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Financed by famed low-budgie director/producer Creator/RogerCorman in response to the popularity of the live-action ''Film/{{Conan the Barbarian|1982}}'' movie, The Deathstalker film series would grow to become the most infamous of the many low-budget HeroicFantasy films that were made during TheEighties. One reason for the series' infamy among aficionados of bad cinema is the constant change in tone and leading men between the films. Indeed, except for Rick Hill, no actor has ever played Deathstalker twice and never in concurrent films.

The first movie is a LowFantasy tale similar in tone to the works of Creator/RobertEHoward, with lots of [[FanService semi-naked slavegirls]] and [[{{Gorn}} ultra-violence]]. In this movie, Deathstalker is a standard BarbarianHero who seeks three artifacts that will give the bearer [[PhysicalGod ultimate power]]. His opponent is the local EvilSorcerer, Munkar, who is holding a [[DuelToTheDeath tournament]]: nominally to find a worthy heir but truly to eliminate all the warriors capable of defeating him.

The second is an AffectionateParody of sword-and-sorcery movies, reportedly [[AssPull improvised almost entirely]] on the set with what little writing there was being done by director Jim Wynorski and actor John Terlesky, who plays Deathstalker as a LoveableRogue and Prince Of Thieves. (Not [[Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves THAT Prince Of Thieves!]]) The action here centers upon Deathstalker's efforts to help Princess Evie reclaim her throne from the EvilSorcerer who replaced her with a vampiric EvilTwin.

The third is a standard HighFantasy story, with good and evil wizards fighting over possession of [[MacGuffin several magic stones]] which hold the secret to a lost city. In this movie, John Allen [[strike:Relson]] Nelson tries to play Deathstalker as a JerkWithAHeartOfGold Mercenary but succeeds only in being a JerkAss. This installment is probably the best known to the public at large as it was featured on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' and [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S07E03DeathstalkerAndTheWarriors it has its own page on their index]]. Ironically, despite being the best known installment, it is the only one that has not been released on DVD, other than the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode version.

The fourth is a LowFantasy tale, with a fairly similar plot to the first movie, centering around a combat tournament. Indeed, the only major difference in the stories is that the EvilSorcerer has been replaced by a HotWitch. Rick Hill, who played Deathstalker in the first film, returns to play a more classically heroic BarbarianHero. This movie installment is probably best known for borrowing lots of plot elements and StockFootage from the first three films.

The Series Consists Of:

** ''Film/{{Deathstalker}}'' (1983)
** ''Film/DeathstalkerIIDuelOfTheTitans'' (1987)
** ''Film/DeathstalkerAndTheWarriorsFromHell'' (1988)
** ''Film/DeathstalkerIVMatchOfTheTitans'' (1990)

Not to be confused with the book series of the same name by Simon R. Green, which can be found [[Literature/{{Deathstalker}} here]].

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