish itself in later episodes by being somewhat "tongue in cheek", and by featuring DS as a rogueish, over-confident adventurer. (In modern terms, his mouth tends to write checks that his body can't cash). That's a decent idea (even if "The Sword And The Sorceror" hadn't already done it), but in DS III the script takes the concept way too far by playing the hero as a "smug bastard". The new guy Relson/Nelson gives the role a game try and he works pretty hard to get his part over, but alas, he can't even maintain a consistent accent or speech rhythm from scene to scene (a dialog coach might have helped. Also a fight choreographer who gave a damn). Sean Connery himself couldn't rescue the part from the low level hijinks presented here, and Mr. Relson/Nelson doesn't even come close to carrying it off.

Similarly annoying is Thom Christopher as the villain "Troxartas". Thom actually has some genuine acting moxie - he's the most interesting actor in the film, in an overblown, hammy way. And Christopher is obviously trying to bring an unorthodox effete-and-decadent-but-still-dangerous flavor to his character. But everything he tries, every line he delivers, just goes wrong for him. None of his choices (or the directors, or even the costume designers') work at all, and he's just irritatingly, hilariously bad.

The romantic lead lady (who plays identical twins, BTW) is decent looking, but she's a stiff here; she's utterly miscast for a fantasy/adventure movie. She must have realized early into the movie that her part was worthless, and so she basically sticks one expression on her face and keeps it there for the entire movie. She doesn't help the movie, but she doesn't really hurt it any worse than anyone else - she's just a placeholder. I actually feel sorry for the actress, and I hope she went on to better things.

So the movie has bad acting from the principles. It has bad writing. Bad costumes (it looks like Christopher had to wear his own laundry castoffs for his role). There's a lame soundtrack. There's some of the least convincing fight choreography in the history of Sword and Sorcery movies. There are dozens of lines of dialog that must have looked good on paper but which invariably clink like a lead washer on a sidewalk in the mouths of the actors.

If the movie has a saving grace, it's that it doesn't seem to take itself very seriously, so its not completely loathsome. In fact this is actually a better made movie than perennial "Bottom 100" dweller "The Cave Dwellers" (which took itself utterly seriously). However DS&TWFH doesn't have the central focus point of Miles OKeefe's cartoon superhero physique to distract the viewer from the mediocrity of the proceedings.

Who would enjoy it? DS&TWFH is only for the Sword and Sorcery fanatic who will watch ANYTHING as long as it is set in a medieval/fantasy setting with archaic costumes and affected speech rhythms. Even if you are such a fan, don't spend money to own it or watch it under any circumstances. Well, maybe $2.00 for a DVD at the bottom of the remaindered DVD pile at WalMart. You can always use it as a coaster or a skeet shooting disk.

What a ridiculously funny movie!

[tudor_gurl · 1/10 · 20 December 2004]

I have to say that this has got to be one of the most ridiculously funny movies I have ever seen. It seems the lead actor graduated from the Kevin Costner School of Funny Accents. One minute he's Australian. The next he's British followed by some cowpoke accent I could barely decipher.

The best way to watch this movie is the MST3K version that is download-able off WinMX. The comments made by the characters on MST3K make this horrid mess viewable, and adds a few extra laughs along the way.

By the bye, whoever decided that they use the infamous line "It's potatoes is what we eat!" should be caught and summarily beaten within an inch of their lives with a wet noodle!

What happens when you give your actors too much artistic license.

[feydblack · 1/10 · 15 December 2006]

This wouldn't have been as bad if they had a tighter script, better actors, a good director, ANY kind of lighting, a plot, etc... But for me, by far the worst offense is that a large group of the supporting actors stay in character "Who dares trespass the halls of mine castle!" then there are a few of the main characters who felt they had a good handle on how to portray their character, Deathstalkers reply to the above inquiry: "Hey, I'm lost, I'm just trying to grab some grub." This is mildly paraphrased, but you get the idea. Later, when speaking to a group of warriors that are supposed to be zombified and commanded to kill Deathstalker they suddenly start a conversation. When DS asks them to switch sides and fight for him (since their master is an evil jerk) one warrior from hell says "We cannot turn uponst our master, he controls our very souls!" Not a bad reply, then the next zombie ads "yeah, he's got 'em in a jar back at the castle" in much the manner of a bored co-worker telling you about their weekend. This stinking movie is all over the place. It's pretty fun with MST3K, otherwise, get plastered before you attempt this.

