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Went to the cinema expecting a simple movie with great looking monsters and scenery. Wasn't disappointed. Surprisingly fun to watch even though I had no familiarity with the genre! The movie does not take itself seriously and I think that is just right. In one scene there are giants in the background hitting each other in the balls while the main characters discuss stuff. Just my kind of humor! The only thing I would have liked more would be more fighting scenes since the main actor is a kickass swordsman and martial artist.

No pun intended - bring back the 80s ... or something along those lines! You may have seen the original - not really needed to enjoy this one. But if you have, you probably know this is quite out there ... we are talking not just B-movie, but really cheap and in the case of the remake: quite bloody (violent).

Also the movie only seems to be using practical effects! With nods to Harryhausen (actually a fight is directly dedicated to him, even without a mention, but you have seen those warriors before - well if you've seen Harryhausen movies that is of course) and many more.

This is insane in the best way possible and so over the top it reaches all around to the other side. No notable nudity (if you discount the male main character that is) in case that interests you, but plenty of great creatures without clothes (or monsters as some might call them).

The director has done horror movies that are quite experimental and really vivid when it comes to violence and such ... so don't be too sensitive about that ... or any dialog that might feel really bad ... it is meant to be that way! As is our main character whom you may recognize - who knew he had such a great charismatic lead inside him? And outside too of course.

I didn't expect this remake to be so much fun. In Deathstalker (2025), the disgusting, misogynistic nonsense that set the tone in Roger Corman's original is gone. Instead, we now have a proper fantasy story with a hero's journey and magic. Add to that genuine characters who develop and share great chemistry. The story remains light-footed and doesn't skimp on gags and slapstick moments.

The practical effects are absolutely outstanding. Good old handmade effects, fantastic masks & costumes, go along with creative creature designs and fun splatter orgies. The budget probably wasn't huge, but it was invested in the right places. It's delightful to see a film like this in the theater for a change, amidst all the soulless CGI effect-storms out there.

Absolutely ridiculous movie. Can't tell if it's a parody or a tribute to the fantasy action movies of the 80s. This doesn't mean its bad, but it's the type of movie that you watch with friends after a few drinks, make popcorn, and just laugh at how insane it is. Surprisingly funny, whether it was trying to be or not. Awesome soundtrack.

Saw at the Locarno film festival. Loved it - such a fun movie - perfectly equilibrated. Great visual effects, loved the acting. Never too stupid never but takes itself too seriously. I've not seen the 1980s original so can't compare - but if you have seen Conan and Willow and Lord of the Rings you will have a great time.

A couple of people left - rest of us - a full theatre - loved it. Yes the trailer is fake lol - but honestly the movie is better than the trailer.

There are many things that are wrong with this film. And all of them are hilarious. The main actor is Daniel Bernhardt, who I personally always root for - have you seen what they've cast him as lately?!, but is not a great actor. He is fun in this one, though. The other actors - including a delicious Ricci-esque Christina, are amateurs and boy does it show. The best actor of them all is the voice of a puppet. But it doesn't stop them, they enjoyed working for this. The story is a kind of sequel-remake to Deathstalker from 1983. You should see the trailer to that one. Even the narrator was bored. Yet this film is as entertaining as quirky and weird. The special effects are practical and gory and ridiculously over the top. I mean, they went all in!

Bottom line: if you are a film critic, you have no business watching this, but if you want a rompy and amusing fantasy adventure, you might be surprised by how much fun this is. Give it a go! It was refreshing.

Deathstalker is pretty stupid but fun: It's kind of a mix of Xena and Hercules (fantasy setting, quest, humor) spiced up with a good dose of gore 'n' splatter. The production is not bad for a B-movie; the cast looks like they are having fun. The gory moments are great fun too. So, if you like sword 'n' magic flicks and you like splatter, you get an entertaining cheesy piece of cake. No doubt, only a special breed of audience will get this one, but if you belong to that family, you will find some fun and entertainment. My rate: five overall, one bonus for the effects.

I've seen the original and all the other franchise movies, and I'd been waiting for this one. I honestly can't say how much I surprisingly loved it. I'm also a big fan of Evil Dead, and to be honest, this gave me the same vibe. The practical effects, the silliness, the music score, and that 80s feel; I really dug it. The original had a lot of sexism, exploitation, and nudity - not that I'm totally against all of that in movies - but this one had none of it. When the female lead showed up, I was honestly expecting some, but there was nothing. Also, I can't believe Daniel is 60 years old; he looks fantastic. If you get the chance, go see it!

Steven Kostanski's Deathstalker remake is a curious beast: it's watchable, even occasionally entertaining, but it never quite captures the gloriously cheesy spirit of the 80s originals.

The plot is standard sword-and-sorcery fare... hero collects magical MacGuffins, battles monsters, rescues a princess... but the execution is oddly restrained.

Daniel Bernhardt's Deathstalker is a stoic, muscle-bound hero, but he lacks the swagger or absurdity that made the original films so memorably ridiculous.

The practical effects and creature designs are the film's highlights, offering a tactile, gory charm that's rare in modern fantasy.

