CONQUEST

Lucio Fulci, 1983

Starring: Jorge Rivero, Andrea Occhipinti, Sabrina Siani

Though this can be said about many of Lucio Fulci’s films, Conquest is absolutely not like anything else. It may have borrowed a few things from Conan the Barbarian, The Beastmaster, peplum films, and Quest for Fire, but it goes so far off the deep end that I can’t rightfully compare it to any other sword and sorcery movies. A young man named Ilias is given a magic bow and journeys to another land to find the evil sorceress Ocron, who has a tribe of cavemen convinced that she is the goddess of the sun. She has a vision of a faceless warrior with a bow and arrows and sends a pack of wolfmen to hunt him down. Ilias is saved my Mace, a lone warrior who has a close friendship with animals. They are repeatedly attacked by Ocron’s wolfmen, who eventually capture Ilias. Mace rescues him and eventually agrees to help Ilias defeat Ocron, even though he does not believe they will succeed. 

I don’t even know where to start. This insane Spanish-Italian-Mexican co-production could not have been made by anyone but Fulci. For fans of his horror films, there are some telltale signs: a catchy, if predictable score from Goblin’s Claudio Simonetti, plenty of gore, including a zombie attack, a few really disgusting moments involving infected pustules, and a woman being torn in half by Ocron’s wolfmen. The wolfmen, by the way, appear to be wearing wookie costumes. There is also a lot of nudity. A lot. In addition to a few cave women, Sabrina Siani (Ator the Fighting Eagle) plays Ocron nearly in the nude. A gold mask covers her face for the duration of the film and she wears a sort of loin cloth. Most of the time she rolls around, masturbating with a variety of snakes. It's not really family-friendly. 

The effects are all pretty silly, but some moments are a little creepy, namely the weird rock-men that try to capture Mace and the swamp zombies that he fights. Speaking of Mace, there are definitely some surprises where he is concerned, including the Mark of Eibon (from The Beyond), which is drawn on his forehead, though I guess it’s supposed to be a scar. He’s played by prolific Mexican actor Jorge Rivero (Rio Lobo, Evil Eye, Priest of Love) who does the best he can with the role, but if you’re expecting a lot of acting chops out of this film, look elsewhere. Fulci regular Andrea Occhipinti (New York Ripper, A Blade in the Dark) is well-suited to the role of Ilias, who looks more like he belongs in a Greek mythology-inspired peplum than in a caveman/sword and sorcery film. 

There are a lot of completely absurd elements: a plant that shoots poisonous barbs, Ilias’s bow that first shoots arrows but later activates to shoot laser beams, dolphins saving Mace from a watery doom, and so on. All of these things probably sound fabulous, but keep in mind that Conquest is surreal, disjointed, otherworldly, and utterly Fulci. If you like his other films, definitely watch it. Probably the most difficult thing to get through -- other than the inane plot, complete disregard for narrative structure, and strange pacing -- is the cinematography. Fulci wanted things to look hazy and dreamy, but it just looks like lube is smeared over the camera lens. 

There’s a nice, if basic DVD from Blue Underground that includes two trailers and still galleries. It seem insane to recommend this, but I do, wholeheartedly.

IRONMASTER

Umberto Lenzi, 1983

Starring: Sam Pasco, Elvire Audray, George Eastman, Pamela Prati

Also known as La Guerra del Ferro, Ironmaster follows Vood, a selfish, violent caveman who accidentally discovers iron after he is cast out of his tribe for killing both the leader and head priest. Vood figures out how to use the iron as a sword and takes the tribe back, then leads them to on a conquest of the area, killing and enslaving members of other tribes. His only enemy is Ela, second-in-command in Vood’s tribe, who teams up with a woman, Isa, after escaping a desert crucifixion. Isa heals him and leads him to her pacifistic tribe. He must teach them to defend themselves from swords, because Vood is soon coming for them all. 