From Hell alright

[InzyWimzy · 1/10 · 4 September 2003]

Ugh...this movie's ridden with badness that it's good.

I have seen Miles O'Keefe in Cave Dwellers and it always gets laughs seeing Ator prance around with his cape. Deathstalker slaps Cave Dwellers around like Ike Turner. There's a quest, I think, and stars a guy who auditioned for "The Greatest American Hero" and got rejected miserably. Not as much death as I'd hoped, but he does stalk several women in the film who's acting makes plankton eligible for academy award nomination. I swear I felt bile churning...not in a good way, but that was the whole Renaissance Festival fiasco gone horribly dull. Mike & the bots had to watch this a lot...it shows in the skits. Oh, don't forget sexually repressed wife who finds solace in sadistic torture with vials of melting....thing. I think there's a spaceship, and vicious canids and....oh, wait.

However, I really did detest Cave Dwellers after first viewing. Maybe

Deathstalker will grow on me....then I will get it cauterized.

To quote Mike Nelson, this is one of the most ambitiously bad films there are.

[spk07 · 1/10 · 27 July 2008]

I have never seen the other films in this series and, boy, am I glad! This is an utterly charmless sword-and-magic tale with the most repugnant hero ever captured on film. I swear, he makes Captain Jack Sparrow look like George Clooney. He is not likable or charismatic at all, he is awful to look at, he has a libido that would put Wilt Chamberlain to shame, and he is horrible at protecting damsels. When you end up hating the protagonist of the film you are watching, RUN!!!!!!! I am not even going to comment on the story. It is something to do with twin sisters and this bad guy named Troxartis (sic) who want to control this army of ghosts who don't look so much like ghosts as they do like knights who have spent too much time in an abandoned warehouse. All of this leads to, fittingly enough, a nonsensical action climax where the heroine dies but no one is affected by it. Also, the princess (not the heroine; I know, I know) is a whiny brat. Not that I can blame her seeing that her rescuer is a complete jerk.

All of the other aspects of this production are atrocious, as well; sets, music, costumes, editing, etc. There is some hammy acting from Thom Christopher as Troxartis and his wife whose name I can't remember. But they cannot even begin to salvage the train wreck of this movie. BTW, what Deathstalker wears in the torture scene is gross. So watch the version on MST 3K. If they can't convince you that this film is utter garbage, no one can.

Part of an excellent series of Fantasy B-Movies

[vasoxfan · 8/10 · 29 January 2000]

While this movie was not quite as good as Deathstalker II, possibly the greatest B-movie ever, it is still pretty entertaining. With the third different actor portraying Deathstalker in the 3rd movie in the series, this is my least favorite of the three. Deathstalker is a little too cowardly in this movie and tries too hard to be funny. Still, if you like the genre, this is an entertaining movie to watch.

Original Deathstalker III has scenes edited from the MST3K version.

[kimrouke · 7/10 · 21 February 2008]

For airing on MST3K the nudity scenes were edited out ( explaining why the original movie was rated R ). Let's be realistic; this is a B-movie that one would watch more for entertainment than for consideration for an Academy Award. For some reason this is the only one not yet available on DVD ( except what looks like bootlegs sometimes available on eBay ). DS I ( with Barbi Benton ) is pretty original; DS II ( with Monique Gabrielle - a personal favorite of mine ) is just a little better; certainly funnier. DS IV is ( I believe ) pretty much a remake of DS I ( and the only one to have a previous DS star, Rick Hill ). Are the plots realistic? No, that's why the genre is generally referred to as Fantasy/Science Fiction. Of course, I AM biased - the Deathstalker series ( all of them ) are among my favorites. Just good, fun, and sometimes funny. Enjoy.

