"Potatoes are what we eat!" - Khorsa.
Sadly, that's about it for memorable quotes from this film. That says a lot about the third entry in the Deathstalker series. Lacking in quips and memorable moments, we've arrived at the series' blandest offering, but let's see if we can unearth any goodness. Here we go: Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell.
After meeting the beautiful Princess Carissa (Carla Herd), Deathstalker (John Allen Nelson) is entrusted with a valuable jewel, one of three such items that will unlock a magical city. Unfortunately, the evil Troxartas (Thom Christopher) possesses the other two jewels, and seeks the third to resurrect an army of the dead. Accompanied by Carissa's sister Elizena (also played by Herd) and warrior Marinda (Claudia Inchaurregui), Deathstalker must outrun Troxartas' forces and face his toughest challenge yet in a bid to win the day.
Like the other films, Deathstalker III introduces a new lead actor to the title role. This time it's John Allen Nelson, a far less brutish leading man than initial lead Rick Hill. Nelson exhibits some of the same personality traits of John Terlesky's Deathstalker, but is overall a more charming hero than either of his predecessors. He's a more gentle soul, especially towards the women he meets compared to the other two Deathstalkers. Unfortunately, he doesn't have much personality beyond that, making him the most forgettable of the three. He occasionally delivers the a few one-liners, but Nelson's delivers a straight portrayal for the most part. Rick Hill also played the role straight in the first film, but had more cheesy lines and the right look to convincingly portray the hero. Here, Nelson doesn't have the intimidating presence of Hill or the comic timing of Terlesky and looks nothing like the muscle-bound warrior seen on the film's poster.
The female leads also suffer from fairly bland personalities and a lack of screen time. It's hard to tell which character is supposed to be the lead, as Deathstalker shows sexual interest in all of them (probably the only consistent character trait in the series). The sibling princesses Carla and Elizena are both played by Carla Herd, and they are at least given distinct personalities. Carla is the more noble and fair, whereas Elizena is more irritating and untrustworthy. Elizena is sadly becomes the focus after her sister is killed early on in the film, and her character becomes annoying very quickly. She constantly antagonises people and is completely incapable of defending herself. At least Lana Clarkson's Kaira from the first film knew how to fight and never backed down from a challenge, but Deathstalker III's Elizena reverts the female lead back to the damsel-in-distress role. There's also Deathstalker's main love interest Marinda, the closest we get a strong heroine. She hooks up with Deathstalker soon after meeting him, but lacks any notable character traits. She does participate in the fighting, but that's about it. Of the three female heroes, Carla was the one who possibly would have made the best lead, but she's killed off so quickly and the other two have such obvious weaknesses which further places Deathstalker III below the first two films.
Then there's the film's villain, Troxartas, a sorcerer with weird fashion sense. Whilst his physique or sword skills won't do much to intimidate, his ghastly choice of clothing is sure send shivers down your spine. Wearing something different in almost every scene, his costumes range from a traditional sorcerer's cloak to a wearing no trousers. Funniest of all is a fuzzy blanket, which is easily the most amusing costume in a film full of them. It says a lot when the wacky costumes for the villain are more memorable than the villain himself, with Troxartas mixing well with the other dull characters. His evil plan is to possess all three jewels to resurrect a room of defeated warriors, but he doesn't do much at all throughout the film other than that. He fights Deathstalker at the end, and it's a truly pathetic display of fight choreography. At least the fight takes them to various rooms in the castle, but the sword work leaves a lot to be desired, with both actors seemingly incapable of delivering a convincing display.
Where the film also suffers is a lack of memorable scenes or creatures. In the first two films, there was a large variety of foes including a pig man, zombies and trolls. Deathstalker III has the undead army, but they only show up at the end and their screen time is limited. The poster claims this to be "the most action packed Deathstalker yet", but there is very little action and the film moves at a very sluggish pace. With no quotable lines or enough to make fun of, the majority of the film is actually boring, only picking up at the end with the large fight between the warriors from hell and the heroes. The soundtrack is also unspectacular, with the main theme being recycled from several other Roger Corman produced films. The first film's soundtrack was full of energy, featuring a choir singing what sounds like an ancient language, perfectly setting the right atmosphere. Deathstalker II's theme was slightly more fitting to the decade of when the film was made, with the inclusion of synthesizers and a faster tempo. Deathstalker III's recycled musical score only serves to make it stand out as the weaker film. Praise must be given, however, to the lack of stock footage. I was only able to count one use of footage from the previous Deathstalker films, and even then it was only a brief shot of a castle interior.
