Writer/Director Steve Kostanski returns to Fantastic Fest with a remake of the cult Sword and Sorcery classic Deathstalker.
Steve Kostanski’s Deathstalker remake of the 1980s Sword and Sorcery cult classic is everything you want in a remake. 2025 film in every way outshines the 1983 film of the same name. This is the memory of what the 80s film was not what it actually was (which in large part a terrible Roger Corman financed quickie cash in on Conan: The Barbarian). Kostanski has somehow managed to make our imagined version of what Deathstalker was complete with stop motion animation, practical creature FX, and a pithy badass hero you can’t help but root for.
Deathstalker (Daniel Bernhardt) is the kind of roaming warrior/mercenary that kills whatever is in his way and takes whatever he can. It is during one of these battles he finds an amulet. Not just any amulet but a magical one that has latched onto him. Unable to get rid of the amulet, Deathstalker is forced into a quest to find a way to rid himself of it. Along his journey he meets a not so great wizard Doodad (Patton Oswalt) and a far too good thief Brisbayne (Christina Orjal) who hurt as much as they help Deathstalker along his journey. Though it is the hero himself who finds that maybe there is a higher purpose for him… and a really badass four bladed magical sword!!!
Writer/director Kostanski has been working towards some on the level of Deathstalker, a truly great B-Movie genre classic in the making. PG: Psycho Goreman, Frankie Freako, and The Void all are fun entries into the genre with Kostanski’s unique voice and flair for comedy and horror ringing true. With his latest, Kostanski levels up in the way that everything comes together with both the drama, action, and comedy that melds into an entertaining package that will have anyone smiling ear to ear through the entire run time. It isn’t that the director has created a carbon copy of the 80s Sword and Sorcery genre. Rather he’s taking everything he’s loved about it and blended through his own lens creating something that feels nothing like those but somehow a fevered dream of them at the same time.
Any fan of the 87 North (aka the John Wick guys) productions will know the visage of Daniel Bernhardt but may not know his name. For those of us hardcore devotees Bernhardt is one of those performs like Frank Grillo we hope will get his shot. Bernhardt gets his shot with Deathstalker and the actor does not disappoint. It should surprise no one who’s seen the actor in any of his recent work or the little seen work in Bloodsport II or III (yes, this review has) that the actor shines as a truly force of nature and action.
What may surprise some is just how great Bernhardt is at the deadpan and broad humor. Paired with Patton Oswalt the duo have chemistry to spare as the wizard and warrior duo matching beat for beat with their respective comedic energy. One of the delights of Deathstalker is how actively funny and fun the film is consistency keeping that specific weird comedic energy that made PG: Psycho Goreman and Frankie Freako so entertaining.
All this talk of comedy would have one think that this fantasy adventure is light on action and FX work. That is not the case. Deathstalker may have some of the best action set pieces of 2025. Lo-fi, bloody, and fun as hell is the best way to describe any action scene in the film. Kostanski’s films always have a wonderfully handcrafted feel to them and here it is no different. Deathstalker gives the director an even bigger budget than previous films and the result is something that remains true to the spirit of his films but just on a bigger scale. Every moment here has an analogue and physicality to it that recalls the early films of Peter Jackson. It all culminates in a finale that feels like both a homage to Big Trouble in Little China and the work of Ray Harryhausen.
Deathstalker is the genre surprise of 2025.
Deathstalker plays Fantastic Fest 2025 on September 20th and September 24th and is in theaters on October 10th
Writer/Director Steve Kostanski returns to Fantastic Fest with a remake of the cult Sword and Sorcery classic Deathstalker.
Steve Kostanski’s Deathstalker remake of the 1980s Sword and Sorcery cult classic is everything you want in a remake. 2025 film in every way outshines the 1983 film of the same name. This is the memory of what the 80s film was not what it actually was (which in large part a terrible Roger Corman financed quickie cash in on Conan: The Barbarian). Kostanski has somehow managed to make our imagined version of what Deathstalker was complete with stop motion animation, practical creature FX, and a pithy badass hero you can’t help but root for.
Deathstalker (Daniel Bernhardt) is the kind of roaming warrior/mercenary that kills whatever is in his way and takes whatever he can. It is during one of these battles he finds an amulet. Not just any amulet but a magical one that has latched onto him. Unable to get rid of the amulet, Deathstalker is forced into a quest to find a way to rid himself of it. Along his journey he meets a not so great wizard Doodad (Patton Oswalt) and a far too good thief Brisbayne (Christina Orjal) who hurt as much as they help Deathstalker along his journey. Though it is the hero himself who finds that maybe there is a higher purpose for him… and a really badass four bladed magical sword!!!
Writer/director Kostanski has been working towards some on the level of Deathstalker, a truly great B-Movie genre classic in the making. PG: Psycho Goreman, Frankie Freako, and The Void all are fun entries into the genre with Kostanski’s unique voice and flair for comedy and horror ringing true. With his latest, Kostanski levels up in the way that everything comes together with both the drama, action, and comedy that melds into an entertaining package that will have anyone smiling ear to ear through the entire run time. It isn’t that the director has created a carbon copy of the 80s Sword and Sorcery genre. Rather he’s taking everything he’s loved about it and blended through his own lens creating something that feels nothing like those but somehow a fevered dream of them at the same time.
Any fan of the 87 North (aka the John Wick guys) productions will know the visage of Daniel Bernhardt but may not know his name. For those of us hardcore devotees Bernhardt is one of those performs like Frank Grillo we hope will get his shot. Bernhardt gets his shot with Deathstalker and the actor does not disappoint. It should surprise no one who’s seen the actor in any of his recent work or the little seen work in Bloodsport II or III (yes, this review has) that the actor shines as a truly force of nature and action.
What may surprise some is just how great Bernhardt is at the deadpan and broad humor. Paired with Patton Oswalt the duo have chemistry to spare as the wizard and warrior duo matching beat for beat with their respective comedic energy. One of the delights of Deathstalker is how actively funny and fun the film is consistency keeping that specific weird comedic energy that made PG: Psycho Goreman and Frankie Freako so entertaining.
All this talk of comedy would have one think that this fantasy adventure is light on action and FX work. That is not the case. Deathstalker may have some of the best action set pieces of 2025. Lo-fi, bloody, and fun as hell is the best way to describe any action scene in the film. Kostanski’s films always have a wonderfully handcrafted feel to them and here it is no different. Deathstalker gives the director an even bigger budget than previous films and the result is something that remains true to the spirit of his films but just on a bigger scale. Every moment here has an analogue and physicality to it that recalls the early films of Peter Jackson. It all culminates in a finale that feels like both a homage to Big Trouble in Little China and the work of Ray Harryhausen.
Deathstalker is the genre surprise of 2025.
Deathstalker plays Fantastic Fest 2025 on September 20th and September 24th and is in theaters on October 10th
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