Wow

[boydkc1 · 1/10 · 7 April 2003]

Any time the villain wears what Thom Christopher wears and has as much hair as he does, the viewers know they are in for quite a ride. John Nelson is completely idiotic and Carla Herd is terrible. Thom Christopher scared absolutely no one. This would not pass in America, but it was filmed in Mexico, and probably gave many Mexicans some jobs. No self-respecting American would want to be in this garbage. It is your typical B-movie: cheap sets, bad special effects, stupid costumes (especially the Bat guy), bad dialogue, and bad actors. MST3K is the only way that one should watch this. This movie is the third worst I have ever seen, behind Manos the Hands of Fate and Pumaman. One other thing, for all of you Puma fans out there, watch for the brief cameo of your beloved Vadinho about twenty minutes into the movie.

Just great

[Gideon40 · 10 September 2002]

My first mst3k episode, and I love it. The acting is terrible, the swords are obviously either plastic or rubber. The title says 'warriors from hell' but I do not recall any menacing looking demons or a single piece of special effects for that matter(And I'm not counting that wizard's teleportation move which was as stupid as it sounded). The lines are very stupid, and I really loathe the wizard's acting especially with his goat wandering rambling. Traxartis for some reason talks like he is out of breath for no apparent reason. The princess is brain gratingly terrible. Mr Relson was the best of the bunch, he acted like a smug bas***d really well. The commentary is great, I love the lines like 'hehe! daughter smart!' and 'I have an idea, shut up!'. And who could forget 'potatoes are what we eat!'

Awful!!!!! Awful!!!!! Awful!!!!!

[sethn172 · 1/10 · 12 December 2006]

This movie is so bad, I feel like I want to hit myself for an hour, that's what!!!!! Sorry, but, that's just more intelligent than watching this train wreck!!!!!

This train wreck I'm referring to is called "Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hel...Heck!" This movie is just like that other bad movie "Cave Dwellers," both of which are just about the same in plots and quality. Luckily, the big brains over at "Mystery Science Theater 3000" decided to come to the rescue; taking these movies and making them watchable!!!!! Especially this movie!!!!! It's so awful, it's actually worth watching if you have the robots on the bottom of the screen yapping off about this film!!!!!

Stay away from this film, unless it's on MST 3000.

1/10

Another S&S Flick

[boblipton · 3/10 · 23 May 2020]

It's is just another foolish and standard cheap fantasy adventure flick, as John Allen Nelson abets Carla Sands (in two roles, both princesses!) in a world that looks like a bad Robin Hood movie where sets and costumes have mildewed. There are wizards and undead warriors and suchlike, and while they don't have mass battles in which everyone waves their swords above their heads, the weapons look cheap and flimsy.

I didn't recognize any of the names involved in this movie, but doing a bit of research, I discovered that Miss Sands became a chiropractor and in 2017, ambassador to Denmark. Well, if it was good enough for Shirley Temple, who's to say otherwise?

None of it is in the least bit interesting

[bensonmum2 · 2/10 · 23 April 2007]

There's really no need to go into plot details – with a movie this bad they hardly matter. Suffice it to say that what plot there is involves three (at least I think it was three – but it might have been two – not that anyone should give a rat's patooty) stones that, when put together, give the holder some sort of power (at least I think that's the point of the stones). Yada, yada, yada – who cares? None of it is in the least bit interesting anyway.

I don't think you could make something as bad as Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell even if you tried. It's horrible in every conceivable way – bad acting, poor direction, nonsensical plot, lame special effects, and everything else you can think of. In all honesty, I cannot think of many movies that I would call worse than this pile of garbage. So, you may ask, "if it's so bad, why not rate it a 1/10?" My answer – while it's as bad a movie as you'll run across, Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell features a few moments of complete unintentional humor that did bring something resembling a smile to my face. I realize that giving the movie a point based on a couple of ridiculous moments might not be the best way to rate a movie, but it's not like I gave it a 10/10. 2/10 is still bad!

