Roger Corman’s cheerfully cheap Conan knock-off is returning to our screens.
Good lord. This thing is weirder than it sounds, and it already sounds pretty gonzo. Slash, he of Guns and Roses, is producing and scoring (along with Bear McCreary and Chuck Cirino) a remake of the cheapo-schlocko 1983 Roger Corman production Deathstalker.
The original was part of a glut of sword ‘n’ sorcery exploitation flicks that came in the wake of John Milius’ Conan the Barbarian that all absolutely killed when they hit the video rental market. If you’re of a certain age, you probably saw a bunch of these: Ator, the Fighting Eagle; Yor, the Hunter From the Future; The Beastmaster; and so on. It’s a safe bet Slash did, and so too did filmmaker Steven Kostanski (the delirious ET-meets-GWAR curio Psycho Gorman) of the Canadian Astron-6 collective, who’s writing and directing.
Deathstalker Trailer
What’s the plot?
Hard to say, really. Some kinda barbaric nonsense. There’s probably an evil wizard in there somewhere. Safe to say, this thing’s tongue is planted firmly in its cheek.
Who’s in it?
- Daniel Bernhardt, veteran stuntman and frequent Keanu Reeves punching bag, as Deathstalker.
- Laurie Field as Doodad.
- Christina Orjalo as Brisbayne.
- Paul Lazenby as Jotak.
- Nina Bergman as Grendel.
Patton Oswalt‘s in there somewhere as well, which tracks.
When’s it out?
Deathstalker hits US cinemas on October 10, 2025. No word of an Australian release yet, but I’d expect Monster or Umbrella to snap this up pretty sharpish.
What’s the vibe?
Sure looks like a good time to me. I dig Astron-6’s post-Troma exploitation vibe – they tend to have more grunt under the hood than most willful efforts to make a “cult” film. Daniel Bernhardt getting a rare lead role makes me happy – he’s always given good villain, so I’m keen to see how he does in hero mode. Plus, his bodyweight workout program kicks ass, so I kinda feel I owe him for that.
MORE IN News
