Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell (1988)

Simply A Masterpiece

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

I saw the first Deathstalker years ago and what I saw was certainly cheesy, but a fun film nonetheless. Had some decent kills, a monster type thing and loads of nudity! Well, never saw the second entry in the series, but I did manage to see this one which is the third thanks to Mystery Science Theater 3000; however, from what I have seen presented, I will not be trying to dig up that second film. My guess is that like a lot of sequels pre-1990, the budget to both sequels began to shrink! They also did not care much for continuity in films as much back in the day as Deathstalker is played by a different actor each time in the first three films. The guy who played it in the first film, would return to reprise the role in the fourth film. Cannot believe they made it that high considering how uneven the series seems to be. The first one had more of a barbarians and savagery feel to them, while this one seems a much lighter tone and is more middle ages. The start of the film reminded me of the video, Safety Dance by Men Without Hats. Deathstalker himself, this time looks more like he should be some guy's sidekick rather than the leading man and he is a lot more heroic than he was in the first film too. That one in the first film did a few more unsavory things suffice to say.The story has Deathstalker at some sort of lame festival that is interrupted by a dude in a bat helmet and his troops. Deathstalker soon finds himself in the middle of a quest to get two stones together so that he may find a city of near limitless treasure! He runs afoul of a princess on her way to marry a man who is also looking for the stones so that he may have more power, though he already has a hot chick and controls most of the land anyway. This man unleashes the warriors from hell of the title, but they do not figure into the plot as much as their placement in the title suggests. Lots of bland sword fights ensue as Deathstalker only need wipe his sword across someone's stomach to kill them! This made for a funny episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. I really do not think they could have even attempted the first film. Sure, they mostly likely edited out the racy parts for the show for this episode, but if you did that for the first film, you would literally not have enough film to fill an episode of MST3K. It would be one of those episodes with two shorts. The violence and nudity were obviously scaled back immensely for the third film as this one ran the entire episode and is only 86 minutes, meaning only about 10 minutes had to be cut out.So, Deathstalker is back, played by a different guy and is a bit weaker than he used to be. You have the Warriors From Hell, in the film, but all they are, are a bunch of dudes in a bit of makeup to simulate that they were back from the dead. You have a villain that is not very opposing at all and you have one of his henchman who looks like they were going for a General Kael from Willow look, but he ends up looking rather idiotic in his bat helmet. So this is what replaces the ton of nudity and the awesome Minotaur monster man from the first film? Weak; however, not a weak episode of MST3K.

Sure, go ahead; make fun of this movie. Rip it for the occasionally questionable editing, the typically (as far as second rate fantasy movies go) overly-ambitious plot, or the eyebrow raising subtext. Do all of that, and you're still left with a gem, if unpolished, of a sword and sorcery film. For starters, this movie exhibits an enthusiasm, more so than others of its kind, and forgiving a couple marginal performances, the actors and actresses fall right in line with this theme. Is it a classic, up there with Conan the Barbarian, or the Lord of the Rings Trilogy? Of course not. But if you enjoy action, strong female characters, and fantastic stories, then by all means, take the time to watch this little-known pearl, whether it be the original, or the MST version.This is good stuff!! Long live Deathstalker!!

I rented this movie because I caught it's predecessor on cable. Hercules and Xena fans would love Deathstalker 2, which somehow, despite it's second-rate acting from everyone but its star, was so bad it was good. I was expecting to see more of the same but sorry..this one is just plain bad. The acting is bad, the story is bad, the swordplay is bad, and the whole movie looks as if it were shot with a plastic bag over the lens of the camera. Part of the previous movie's appeal was the way it was constantly poking fun at itself. There's none of that here. And I've had shoes more charismatic than the star of this flick, who hasn't learned that taking B-movie dialogue seriously just doesn't work. Do yourself a favor and give it a pass.

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.