I actually watched the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version of the movie. While I enjoy(ed) MST3K, I'm one of those who sincerely believe that the movies featured on the show should be judged on their own merits. You shouldn't assume that just because a movie was lampooned on television that it's a bad movie. Tastes and opinions vary. So even some of the real stinkers that appeared on MST3K like Manos or Skydivers, I've seen without the riffing. But in the case of Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell, I cannot imagine watching it on its own. It's so bad and features so very little in the way of entertainment that MST3k appears to be the only way to go.

One level above the 7th layer of Hell!

[jerome_horwitz · 2/10 · 16 January 2006]

Deathstalker and the Warrior's from Hell story revolves around a magical stone that has been split into pieces. The person who brings the pieces together to form the complete stone will inherit very powerful magical powers.

The story begins at a festival. A young woman, Carrisa, seeks the wizard Nicias about information regarding half of the stone she has in her possession. An evil ruler, Troxartas, has the other half of the stone. His band of men invade the festival seeking the wizard as well, because they believe Nicias has the stone.

Carrisa escapes with Deathstalker, and Nicias escapes as well. Soon though, Troxartas' men catch up to Deathstalker's camp and manage to kill Carrisa. She gives Deathstalker the stone, and in her last moments charges him with completing her quest of bringing the two stones together.

From here Deathstalker faces many challenges on the way to completing the quest. Through out the quest, Troxartas men are constantly tailing him and there is constant action. He befriends a young lady who only eats potatoes. He even runs into enemies he's killed, who he ends up turning them against their master. Overall the movie follows a fairly played story line, so expect the typical ending. Not that this is bad, just typical.

The story of this movie is OK, however there's a lot of problems with the production. It's just not very well done as a whole. John Nelson who play's Deathstalker, doesn't even resemble all the elements he boasts to be as the character. Aaron Hernan as Nicias does OK as the wizard, and I enjoyed the spinning entry/exit spell. Carla Herd plays the dual role of twin princesses, she's quite attractive and performs her role decently.

The action scenes leave a lot to be desired, they remind of effects from movies made 20+ years before this one. For example, there's very little blood and it's obvious the old sword side stab trick is used throughout the battle scenes. The music is fairly irritating, although less so at times. There seem to be parts where synthesizers were used, and these seem to be the most irritating moments of the soundtrack. 2/10

Quite possibly the worst movie ever made.

[ajc899 · 1/10 · 11 March 2003]

Clear and simple, this movie sucked. I saw this movie on the show Mystery Science Theater 3000. If it had not been for the classic wise cracks of the show the movie would have caused me to die of severe stupidity. Why this movie was made, who knows. Spare yourself the pain and agony of having to sit through this piece of crap.

In a time of Legend, a Mythically Unlikable hero

[johgaines · 2/10 · 12 May 2017]

"Deathstalker 3" is a film that is completely unavailable on DVD for some reason, and is solely remembered for its one redeeming feature-it made for a great MST3K episode. The film is dominated by its main character, the mythically unappealing Rogue/Redneck dual class "Deathstalker" played by John Allen Relson. Deathstalker fails at both stalking and making his enemies dead and mostly wanders around with some whiny women looking for the mythic Mexican city of horse dung and cheap stucco. His opponent is the dreaded bald guy "Troxartes", who can bring dead people back to life as unhappy jobbers about 9174384328637743 centuries before TNA Wrestling did the same. The movie's only somewhat appealing character is a throaty vegetarian gal who appears for only five minutes but informs the audience that POTATOES ARE WHAT WE EAT. This was particularly tragic as I'm sure the film's production budget would have bought some nice steak fries if they had decided not to make it. Nevertheless, there are actual (terrible) fight scenes and (stupid) things happen, making it slightly superior to Carnival Magic.

More Like The film From Hell

[damianphelps · 2/10 · 27 March 2022]

Wanting more of what I got in Deathstalker 2, this was a real let down.

No fun or thrills and yet another new Deathstalker, surely there can't be three of them running around.

You can give this one a miss :)

Best Deathstalker

[ValenceW · 10/10 · 18 January 1999]

As a big Deathstalker fan, and someone who has seen all four movies, several times over, I have to say that Deathstalker III is in fact the best of the lot. It has by far the best acting, and the best sets and while the nudity factor is the lowest of the series (and I mean come on, we all know what most people find important who like this genre of films) as far as movie quality, this is the best. Wholly entertaining, and definitely a movie worth watching for fans of the genre.

