Hey there whoah, pump the brakes missy. I'm happily married, dang it!

(To you, but ya know ;D)

I've rambled on a ton about this movie, and I could definitely continue doing so.

Suffice to say, I love it so much. I'm going to be watching it over and over, and as soon as I can get my hands on a hard copy, I'm snapping that shit up ASAP.

Thank you, Steven Kostanski. Thank you for the joy.

I also have to add, it's pretty awesome to see brothers working together. My brother and I are both animators, and only very, very rarely do we get the chance to work together, so it always makes me happy to see brothers in the same field working together. Just adds to the joy that is this movie.

Not only were Bear McReary and Slash teaming up, but Gene Hoglan, Pete Griffin, Omer Ben-Zvi, and Brendan McReary were as well!

And they even had Chuck Cirino, the original Deathstalker 2 composer in on it! Like... how often can you call a movie's title SONG star-studded?

And don't get me started on the title track. I'm a metalhead and a big World of Warcraft player, so seeing that @bearmccreary.bsky.social teamed up with freakin Slash to make this song, I nearly bust a blood vessel!

Watching the video on YouTube is highly recommended too! As I found out that...

And while we're dishing out bouquets, Christina Orjalo rocked as Brisbayne! Her wrist blades were straight up high fantasy and got me giggling as soon as she snikt'd them out. She really played the thief role well. And it's always a pleasure to see another Canadian on screen along with Paul Lazenby!

And I think that Nicholas Rice needs his flowers too, man. Movies like these need a solid villain, and Necromemnon was absolutely that! The scene with his head manifesting in a pile of gore had me straight up clapping.

The scenery gnawing bombast of the character was an absolute delight every time.

Who's to say that Grendul wouldn't have had one bodyguard who was a buff, busty Red Sonia type in a chainmail bikini?

I think adding something like that would have been just enough of a tip of the hat to the trope without sacrificing any of the director's values in that regard, but that's just me!

I've seen people complain about the lack of tiddies in the movie as well, and while I don't think the movie suffered for lack of them, I think they have a point. In a way.

I know Steven Kostanski doesn't put much nudity in his films (if any), but a nod to the trope would have gone a long way.

I could go on and on about the effects in the movie. Having seen The Void, I knew that the monsters would be amazing, and they absolutely were. From the Troll at the beginning, to the towering and incomprehensible Cytor, every creature just looked so damn cool.

And I love the Swamp Man friends!

As far as the prosthetics for Doodad went, it looked like the mask worked for the intro scene to the little guy, but after that the spirit gum just stopped working. It was a bummer as it had an effect on the performance, but it did add to the low budget charm of those old movies, if inadvertently.

Daedalad (Doodad) was great as well! I loved the Orko character that they were going for. Laurie Field killed it in the physical role! And of course, @pattonoswalt.bsky.social 's voice fit a little goblin dude so well (and I hope he takes that for the compliment it is intended to be!).

That said...

Since both guys are skilled fighters, it's not a surprise that their fight scenes would kick all kinds of ass. I also love that their first fight had no music in it.

Definitely felt like an homage to so many fight scenes in those old 80s sword and sorcery flicks where it was just grunts and clangs

And I have to give Daniel Bernhardt his dues here. He was an absolute pleasure to watch. Not only is he handsome as hell, and absolutely shredded, and at freakin 60 to boot!!! But watching him fight was AWESOME!

All of the fights between him and Paul Lazenby were just so damn cool to watch.

That scene just made me smile and bounce in my seat like I haven't done in ages. I gotta admit, my wife's right. I haven't felt much "joy" in ages. The way the world is now, it feels like a hard thing to muster.

I'm going to love this movie for a long time because it DID evoke just so much joy.

I just loved how they took the time to show things totally not related to the story, but that rooted the characters in an absolutely bonkers high fantasy world.

The stone giants scene in The Hobbit movies is one I almost always skip when I watch through them. But in Deathstalker?...

SPOILERS FROM HERE ON!

The creepy frog monsters, and the little eye bat (RIP) made me so happy! The landscapes looked like something straight out of the box of Heavy Metal magazines from the 70s that my Uncle gave me when I turned 13.

Everything seemed pulled right from stuff I loved as a kid.

Needless to say, I freaking loved it. I'm not normally one for modern music in fantasy settings, but the addition of metal music to the score was perfect and just added to my giddiness.

The practical effects were amazing, and I especially loved that they took the time to add endemic life to shots!