The action is competent, but it's missing the wild, anything-goes energy that defined the genre's golden age. Patton Oswalt's comedic moments are a bright spot, but they're too few and far between to elevate the film beyond its middling tone.

Ultimately, Deathstalker feels like a missed opportunity. It's too polished to be a true B-movie, but not ambitious enough to stand out as a genuine fantasy epic. The result is a film that's neither bad nor particularly good - just a forgettable, if occasionally fun, diversion.

5/10: A watchable but disappointingly tame remake that lacks the cheesy thrills of its predecessors.

This movie may be campy, over the top, silly and small budget. But it is a movie clearly made with love and care by very competent people with a clear goal in mind, and it works!

The practical effects are fantastic for a film of this type, and as far as i can tell it was made without any CGI at all. The rest of the production is great too, and aside from a couple of incels complaining about the lack of nudity the positive reviews are well deserved!

If you like sword & sorcery films or great practical costumes (& campy gore-fests) then this is a film you should watch!

Brought back some insane nostalgia. Dialogue was so damn cheesy that its perfect. Gore was over the top and right where it should be. The final sword was so dumb looking it made the final fight. I hope we get some more from this director. I know its pretty niche but its the niche some of us need. I'd love for someone to give this director a series.

Like most Reboots, it fails to capture what made the original so Great.

For those who do not know, the OG Deathstalker was a Sword and Sorcery tribute to the "Man with no Name" Clint Eastwood Westerns, Deathstalker even wore his own poncho and had a classic showdown moment. The plot was basic and simple and had plenty of fighting.

This movie, in contrast, featured far superior costumes, and effects. Some of the best practical effects in a while, and it held such promise at the beginning. It started dark and gloomy with a foreboding plot, and introduced you to a world that felt very real and visceral. The over all tone of the movie was dark and it seemed we were very well on our way to a gritty and compelling fantasy story.

Then it is as if the director decided to change tone and after Patton Oswald is introduced, the movies tone changes from dead serious to ridiculous. They played homage to a number of classic Fantasy but it was like they were just thrown together all willy nilly. The amazing costumes and creature effects was replaced by poor stop motion animation (clearly meant as an homage to the Great Ray Harryhausen). The writing was equally silly to match, with such amazing dialogue as "Nya nya you missed me" and half-assed fight scenes. The jokes didn't land though because they just didn't seem to fit the tone of the movie set by the beginning.

Daniel Bernhardt is an amazing stunt man and martial artist but he is a horrible actor to lead a movie and he lacked any sort of presence or charisma of the original. Even if they were trying to be more like Deathstalker II they failed. At least in 2 they knew what they were and just went full camp from the word GO. Not this movie. Its just all over the place with its tone so when something sad or tragic happens it doesn't and at all with any gravitas.

All in all it felt like they had NO idea what they wanted to do with this movie. Was it a serious fantasy, an homage to 80s fantasies, a farce of the genre, or just an over the top comedy? They had no idea what they wanted to be so they tried to be ALL of those things in one movie and it didn't work. I have seen many really bad B movies that I have seen over and over because there was something fun about them that brings me back, but this movie has NOTHING that I want to see again.

Good news first: Deathstalker (2025) has gore galore and fun "old-school" effects - whether done by hand or pretending to be, it works. The monsters are cheesy rubber suits and puppets, none of that sterile CG nonsense. Awesome.

Now the bad news: the movie never stops reminding you it's supposed to be bad. Constant wink-wink, nudge-nudge. The originals were unintentionally cheesy. This one's deliberate - and after a while, it feels more like a spoof than a remake.

It also kills the immersion. '80s sword-and-sorcery films at least tried to make a fantasy world feel real. Here? Stale MCU-style jokes everywhere, usually worse than whatever they're trying to parody. And the "exploitative energy"? Gone. No leather bikinis, no pulpy eroticism - it's oddly prudish. It basically has the 80's aesthetic but completely chickened out on the 80's attitude. Either the filmmakers think the originals were "problematic," or they were just too timid to lean into the fun.

Either way it raises the question: why even make this? Who is it for? It feels a lot like the recent Toxic Avenger remake: pointless.

Right, well my very first thought, as I stumbled upon this 2025 movie, was "why?" I mean, why would they opt to remake the 1983 movie of the same name? And with that being said, I have to admit that I wasn't harboring a lot of expectations to the movie, as remakes usually are questionable affairs.

At least the movie started off in a rather bloody way, which instilled a sense of hope for this movie turning out to actually be worth watching.

Writer Steven Kostanski, whom also directed the movie, put together a script that was as random and erratic as it could possibly be. The lack of a coherent red thread throughout the course of the movie was just astounding. It felt like Steven Kostanski had written and filmed 102 minutes of random scenes, while borrowing heavily from "Evil Dead" and then sat down to edit it into a movie. There were a bunch of similarities to the "Evil Dead" movies, some in-your-face-obvious, while others not so much. But I have to say that "Deathstalker" felt like an "Evil Dead" movie found on Wish.

Of the entire cast ensemble in the movie, I was only familiar with Daniel Bernhardt and Patton Oswalt. Despite the rather abysmal script, the acting performances in the movie were fair.