The Second "Deathstalker" Sequel Is A Welcome Relief After the First Sequel.

[zardoz-13 · 7/10 · 4 October 2009]

"Deathstalker III: Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell" surpasses "Deathstalker II: Duel of the Titans." John Terlesky and company in "Deathstalker II" might as well have been swatting at each other with tennis rackets for all the swashbuckling thrills and chills that the tame first sequel failed to deliver. John Allen Nelson of "Hunk" looks like he could be the eponymous character. Mind you, Nelson is no match for Rick Hill but he is a hundred times better than Terlesky, and Mexican director Alfonso Corona shuns the juvenile antics that Jim Wynorski emphasized in "Deathstalker II." Moreover, nobody gives an embarrassing performance in "Deathstalker III" that compares with the truly abysmal performance of Monique Gabrielle. Although it isn't as campy as its pathetic predecessor, "Deathstalker III" contains some humor. Director Corona prefers to play things along the lines of the straight and narrow. For example, a secondary character dies under tragic circumstances so this second sequel isn't as lightweight as the first sequel. The only flaw in the original "Deathstalker" was the death of our hero's companion too early in the action. Conversely, the character of Marinda here is introduced early in the action and survives until the finale when she helps our unarmed protagonist defeat the villain.

"Deathstalker" scenarist Howard Cohen sticks to the formula of the strong man who rescues a comely princess from the clutches of an evil sorcerer. Occasionally, Corona and Cohen generate a modicum of suspense, particularly in Deathstalker's torture scene and Cohen scores with one major surprise that enhances the action. Further, Cohen has an adolescent character that is good with a bow and arrow appear at opportune moments, but he foreshadows the child's skill with the weapon. Basically, "Deathstalker III" revolves around two multi-faceted white stones that when combined will yield their power. These two stones will take the owner to Erendor, the city of lost treasure. The villainous tyrant of Southland, Troxartes (Thom Christopher of NBC-TV's "Buck Rogers of the 25th Century"), possesses one stone, while Deathstalker winds up with the second stone. He obtained his stone from a princess running around incognito to find a wizard. Indeed, Carissa (Carla Herd of "Wild Zone" in a dual role) has spent the last three years searching for Nicias (veteran Mexican actor Aarón Hernán) who wanders from village to village prophesying about the villagers' future. One cool looking villain, Inaros (Roger Cudney of "The Border"), rides around with batwings attached to either side of his helmet. This entry in the quartet of sword and sorcery sagas was lensed on location in Mexico, but it is still a low-rent Roger Corman spectacle. The orchestral music by Alejandro Rulfo and Israel Torres captures the atmosphere of this mock-heroic nonsense, and Troxartes makes good use of a falcon as his eyes in the skies.

The first scene in "Deathstalker III" resembles the opening scene in "Conan the Barbarian" when the evil warriors stormed a village, killed most of the inhabitants and captured young Conan. Deathstalker is enjoying himself at a village festival, swapping blows with an adversary on a felled tree as they battle with long sticks. At the same time, the long, gray-haired wizard Nicias tells those who can afford his prices what their future holds. Nicias wears a long fur robe. Carissa has been looking for Nicias and shows him her half of the stone, hoping the wizard to have the other half. Suddenly, warriors on horseback wearing ominous armory ride into the village and start slaying people. Deathstalker fights them long enough for Nicias to escape and vanish into thin air with only his smoking footwear to note his presence. Carissa flees, and she winds up in Deathstalker's camp where she identifies herself as a princess. Deathstalker is amused by his luck. "Why is it I keep getting mixed up with princesses?" Carissa tells him about Erendor and its treasure. "Enough to make my people strong forever," she assures him. Deathstalker isn't impressed. "Here I go again, riding hundreds of miles, fighting whole armies, up against magic maybe. In the end all I will get is flowers on my heading telling me how wonderful I am."