Ironmaster is not technically a sword and sorcery film. It’s more of a sword-fighting caveman film, but I included it because of director Umberto Lenzi. He may not be the best Italian director of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but I have a soft spot for him. Seemingly in a race to beat Joe D’Amato at his own game - though failing, because D’Amato made an insane number of porn flicks - Lenzi churned out films in a variety of genres, including horror, giallo, crime, sword and sandal, spaghetti westerns, and war films, though he is best known for his cannibal movies. He kicked of the trend with Man from Deep River (1972), a film I love to hate. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, check out his cannibal efforts Eaten Alive! (1980) and Cannibal Ferox (1981). He also made some interesting giallo films - Seven Bloodstained Orchids (1972) and Eyeball (1975) - along with one of the most entertaining (because it’s so bad) zombie films to come out of Italy, Nightmare City (1980). 

I’m not really sure what he was thinking with Ironmaster, which is sadly boring, repetitive and never reaches the ridiculous heights of many of his other films. He made plenty of movies with cavemen and primitive tribes, but here it feels like he is just going through the motions. It’s also difficult to get past the film’s hero, Ela, played by the terrifying-looking Sam Pasco, body builder and porn actor. Also note that the titular ironmaster is not Ela, it’s his nemesis Vood. He winds up embracing a bizarre pacifist ideal at the end of the film, leaving things on a weird hippyish, anticlimactic note. 

Luckily there are a few lovely ladies, some gore and some totally cheesy, slow-motion fight scenes. It’s not the worst film of this sort, but it’s hard for me to recommend. Be forewarned that it has some of the standard animal cruelty from this period of Italian horror, though I don’t think any of it in Ironmaster is real. It seems unlikely that Lenzi could afford to have a lion killed. 

The only really exciting thing about Ironmaster is star George Eastman. Born as Luigi Montefiori, Eastman has acted in a number of horror, crime and spaghetti western films and has also written many, namely for Joe D’Amato. He wrote and co-starred in D’Amato’s Anthropophagus (1980), Erotic Nights of the Living Dead (1980), Porno Holocaust (1981), Absurd (1981) and 2020 Texas Gladiators (1982). He also wrote one of my favorite films of all time, Michele Soavi’s Stage Fright (1987) and has starred or at least appeared in many of my favorite Italian films of the ‘70s and ‘80s: Baba Yaga (1973), Mario Bava’s Rabid Dogs (1974), Enzo Castellari’s The New Barbarians (1982) and The Bronx Warriors (1982), Sergio Martino’s 2019: After the Fall of New York (1983) and Hands of Steel (1986), Ruggero Deodato’s The Barbarian (1987) and Lamberto Bava’s Delirium. Even if he only has garbage to work with here, he does the best he can and essentially just scowls ferociously for 95% of the film. He also spends the majority of the film wearing a ridiculous lion’s mask, though he still manages to look completely badass. 

I’m willing to consider that I may have misjudged Ironmaster. It would probably be a lot more enjoyable to see in a theater full of B-movie fans or, perhaps, on a day when I was not crushingly hung over and in need of a nap. If you’d like to watch it, it isn’t yet available on region 1 DVD, though my friends over at Diabolik have the very basic PAL region 2 disc. 

FIRE AND ICE

Ralph Bakshi, 1983

Starring: Susan Tyrrell, Maggie Roswell, William Ostrander, Stephen Mendel

The kingdom of Icepeak is waging war against the world, sending glaciers further and further towards the kingdom of Firekeep. The evil Queen and her son Nekron ignore requests for peace or compromise and soon kidnap King Jarol’s daughter, Teegra. She manages to escape from the band of barbarians taking her to Icepeak and meets Larn, whose entire people has been killed by Nekron. Teegra and Larn try to find their way back to Firekeep, but are caught again by the barbarians. A stranger, Darkwolf, intervenes to save them and takes Larn to destroy Nekron once and for all. 

I'm sad to say it, but Fire and Ice is one of my least favorite sword and sorcery films. I watched it for the first time this week and was sorely disappointed. I wanted to include it because it's a collaboration between the renowned Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta, but it represents what I consider to be the worst elements of fantasy and sword and sorcery films. 

