{"id":1474,"date":"2024-08-01T02:16:12","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T02:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=1474"},"modified":"2024-10-14T11:27:10","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T15:27:10","slug":"deathstalker-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/08\/01\/deathstalker-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Deathstalker II"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Deathstalker II <\/strong>(1987) Concorde Pictures\/Fantasy-Action-Adventure-Comedy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 89 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (violence, language, nudity, sex)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Jim Wynorski\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Neil Ruttenberg\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Chuck Cirino\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Leonardo Rodriguez Solis\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: November 11, 1987 (US, video)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: John Terlesky, Monique Gabrielle, John La Zar, Toni Naples, Maria Socas, Marcos Woinsky, Queen Kong, Jake Arnt.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: N\/A<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ** \u00bd<\/p>\n

\u00a0I like the sword-and-sorcery sequel Deathstalker II<\/strong> a little better than its predecessor because director Jim Wynorski (Chopping Mall) takes a different approach to the material. He turns it into a comedy of sorts with its self-awareness and anachronistic dialogue. It\u2019s funny and weird at the same time. Actually, it leans more towards weird than funny.<\/p>\n

\u00a0John Terlesky (The Allnighter) takes over the role of Deathstalker, the roguish warrior\/thief that saved the world from great evil in the previous film. His latest task is no less challenging. It starts with him saving a woman from being raped by three men. She turns out to be Reena the Seer (Gabrielle, Bachelor Party), a not very good crystal gazer who tends to misinterpret her predictions. It\u2019s a serendipitous meeting for her as she\u2019s in desperate need of a hero. She\u2019s actually Princess Evie of Jzafir, at least she was before she was deposed and replaced by a clone (also played by Gabrielle) created by the evil sorcerer (is there any other kind?) Jarek (LaZar, better known as Z-Man from Beyond the Valley of the Dolls) and his henchwoman Sultana (Naples, Sorority House Massacre II). Reena convinces Deathstalker to escort her back home to reclaim her throne.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Their long-ish journey is fraught with danger and misadventure with a hired killer (Woinsky, The Warrior and the Sorceress) and his band of mercenaries trying to kill them. Luckily, Deathstalker is as handy with Chinese throwing stars as he is with swords and daggers. At one point, they\u2019re captured by a band of Amazons whose leader (Socas, The Warrior and the Sorceress) doesn\u2019t appreciate Deathstalker\u2019s womanizing ways. She subjects him to trial-by-combat against their fiercest warrior Gorgo (female wrestler Queen Kong).<\/p>\n

\u00a0How cheap is Deathstalker II<\/strong>? VERY! Wynorski actually reuses second unit footage from the first movie. In one case, he clumsily shoehorns in an entire scene. He also reuses sets from previous Roger Corman movies. Yep, the master schlockmeister is back on board as producer only now he distributes his work through Concorde, the production company he set up after leaving New World in \u201983. It\u2019s one of the first movie outfits to use home video as a major distribution tool.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Deathstalker II<\/strong> went straight-to-video which is why I passed on it until I purchased a used VHS copy in \u201994. It wasn\u2019t at all what I expected. I knew I was in for something completely different when Sultana said, \u201cI\u2019ll have my revenge…. and Deathstalker too!\u201d right before the opening titles. Okay, that\u2019s my Deathstalker II<\/strong> story.<\/p>\n

\u00a0In keeping with the film\u2019s lighter tone, Terlesky smirks and jokes his way through a \u201cperformance\u201d that seems inspired by Lee Horsley\u2019s performance in The Sword and the Sorcerer. The difference is Terlesky can\u2019t sell it like Horsley…. or Rick Hill, for that matter. He\u2019s a lousy actor. It comes with the territory as these movies generally aren\u2019t known for fine acting. I was especially disappointed in LaZar who brings none of the campy glee with which he imbued Z-Man.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Surprisingly, the most interesting performance(s) comes from Gabrielle in her dual role as the good and evil versions of her character. Note that I didn\u2019t say it\u2019s a good or terrible performance(s). The best word to describe it is \u201ccurious\u201d. She has a waifish quality that makes Reena likable and a bitchy quality that makes Evil Evie unlikable. I like how she portrays Reena as a blonde bubblehead, a character type I didn\u2019t even know existed in the age of swords and sorcerers. BTW, would you hold it against me if I said Gabrielle has a nice body? Do you think she\u2019d hold it against me? Sorry, I couldn\u2019t resist.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Like the first movie, Deathstalker II<\/strong> has plenty of naked boobs on display. It\u2019s nowhere near as many as the original, but it\u2019s enough to keep horny teen boys interested. Oddly enough, the second movie is smarter than the first. The plot is dumb, no question, but the movie has a sense of humor about itself.\u00a0 It\u2019s extremely self-aware with at least one reference to Conan and a humorous closing line. And all the anachronisms from the words the characters use to modern-ish ideas like the hired killer throwing coins into a lake to call Jarek. It\u2019s the world\u2019s first pay phone!<\/p>\n

\u00a0Deathstalker II<\/strong> never takes itself the least bit seriously and why should it? It\u2019s another low-budget S&S job Corman filmed in Argentina. This time, the plot makes more sense. The rest of it- i.e. the bad acting, dopey dialogue, cheesy effects, poorly staged action, etc.- is about the same. To its credit, it doesn\u2019t look as cheap as the first movie. I\u2019m not terribly disappointed by any of this. It\u2019s part of the experience.<\/p>\n

\u00a0What I am disappointed in is the lack of graphic violence. WTH, guys? It\u2019s a sword-and-sorcery flick, emphasis on the sword. When swords are involved, I want to see copious bloodshed. I want severed heads and limbs. I want disembowelments. I want a movie where the makers have to hire a guy to mop up at the end of each day\u2019s shoot. Is that too much to ask?<\/p>\n

\u00a0I don\u2019t dislike Deathstalker II<\/strong> at all. It\u2019s another so-bad-it\u2019s good movie. It\u2019s more apt to make you laugh than anything else. It\u2019s derisive laughter, but laughter nonetheless. It\u2019s funny how bad movies from back then are better than the ones from today. I\u2019d rather watch the two Deathstalker movies back-to-back than something like Wonder Woman 1984 or Zack Snyder\u2019s Justice League (ALL FOUR HOURS OF IT!). It\u2019s the purity in form that appeals to me. The makers of Deathstalker II<\/strong> know they\u2019re making junk and don\u2019t care. I admire that.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deathstalker II (1987) Concorde Pictures\/Fantasy-Action-Adventure-Comedy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 89 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (violence, language, nudity, sex)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Jim Wynorski\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Neil Ruttenberg\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Chuck Cirino\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Leonardo Rodriguez Solis\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: November 11, 1987 (US, video)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: John Terlesky, Monique Gabrielle, John La Zar, Toni Naples, Maria Socas, Marcos Woinsky, Queen Kong, Jake Arnt.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: N\/A […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-b-movies","category-sci-fi-fantasy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Deathstalker-II-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1474"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2029,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474\/revisions\/2029"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}