No sooner has Deathstalker seen his future than the same warriors who raided the village strike his camp and kill Carissa. She gives the stone to Deathstalker. Before she dies, Carissa tells Deathstalker about her sister Belizean. According to Carissa, "It was either me or my sister and she cannot put on her own shoes." This description fits Elizena. Later, after Deathstalker eludes Troxartes, he stumbles into a valley looking for a horse. He tries to steal one from a mother and daughter who live in the valley and live on a diet of potatoes. Marinda (Claudia Inchaurregui of "The Bikini War") is the daughter who hasn't set foot outside the valley and has never made love to a man. Marinda lets Deathstalker deflower her and then leads him out of the valley. Mom believes that Deathstalker has abducted her daughter so she leads Troxartes' army after them. Once he is safely away, Deathstalker runs into Carissa's sister, Elizena, and Elizena is every inch the stuck-up princess that we're used to seeing.

Troxartes yearns for the second stone. His mistress Camisarde (Terri Treas of "All That Jazz") asks him, "Aren't you rich enough without one more jewel?" She goes on to add, "You own every inch of land and peasant between here and the sea and me if you ever noticed." Troxartes points out, "That city is power. The magic of a thousand generations lives in the stones of its wall waiting to erupt by the one who puts these stone together. When this is complete the world is mine. With it I'll live forever!"

"Deathstalker III" is a relief after the abomination of "Deathstalker II.

More Deathstalker!

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 2 December 2020]

The third of four Deathstalker movies, following Rick Hill as the hero in Deathstalker* and John Terlesky taking over in Deathstalker II, this installment finds John Allen Nelson (Killer Klowns from Outer Space) taking over as the Deathstalker.

Deathstalker once saved the wizard Nicias (Mexican telenovela actor Aarón Hernán) and as such, they now travel to villages where the old man tells the future. At one such place, a hooded woman reveals herself to be Princess Carissa (Carla Sands, who was appointed the U.S. Ambassador to Denmark in 2017), who knows of a magical stone that can combine with the one Nicias already has to reveal the secret city of Arandor. All they have to do is battle the evil sorcerer Troxartes (Thom Christopher, Hawk from Buck Rogers) to get it. That shouldn't be so bad, right?

That's when Makut and his men attack. Nicias teleports to safety while Deathstalker must battle his way out. Carissa? Yeah, she doesn't make it. If you haven't seen the other films, Deathstalker screws up spectacularly quite often, unlike Conan, whose movies he's cashing in on. He heads off to the home country of Troxartes, meeting with Carissa's twin Princess Elizena and being chased by Makut, who has brought back all of Deathstalker's deceased enemies from beyond the grave.

Oh yeah - he also meets a local girl named Marinda who he beds in less time than it will take for you to read this review. There's also an undead warrior named Gragas who remembers that he died honorable against Deathstalker (they can't mean Oghris from the first movie, right? Why do I remember Deathstalker cannon better than the people who made these movies?) and reveals that all the dead souls are trapped doing the bidding of their master.

Of course, there are three stones needed, not just one. And yes, there's no way Marinda or any of the bad guys are going to survive. You know who is? Deathstalker. He just gets on his horse and rides away after decimating the lives of everyone around him, like the Hyborian Jessica Fletcher.

It's worth mentioning that unlike all of the other films in this series, this does not use stock footage of the other Deathstalker films. It does, however, take liberally from Corman's The Raven. It also takes the soundtrack** from Battle Beyond the Stars, just like so many Corman productions. There's even an IMDB list that has taken stock of all the movies Corman made that reuse bits and pieces of that film, so I guess he was a green filmmaker back before that was a thing.

This is the kind of junk food film that goes well on a cold and rainy Saturday. It was written by Howard R. Cohen, who also brought us The Unholy Rollers, Saturday the 14th, Saturday the 14th Strikes Back, Stryker, Barbarian Queen II and episodes of both Rainbow Brite and The Care Bears.

*Hill would come back for the fourth movie, 1991's Deathstalker IV: Match of Titans. It is my job to know these things.

**It also outright rips off Brian Eno's prophecy theme from Dune.