First and foremost, which I already mentioned in my review of Yor, the Hunter from the Future (1983), is that I hate films with tribes of humanoids running around in loin cloths, communicating in grunts and kidnapping scantily clad barbarian babes. This film is full of them, putting Nekron as the lesser villain in the face of his humanoid henchmen. I find this an incredibly distasteful, basically racist plot device. The second strike against Fire and Ice is the total lack of characterization. I was completely uninterested in anyone in this film by the halfway point. While Nekron and Darkwolf both had promise, this was utterly stripped from them by the script. 

The third and final element is the treatment of Princess Teegra, whose lack of clothing was more appropriate of softcore attire and felt demeaning. I love a lot of porn and erotica films and generally don’t feel like a woman’s attire makes much of a statement about how the film treats women. In this case it’s almost like they made a list of offensive things and then added them into the script. Teegra is a completely worthless and uninteresting character. 

This cult animated film is a collaboration between two famous figures in ‘80s fantasy fandom. Ralph Bakshi created of a number of well-known animated films for adults like Fritz the Cat (1972), Wizards (1977) and Lord of the Rings (1978), while Frank Frazetta is one of the most celebrated fantasy artists of the last century. His iconic Conan paintings influenced the entire '80s fantasy film genre. I assume if you’re reading my sword and sorcery series, no explanation is needed. They used rotoscoping to give Fire and Ice a realistic, but specifically Frazetta look. On this point it completely succeeds and benefits from Bakshi and Frazetta’s constant involvement in the production. Written by Conan comic writers Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas, I sadly have nothing good to say about the script. It lacks the humor, adventure and intelligence of much of Marvel’s Conan. 

Blue Underground put out a great two-disc DVD full of special features, including a feature length documentary about Frazetta, Painting With Fire. There’s also an audio commentary with Bakshi, a making of feature, more featurettes, a trailer, etc. The single disc DVD doesn’t have the Frazetta documentary. I wish I could recommend this, but you're probably better off watching Deathstalker II. 

KRULL

Peter Yates, 1983

Starring: Ken Marhsall, Lysette Anthony, Freddie Jones, Francesca Annia, Alun Armstrong, Bernard Bresslaw, Liam Neeson, Robbie Coltrane

On the planet Krull, rival forces are brought together when a princess from one kingdom, Lyssa, agrees to marry the prince from another kingdom, Colwyn. They are attempting to combine their powers to fight off the Beast and his army, known as Slayers, who have invaded their planet. During Lyssa and Colwyn’s wedding, the Beast attacks and kidnaps Lyssa. According to a prophecy, she is destined to mother a child that will rule the galaxy, so the Beast tries to persuade her to marry him. Colwyn survives and joins up with Ynyr, a wise old man who will lead him on his course to rescue Lyssa. He must locate the Glaive, a powerful weapon, and then track down the Black Fortress, the Beast’s constantly moving, spaceship stronghold. Colwyn and Ynyr are joined by a number of others, including a whimsical wizard, a wise and powerful cyclops, and a band of fugitive soldiers. Ynyr must risk everything to visit the dreaded Widow of the Web, the only one who can tell them the location of the Black Fortress and lead them to their final showdown with the Beast. 

Initially a box office failure and hated by critics, Krull has since gained a much deserved cult following. I love Krull and genuinely don’t understand why it’s so reviled. It’s one of my favorite films and even if it lacks some originality in terms of plot, the style and energy more than make up for this. Like Dune (1984), it is a strange blend of fantasy and science fiction and includes more than a few hints of Star Wars. In terms of tone, this has a lot in common with Dune and films like Flash Gordon (1980), so if you enjoy those, immediately seek out Krull. 

There are some great aesthetics, from the set design and wardrobe to the impressive special effects, though they may seem dated now. A lot of the creature effects are still great, particularly for the Beast, who is almost never seen head on. These were provided by Derek Meddings, who worked on a few James Bond films, including Moonraker (1979), as the first two Superman films. And don't forget the Glaive - everyone's dream weapon, or at least mine - a telepathically controlled shuriken that looks like it was designed by H.R. Giger. There’s also a really enjoyable score from James Horner, though it does rip off his own amazing work on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). Director Peter Yates (best known for the Steve McQueen vehicle Bullitt, 1968) didn’t do any other sci-fi or fantasy films, but does a fair job here. Some may find the film slow, but I just think it’s carefully paced. After all, it is an epic journey.

