Deathstalker Blu Ray Review (Shout Studios)

Deathstalker is a 2025 action film written and directed by Steven Kostanski (The Void, Psycho Goreman, V/H/S/94, Day of the Dead, ABCs of Death 2, Manborg, Father’s Day, and Leprechaun Returns). It was produced by Avi Federgreen (Frankie Freako, Dead Before Dawn 3D, Things I Do for Money, Lifechanger, and Minutes Past Midnight) and James Fler (V/H/S/94, Psycho Goreman, Spare Parts, Sky Sharks, Trench 11, Dead Shack, and The Stakelander). It was executive produced by rock legend Slash (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver, Nothing Left to Fear, The Breach, and The Crow Girl). It’s a remake of 1983’s Deathstalker. The Kingdom of Abraxeon is under siege by the demented Dreadites, the heralds of the long-dead sorcerer Nekromemnon (played by: Nicholas Rice from Dead Ringers, Lucky Number Slevin, Look Who’s Talking, Vendetta, and Sugartime). When Deathstalker (played by: Daniel Bernhardt from John Wick, Bloodsport franchise, Nobody 2, Ballerina, The Killer’s Game, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Mortal Kombat: Conquest, The Matrix Reloaded, and Logan) recovers a cursed amulet from a corpse-strewn battlefield, he’s marked by dark magic. He’s hunted by a variety of monstrous assassins. The only way to survive all of this chaos, he must break the curse and face the rising evil with the help of Doodad (played by: Patton Oswalt from Young Adult, Ratatouille, Magnolia, Blade: Trinity, Eternals, M.O.D.O.K., The King of Queens, The Sandman, and Big Fan). Death is just the beginning… of this great adventure!!!! Deathstalker is an update to 1983’s cult classic under the same title. It’s one of the best remakes that I’ve experienced in awhile. It’s directed by the talented special fx artist Steven Kostanski that’s known for being a member of Astron-6. It’s awesome to see someone put together a Sword and Sorcery feature in the modern day, it’s a sub-genre that hasn’t been used in a long time. Character actor Daniel Bernhardt finally gets a lead role after forever. He’s one of the most underrated action actors around. From 1996 to 2002, he had his own films in the world of direct to video when it came to the action genre. He’s been in so many bigger projects over the years and he’s honestly outlasted a good amount of his competition from back in the day. This is one of his best performances in a long time as the antihero Deathstalker. He’s a bad ass in this and he has to go through all kinds of crazy villains for survival. Comedian Patton Oswalt provides the voice for the hilarious Doodad. It’s a great sidekick that adds so much needed comedy while all of this madness is happening. It’s rather dark and serious before he shows up here. Laurie Field (The Whipping Boy) provides the physical work for the wizard role. The rest of the supporting cast includes Nicholas Rice, Christina Orjalo (16 Blocks), Paul Lazenby (Deadpool franchise), Nina Bergman (Doom: Annihilation), Jon Ambrose (Twisted Metal), Troy James (Hellboy), Matthew Ninaber (Psycho Goreman), and Conor Sweeney (Father’s Day). He’s not credited with the special fx for this but it has Kostanski’s fingerprints all over it so he had to at least supervise everything. He has own style and I love that it’s always old school practical fx so it almost feels like a throwback to the 80’s. The gore, the monsters, brutal violence, and gruesome kills are all top notch for this new version of Deathstalker. The skilled fx team that includes Josh Wasylink (Cocaine Werewolf, Mutilator 2, Debbie Does Demons, Psycho Goreman, Silent Night, and V/H/S Viral), Chris Cooper (Gen V, Frankenstein, Beau is Afraid, V/H/S/94, and Hannibal), Scott Patterson (The Boys, The Umbrella Academy, Mr. Crocket, and Revival), and Mike Hamilton (Wrong Turn 4, Curse of Chucky, ABCs of Death 2, Rabid, Frankie Freako, Scared Shitless, In a Violent Nature, V/H/S/94, and Psycho Goreman). The original Deathstalker had plenty of nudity but this one doesn’t so it’s different in some ways. It’s definitely not a shot for shot reboot, it kinda has an Army of Darkness atmosphere to it. It’s also higher quality overall compared to the cheaper Roger Corman productions. It’s packed with non stop battles and pure chaos. It’s beyond entertaining, so much fun, and it has a smooth flow to everything. I honestly might enjoy this reboot more than two original films. It still under the radar, it deserves more attention because it really delivers besides sleaze. RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Shout Studios! This 1080p (1.85:1) unrated transfer looks amazing for being an independent feature. Deathstalker has stylish cinematography, sharp production design, and vicious special fx that shine when it comes to the visuals. I’m kinda surprised that it didn’t get a 4K to be honest. Steven Kostanski has his own original type of vision and it continues with this reboot. It has a variety of options for audio which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, and French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 on the disc. Deathstalker is action packed and full of mayhem so the audio is way better than expected plus the score stands out. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the adventures are elevated, and the music has a huge boost to it. It has English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles. It has an “Audio Commentary” with writer-director Steven Kostanski and lead actor Daniel Bernhardt. It has an additional “Audio Commentary” with Steven Kostanski, Andrew Appelle, and Robert Hyland. It has a little over 44 minute “Interview” with Steven Kostanski and Daniel Bernhardt that’s hosted by actor Todd Stashwick (Star Trek: Picard, 12 Monkeys, The Riches, and The Accountant 2). Steven Kostanski says that he always wants to do something different when it comes to sub-genres as a director. He always thought about doing a fantasy film and Raven Banner showed his list of potential projects. He picked Deathstalker right away. He mentions the sequel was a personal favorite of his. Astron-6 made their own parody a long time ago inspired by it. Daniel Bernhardt tells the story of how he got involved with this independent action feature. He shows his appreciation for the director and the overall experience of everything. He did his own stunts for this. They chat about how the rock star Slash got interested in doing music and executive producing this. Patton Oswalt knocked out all of his voice work for this in one single day. They share all kinds of behind the scenes information and inside details about this remake. It has the little over 33 minute “A Conversation” with visual effects supervisor Cody Kennedy, visual effects artists Matthew Satchwill and Adarsh Bora plus it’s moderated by Steven Kostanski. This focuses on the visual fx for Deathstalker. They all discuss what they worked on and what other responsibilities they had for the project. They bring up their favorite scenes and what they were most proud of when it comes to their impact for this reboot. They talk about some of the biggest challenges for the overall fx. They are very honest and blunt about some of the struggles on it. They share secrets and tricks that made stuff look so much better for the final product. It has the almost 5 minute “Animating Stop-Motion Skeletons” with Steven Kostanski. He breaks down his process on he achieved this for the movie. It’s a nice behind the scenes look on how to do this on a smaller budget. It has the almost 5 minute “Deathstalker Music Video” from Brendan McCreary (Hell Fest), Chuck Cirino (Deathstalker 2), Slash (Guns N’ Roses), and Bear McCreary (The Walking Dead). It has the “Trailer” for Deathstalker. Plus it has an mysterious “Easter Egg” if you can find it. It comes with a slipcover. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!