The few things that worked in favor of "Deathstalker" was the special effects, as they were quite good. But also the wardrobe, sets and props.

Watchable, if you enjoy meaningless fantasy movies. But I would recommend the original 1983 movie above this at any time.

My rating of writer and director Steven Kostanski's 2025 movie "Deathstalker" lands on a generous four out of ten stars.

As a big fan of the original Deathstalker 1 and 2, I was both apprehensive and excited to see this remake when I found out about it.

Tonight I did, and I was certainly not disappointed. While it doesn't have the talent of Barbi Benton and, especially, Monique Gabrielle, it more than makes up for that with insane action sequences, good acting, great makeup work, incredible practical special effects and an engaging plot. Not to mention that superb soundtrack that is a great homage to the original two films.

I wholly recommend this for any fans of action films, sword and sorcery epicness and superb practical effects. Cheers!

Loved every inch of it. And keeping the old sound track killed it. Thank you for remaking it. Was such a huge fan growing up. What a lil gem. In my eyes at least. The creature effects are good dont look too cgi. The acting is done well. Deserves more than a 6/10 i think. Will enjoy it again. And have to watch the old one now too.

Heartfelt, silly with plenty violence. A true tribute to 80/90's fantasy films. About half way through the film clicks and I couldn't have asked for more.

The effects, the performances all excellent. But best of all this film has lore! If you love Fantasy like I do, keep watching.

Thank you everyone at Hanger 18 Media. I'm gonna watch this one again = )

This film is a disgrace to the previous Deathstalker films.

The previous movies were famously known for their abundance of TnA and goofy humor. This has none of it. Though it does have a lot of blood and gore.

The new plank of wood guy they have playing Deathstalker makes Dwayne Johnson's acting look Oscar caliber by comparison.

The most unforgiving sin of all is how cheap the whole production feels. The original movies were no grand spectacles but this new 2025 movie remarkably looks way worse than all the previous movies.

It genuinely looks like it was made in one weekend in someone's backyard.

Watch at your own risk.

They knocked it out of the park with this one. If you grew up watching movies like any of the Conan movies or even throwbacks like Jason and the Argonauts movies and remember them with a love of nostalgia, this movie is for you. It obviously doesn't take itself seriously at all, but this movie has more heart and soul than 90% of movies regurgitated now a days. Regardless of what you think of the movie, you can feel how much fun this movie must have been to make. The practical effects are great and cheesy (as was intended), the dialogue is so over the top and amazingly hilarious.

If you liked Psycho Goreman (if you haven't seen it go do it now) you'll enjoy this.

"Hey you might want to uh, wash that off" "I swear to god, if you hit me one more time I'm going to spank you"

Thanks for the fun everyone involved in this movie. I haven't had as much fun watching a movie in a long while.

I love these types of movies they just take me back to the good old 80s movies like krull, Conan and beastmaster and considering it was made in 2025 it's a fantastic addition. The acting is corny and the makeup are wonderful both just what you need to get the true effect from these type of movies. You won't be disappointed.

There is no women in this movie.. it's a let down from the original. That said it wasn't terrible. I love that they brought back the nostalgia of the 80s. The story is much different from original a little more in depth. Not good not bad could have been a great remake if they would have showed a little skin.

Its like a re-release from the early 80's its tacky, bad acting, terrible effects. I mean the bit after getting the goblin type thing out of a box, he has a thing thats like a giant donner kebab roll with teeth and he is struggling to move it away from him... IT HAS NO MOMENTUM its an object. To pretend its pushing towards when its being held in the air is stupid. I guess they tried to make it funny. But fails so badly. I think it was made with the change in the back of a sofa.

I only saw the poster before I went in (didn't even read the synopsis).

Never expected what I saw actually, but it was such a nice suprise!

Whoever decided to use real decorations, costumes and masks instead of CGi should be forever praised. There is no other way to make an oldschool fantasy movie - this way it has both the soul and the style.

Yeah, the story itself is cheesy, the low budget is visible (shots are narrow and fighting scenes are not too flashy), yet I cared little about that cause I was entertained by good acting and a fast paced story.

This is how you get the most out of low budget - all you have to do is have some STYLE!

Honestly, maybe its just me, but I'd take something like this instead of any Marvel movie - any day of the week.

I wish more movies were like this today, I'm so tired of the cookie cutter slop we are being fed by the industry today. So refreshing!

And its actually funny and touching, and the level of cringe, haha, don't even get me started! I guess, the only way to master irony is to embrace it.

Some cheesy or tongue-in-cheek productions which don't take themselves too seriously are my favorites but how in the heck can you be involved with movie-making and participate in something which has not one tangible quality? With all the out-of-the-box goodwill in the world, I can't understand 1) how even wink-wink-nudge-nudge too cool-for-school second or third degree humor children or adult expert viewers can get anything out of watching this and 2) how anyone in their right mind would want to finance or be associated with this sort of enterprise. I had a look because I saw Patton Oswald listed in the cast...and I am absolutely flabbergasted. Wouldn't even children find this not worth their time? Are there not countless even mediocre movies that are way more entertaining than this?