Krull’s only major weakness lies in its lack of strong leads. Kenneth Marshall and Lysette Anthony are both serviceable as the prince and princess, but lack charisma or chemistry. Part of Anthony’s problem is that her voice was dubbed over because of her British accent. Generally, though, there is a great cast that includes then newcomers Robbie Coltrane and Liam Neeson, as well as seasoned actors like Freddie Jones and Francesca Annis, both of whom appear in Dune (1984). The characters are likable, even if they are playing to certain fantasy types. 

I can’t recommend Krull strongly enough. It was released on DVD from Sony. There are a surprising amount of good special features, including one commentary track, edited together from interviews with Peter Yates, Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, and Ray Lovejoy, and a second, which is a narrated version of an article from Cinemafantastique with added information about the film. There are a few other extras, including Journey to Krull, a behind-the-scenes look at the film. 

YOR, HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE

Antonio Margheriti, 1983

Starring: Reb Brown, Corinne Cléry, John Steiner, Carole André, Luciano Pigozzi

Yor, the Hunter from the Future is not exactly a sword and sorcery film, but it seemed inconceivable to write about the genre and exclude it. Yor is a great mishmash of ‘80s fantasy film tropes and, mostly importantly, it was made during the post-apocalyptic film boom popular in many countries, but particularly in Italy. As a result it is a mixture of sword and sorcery barbarian-themed films and sci-fi tinged post-apocalyptic cinema. Masters of the Universe and Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time both try something similar and it’s fair to say that all three films are completely ridiculous. 

A caveman named Yor rescues the lovely Ka-Laa and her adoptive father Pag from a raging dinosaur and then again later from a band of cavemen who destroy their village. Ka-Laa falls in love with Yor, and she and Pag accompany him on a quest to find out about his origins and a strange medallion he wears. Yor meets a woman who wears the same medallion and she joins them on the quest, much to Ka-Laa’s chagrin. She is soon killed by another raid from the cavemen. Yor, Pag and Ka-Laa befriend another tribe, but the tribe is soon demolished by flying saucers, so they travel to a mysterious island. Here Yor learns that he came from a group of nuclear holocaust survivors on - surprise - Earth. Earth is ruled by the evil Overlord and Yor must face off against his armies, nuclear weapons and advanced technology. 

If you thought the film version of Yor was mind-blowing, it’s actually cut from a 190 minute long miniseries made for Italian television. This Italian-French-Turkish co-production is based on a comic book, Henga, el cazador, by Argentinian artist Juan Zanotto and Ray Collins. Other than its sheer ridiculousness, Yor is most notable for the number of important fantasy and horror names involved in the film, most importantly director Antonio Margheriti, who used his pseudonym, Anthony M. Dawson, for this film.

Margheriti was a prolific Italian filmmaker, whose works range from fantasy, horror, sci-fi and spaghetti westerns. He made a number of enjoyable horror films, such as Castle of Blood (1963) and The Long Hair of Death (1964) with scream queen Barbara Steele and The Virgin of Nuremberg (1963) with Christopher Lee. He made a lot of fun B-movies like Assignment Outer Space (1960, the first Italian space film), Battle of the Worlds (1961), Wild Wild Planet (1965) and Cannibal Apocalypse (1980). He also did special effects on Sergio Leone’s Fistful of Dynamite (1971) and second unit directing on Paul Morrissey’s Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) and Blood for Dracula (1973). He worked with a lot of beloved genre actors from both horror and spaghetti westerns, including the likes of Lee Van Cleef, John Saxon, John Morghen and Klaus Kinski. Margheriti’s work is important, but somewhat neglected. Here’s hoping that his full catalog will soon be available on DVD. 