Lacking in action, memorable characters and a fun pace, Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell is easily the worst entry in the series. The new Deathstalker has no charisma and the film lacks a strong villain, with only the final third of the film serving up a half-decent slice of entertainment. There isn't much to recommend here, and I would only say to watch just to complete your viewing of the series as a whole. But if you only ever check out one of these films, make sure it isn't this one.
Like the other films, Deathstalker III introduces a new lead actor to the title role. This time it's John Allen Nelson, a far less brutish leading man than initial lead Rick Hill. Nelson exhibits some of the same personality traits of John Terlesky's Deathstalker, but is overall a more charming hero than either of his predecessors. He's a more gentle soul, especially towards the women he meets compared to the other two Deathstalkers. Unfortunately, he doesn't have much personality beyond that, making him the most forgettable of the three. He occasionally delivers the a few one-liners, but Nelson's delivers a straight portrayal for the most part. Rick Hill also played the role straight in the first film, but had more cheesy lines and the right look to convincingly portray the hero. Here, Nelson doesn't have the intimidating presence of Hill or the comic timing of Terlesky and looks nothing like the muscle-bound warrior seen on the film's poster.
The female leads also suffer from fairly bland personalities and a lack of screen time. It's hard to tell which character is supposed to be the lead, as Deathstalker shows sexual interest in all of them (probably the only consistent character trait in the series). The sibling princesses Carla and Elizena are both played by Carla Herd, and they are at least given distinct personalities. Carla is the more noble and fair, whereas Elizena is more irritating and untrustworthy. Elizena is sadly becomes the focus after her sister is killed early on in the film, and her character becomes annoying very quickly. She constantly antagonises people and is completely incapable of defending herself. At least Lana Clarkson's Kaira from the first film knew how to fight and never backed down from a challenge, but Deathstalker III's Elizena reverts the female lead back to the damsel-in-distress role. There's also Deathstalker's main love interest Marinda, the closest we get a strong heroine. She hooks up with Deathstalker soon after meeting him, but lacks any notable character traits. She does participate in the fighting, but that's about it. Of the three female heroes, Carla was the one who possibly would have made the best lead, but she's killed off so quickly and the other two have such obvious weaknesses which further places Deathstalker III below the first two films.
Then there's the film's villain, Troxartas, a sorcerer with weird fashion sense. Whilst his physique or sword skills won't do much to intimidate, his ghastly choice of clothing is sure send shivers down your spine. Wearing something different in almost every scene, his costumes range from a traditional sorcerer's cloak to a wearing no trousers. Funniest of all is a fuzzy blanket, which is easily the most amusing costume in a film full of them. It says a lot when the wacky costumes for the villain are more memorable than the villain himself, with Troxartas mixing well with the other dull characters. His evil plan is to possess all three jewels to resurrect a room of defeated warriors, but he doesn't do much at all throughout the film other than that. He fights Deathstalker at the end, and it's a truly pathetic display of fight choreography. At least the fight takes them to various rooms in the castle, but the sword work leaves a lot to be desired, with both actors seemingly incapable of delivering a convincing display. Where the film also suffers is a lack of memorable scenes or creatures. In the first two films, there was a large variety of foes including a pig man, zombies and trolls. Deathstalker III has the undead army, but they only show up at the end and their screen time is limited. The poster claims this to be "the most action packed Deathstalker yet", but there is very little action and the film moves at a very sluggish pace. With no quotable lines or enough to make fun of, the majority of the film is actually boring, only picking up at the end with the large fight between the warriors from hell and the heroes. The soundtrack is also unspectacular, with the main theme being recycled from several other Roger Corman produced films. The first film's soundtrack was full of energy, featuring a choir singing what sounds like an ancient language, perfectly setting the right atmosphere. Deathstalker II's theme was slightly more fitting to the decade of when the film was made, with the inclusion of synthesizers and a faster tempo. Deathstalker III's recycled musical score only serves to make it stand out as the weaker film. Praise must be given, however, to the lack of stock footage. I was only able to count one use of footage from the previous Deathstalker films, and even then it was only a brief shot of a castle interior.
Lacking in action, memorable characters and a fun pace, Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell is easily the worst entry in the series. The new Deathstalker has no charisma and the film lacks a strong villain, with only the final third of the film serving up a half-decent slice of entertainment. There isn't much to recommend here, and I would only say to watch just to complete your viewing of the series as a whole. But if you only ever check out one of these films, make sure it isn't this one.