The prolific actor Luciano Pizoggi (Pag, Yor’s wizened mentor) has been a regular fixture in Margheriti’s films, as well as a lot of other Italian horror productions, including several of Mario Bava films, such Blood and Black Lace (1964) and Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970). Star Reb Brown has been in a number of ‘70s and ‘80s B-films, including The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982), The Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf (1985) and Space Mutiny (1988). One of my favorite French actresses, Corinne Cléry (Ka-Laa), also appeared in the infamous erotic film Story of O (1975) and the James Bond film Moonraker (1979), where she is sadly killed by a pack of dogs. John Steiner (the Overlord) is another fixture in horror and art-house cinema, including Lucio Fulci’s White Fang movies, Tinto Brass’s Salon Kitty (1976) and Caligula (1979), and Mario Bava’s Shock (1977). 

Aside from the impressive roll call, I’m honestly not that big a fan of Yor. I think part of the problem is that we just got off on the wrong foot. In the opening scene of the film, Yor kills a dinosaur - a triceratops protecting its baby -  which made me instantly hate everyone in this movie, particularly Yor himself. You have to understand that I was the person rooting for the velociraptors at the end of Jurassic Park (even though the dinosaurs portrayed as velociraptors more closely resemble Deinonychus).

I also really hate peplum, barbarian or sword and sorcery films with tribes of humanoids that run around in loin cloths, only communicate by grunting and are basically fodder for the hero, who saves some scantily clad hussy from their filthy clutches. This appalling plot device is the same reason that I hate a lot of cannibal movies and when a film introduces this element, it’s really hard for me to get past it. More about this later in the week when I review Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta’s Fire and Ice (1983). 

You have to decide for yourself whether or not you should watch Yor. There are some truly fun and outrageously cheesy elements that will delight a lot of fans of trashy movies. For example, my favorite scene involves Yor’s theme song blasting while he HANG GLIDES ON A GIANT, DEAD BAT to rescue Ka-Laa. Yes, I did just say there’s a theme song, “Yor’s World” by Oliver Onions. 

If you decide to subject yourself to the agony that is Yor, there is the most basic DVD imaginable from SPE, though hopefully one day it will get better treatment, possibly a pairing with the original miniseries. 

DEATHSTALKER

James Sbardellati, 1983

Starring: Rick Hill, Barbi Benton, Richard Brooker, Lana Clarkson, Victor Bo

Produced by Roger Corman and Hector Olivera, Deathstalker was shot in Argentina, instead of Corman’s normal cheap filmmaking stomping grounds, the Philippines. This U.S.-Argentinian co-production is possibly the most excessive sword and sorcery film ever made, with constant nudity, frequent sex scenes, orgies of both sex and violence, monsters, gore, plot elements that make absolutely no sense and some truly bizarre effects. 

A warrior named Deathstalker is sent on a quest to find a sword, an amulet, and a chalice. A witch guides him to the sword, but the latter two items are in the possession of Munkar, an evil sorcerer trying to gain immortality and rule the world. Munkar has organized a tournament for the greatest warriors. The winner will take Munkar’s place and inherit his kingdom, though this is really a plot for Munkar to destroy all his competition. On his way to Munkar’s castle, Deathstalker meets a cocky warrior Oghris, and a female warrior, Kaira, who only wears a cloak, a g-string and straps around her breasts to presumably hold them in place while sword fighting. They participate in a party and an orgy at Munkar’s castle and Deathstalker attempts to rescue Princess Codille, an unwilling member of Munkar’s harem. The violent tournament carries on as Deathstalker searches for the chalice and the amulet, and Munkar is determined to kill Deathstalker before the week is out. 

Deathstalker was surprisingly successful at the box office, though I can’t fathom why. I really enjoyed this film, but there are many elements working against it. The plot is drawn out and complicated. The first half an hour, where Deathstalker accepts his quest and finds the sword, feels like an entire film. The acting is atrocious and most of the characters just suddenly appear in the middle of a scene with no back story or plot development. There are some breathtakingly awful moments of dialogue that will appall some viewers but likely delight many more. 

Rick Hill is decent as Deathstalker, a quiet, but charismatic hero that borrows some character traits from Clint Eastwood’s The Man With No Name. Hill is a TV actor who also appeared in Warrior Queen (1987, starring Sybil Danning and produced by Harry Alan Towers and Joe D’Amato), as well as a bunch of other ‘80s/early ‘90s trash like The Dune Warriors (1991) and Deathstalker IV (1991). He avoided the second and third entries in the series, but oddly returned for the final outing. Stuntman and fight choreographer Richard Brooker, known for his role as Jason in Friday the 13th Part 3-D (1983), is good, though obnoxious as Deathstalker’s arrogant, double-crossing warrior companion.

This is surely one of the most misogynistic films in the ‘80s sword and sorcery canon. There is a lot of implied rape, attempted rape, and unwanted sexual advances. The opening involves Deathstalker saving a woman from goblins who want to rape her, but when she is freed he starts having sex with her. There are lengthy, unexpected sex scenes peppered throughout the film and most of the women are topless. There is, however, a great “transgendered” sex scene, where one of Munkar’s henchmen is transformed to look like the Princess Codille and is sent to seduce and kill Deathstalker. During his seduction, he makes some very surprised, un-princess-like sounds that alert Deathstalker that something is amiss. Deathstalker abruptly stops pawing at Codille and deposits her on the other side of his bedroom door. 

Codille is played by former Playboy Playmate Barbi Benton, who has what is surely the dumbest role in the film, aside from her brilliant five minutes where she has to pretend to be a man trapped in a woman’s body. Lana Clarkson is great as Kaira, the bare-breasted warrior who lets Deathstalker have sex with her presumably just because he puts his hand on her thigh. Clarkson’s character is killed much too early, but she was given a spin off film, Barbarian Queen (1985). She also acted in Fast Time at Ridgemont High (1982) and a number of other films and TV series, but she is sadly most famous for her 2003 death, when she was shot by music producer Phil Spector. He is currently serving a life sentence. 

Surprisingly, Deathstalker ignores many typical sword and sorcery plot devices. Deathstalker’s entire family/village/country wasn’t killed when he was a child and he is not seeking revenge for anything. He is simply on a quest to find a series of magical objects and to prevent an evil wizard from gaining immortality. He seems pretty bored by the proceedings. The violence is over the top, with a number of battles to the death and an epic bar brawl that features a pig-faced character who rips one man’s arm off and beats another man with it. The set pieces are so cheap as to be distracting, there are some lousy, if interesting effects, silly puppetry and inane fight choreography. The effects were created by John Buechler, who did effects for the wonderful From Beyond (1988), and directed the much less wonderful Friday the 13th 7: The New Blood (1988) and the mind-melting Troll (1986). 

The Argentinian locations are refreshing, though the film looks so bad it’s sometimes hard to notice. The direction is what you would expect from the genre: weird angles, a love of the zoom lens and some totally bizarre cuts. Director Sbardellati’s other notable work includes assistant directing and second unit directing Humanoids from the Deep (1980), Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), and The Beastmaster (1982). In general, there is a lot of crossover between the cast and crew of Deathstalker and other sword and sorcery films from the period. Produced by Roger Corman and Hector Olivera, Olivera also produced the Deathstalker sequel and The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984), and directed Barbarian Queen (1985) and The Wizards of the Lost Kingdom (1985). Another co-producer, Alejandro Sessa, directed the Corman-produced Amazons (1986). 

If I’m going to recommend any film from this series, Deathstalker is the most memorable, particularly for fans of nonsensical Conan rip offs and trashy sword and sorcery films. Deathstalker II, though very different from the first film and a sequel in name only, is also thoroughly entertaining and benefits from taking itself far less seriously than the first Deathstalker. 

Deathstalker II: Duel of the Titans 

Jim Wynorski, 1987

Starring: John Terlesky, Monique Gabrielle, Toni Naples

“Deathstalker? Is that your first name or your last name?” 

While I am a fan of the first Deathstalker, I have a secret love for Deathstalker II. It doesn’t actually involve any dueling titans, but is fun, charming, and moves at a brisk pace. Anyone who loves the first film in the series would do well to consider this totally separate. Rick Hill does not return for the titular role, but is replaced by the younger, hammier John Terlesky. Terlesky is funnier, more sarcastic, and more of a bastard than Hill’s portrayal of the character. His Deathstalker is also less like The Man With No Name and more like a smarmy Robin Hood. 

All continuity is gone and we follow the warrior on a new adventure where he reluctantly agrees to save a princess in peril. Yet another evil wizard is trying to take over a kingdom, this time by creating an evil, vampiric double of the princess, one who must feed on nubile man-flesh to prevent herself from disappearing. Deathstalker also has to face up against a horde of angry Amazons, a pack of zombies, and an enraged swordswoman, Sultana. She is so disgusted by the proceedings that she refuses to have a final battle with Deathstalker and angrily marches out of the film. 

There is plenty of nudity and sex, sets even worse than the first film, and far more comedy. The comedy is emphasized during the credits, which feature a reel of bloopers. There is some stock footage from the first film and from Roger Corman’s The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), which it also steals a plot device from. This was done to save money and is a common characteristic of ‘80s B movies. There are a lot of fun battles, including a bar room brawl, a few scenes stolen from Star Wars, and many plot devices lifted directly from Ator the Fighting Eagle. 

The acting is absolutely terrible, but it works with the tone of Deathstalker II. The princess and her evil double are both played by Monique Gabrielle, whose complete lack of acting ability is sort of charming. Her pouting, whining, and running after Deathstalker are less interesting. This is another film where the cast and crew can be seen in other sword and sorcery or horror films from the period. Toni Naples (Sultana) appeared in the Wynorski directed Sorority House Massacre II (1990) and Sorceress (1995). Monique Gabrielle was in Walerian Borowczyk’s Emanuelle V (1987) and one of the Amazon women was in The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984). Director Jim Wynorski also made a number of other trashy but really fun B films throughout the ‘80s - some of which include actors from Deathstalker II -- such as Chopping Mall (1986), Not of this Earth (1988), Transylvania Twist (1989), and Vampirella (1996).  

While Deathstalker II comes highly recommended, the less said about the next two, the better. 

Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell aka Deathstalker III

Alfonso Corona, 1998

Starring: John Allen Nelson, Carla Herd, Thom Christopher

The absurd plot entails three magical stones, that if brought together, will reveal the magical city of Arandor. A princess has one of the stones and she teams up with Deathstalker and his wizard friend Nicias to seek out the second stone, owned by the evil wizard Troxartes. The princess is killed by Troxartes’ men and gives the stone to Deathstalker, who soon runs into her twin sister, destined to marry Troxartes against her will. After taking the second stone from Deathstalker, Troxartes kidnaps everyone he can think of in order to find the third stone. Deathstalker is forced to team up with undead warriors to lay siege to the castle and find the third stone before it is too late. 

This tired third film has yet another new Deathstalker, John Allen Nelson, and involves many plot elements from the first two -- nudity, warrior women, the undead, princesses, an evil wizard and magical artifacts. Unlike the second Deathstalker, this doesn’t use stock footage from the previous films, but uses some from Roger Corman’s The Raven (1963). 

I can’t recommend this truly awful film. It has the most boring Deathstalker and lacks the fun or sheer over-the-top elements of the first two films. The humor is painful and the action feels dull. It is notable for being used in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, which points out many of its flaws, including John Allen Nelson’s changing accent, and makes it far more entertaining than is on its own.

Deathstalker IV: Match of Titans

Howard R. Cohen, 1991

Starring: Rick Hill, Maria Ford, Brett Baxter Clark

For some inexplicable reason, Rick Hill is back in the fourth and final Deathstalker film, basically a re-imagining of the first Deathstalker. An evil queen is holding a competition for warriors, but when the warriors begin to disappear, Deathstalker must take up the challenge and confront the diabolical queen. And -- surprise -- there’s a blonde romantic interest that he has to rescue throughout the course of the film. 

Amazingly, this is a return to form from the first film in the sense that is more serious and Rick Hill is back, though I would probably rank it third best after Deathstalker and Deathstalker II. The plot is predictable, there is the same old nudity and softcore sex, though there is fortunately more humor. Director Howard R. Cohen was a prolific screenwriter and penned all of the Deathstalker films except the second (explains a lot), as well as Death Force (1978), Saturday the 14th (1981), The Barbarian Queen (1985) and its sequel, and Emmanuelle V (1987). He also wrote one of my favorite movies as a kid, Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer (1985), along with episodes of Rainbow Brite and The Care Bears. Interesting as he may be, no one needs to watch Deathstalker IV. No one.

Deathstalker and Deathstalker II have been released on a wonderful DVD collection from Shout! Factory, Roger Corman’s Cult Classics: Sword and Sorcery Collection. This also includes The Warrior and the Sorceress and Barbarian Queen, bringing together common cast and crew members throughout all four films. This excellent package provides nice commentary tracks for both Deathstalker films, the first with director John Sbardellati, effects artist John Carl Buechler, and actor Richard Brooker, the second with director Jim Wynorski, star John Terlesky and actress Toni Naples. Extras also include some trailers. Deathstalker and Deathstalker II are on the first disc, while The Warrior and the Sorceress and Barbarian Queen are on the second. The prints of each films looks decent and is good as anyone is going to get for the time being. The original New Concorde DVDs of both Deathstalker films are out of print (they were released independently and as a double feature) and Deathstalker III and IV are on very basic, sometimes hard to find DVDs. The Corman collection comes highly recommended. 

SORCERESS (1982)

Jack Hill

Starring: Leigh Harris, Lynette Harris, Bob Nelson, David Millbern

Sorceress is Jack Hill’s terrible, yet strangely compelling contribution to the sword and sorcery genre. An evil sorcerer plans to sacrifice his first born child to the goddess Caligara, but his wife, who has unexpectedly given birth to twin girls, refuses. She runs away and gives them to a master warrior just before she dies. The warrior trains the two girls and they are raised as boys. Many years later, when they are about twenty, their father begins to hunt them down again in order to prepare for another sacrifice. They team up with a young barbarian, Erlik, and a grizzled Viking, Baldar, to try to destroy their father before he gets to them. 

Starring Leigh and Lynette Harris, twins and Playboy models, Jack Hill was allegedly inspired by Alexandre Dumas’s The Corsican Brothers, a story about two twins who can feel each other’s pain. In the case of Sorceress, the twins can feel each other’s pleasure as well, resulting in a somewhat hilarious scene where one twin looses her virginity and the other, many miles away, is overcome with orgasms while camping in the woods. The twins are referred to “the two who are one” so often that you could make a drinking game out of it. And if you did, you would probably die of alcohol poisoning. 

Shot in Mexico on a very low budget and with many difficulties during production, this has the typical failures of the genre - poor sets, lousy acting, bad humor, silly dialogue and an almost useless plot. But Sorceress also has some interesting and very bizarre elements that are more nonsensical than most other films of this genre. There is a horny satyr that accompanies the twins on their quest, the complete lack of any sorceress, a planned execution that involves a man sliding down a greased pole in order to be anally impaled, a group monkey attack, zombie warriors and a deus ex machina involving a winged lion that shoots lightening out of its eyes. There is also a fair amount of nudity and absolutely absurd sexual comedy. 

Jack Hill wrote, produced and directed Sorceress, though under the pseudonym Brian Stuart. It was his final film and he allegedly pulled his name from the production after a number of disputes with producer Roger Corman. In case you are unfamiliar with Hill’s work, he is one of the greatest exploitation directors, responsible for some of the best exploitation films ever made - Spider Baby (1968), The Big Doll House (1971), Coffy (1973), Foxy Brown (1974), Switchblade Sisters (1975), etc. Hill also discovered cult actress Pam Grier and helped launch her career, as well as horror actor Sid Haig. 

I can’t really recommend Sorceress, but I had a lot of fun watching it. The film endearingly throws caution and reason to the wind in order to add as many baffling elements as possible. Its sheer zaniness and naive charm sets it apart from other films in the genre and will make it worth watching for many fans of trashy cinema. Sorceress is sadly unavailable on DVD, though there are some VHS transfers floating around on the internet if you decide you absolutely need to see it. Not to be confused with the drama film of the same name from 1987.