By George & Josh Bate
Deathstalker (1983) may the perfect example of a cult movie. The Roger Corman production didn’t blow critics’ minds at the time but it became a modest box office hit, popular at video rental stores, and a staple of the early days of cable television. The film’s success spawned three sequels that continued the sword and sorcery story of a hardened warrior fighting against supernatural forces. Now, nearly 35 years after the last Deathstalker movie released, renowned writer/director Steven Kostanski (Psycho Goreman, Frankie Freako) revives the cult franchise with a remake/reboot premiering at this year’s Fantastic Fest.
Deathstalker (2025) stars Daniel Bernhardt, an actor and stuntman known for his roles in the John Wick franchise, as the titular character, a soldier-turned-scavenger in the mythical Kingdom of Abraxion. In the aftermath of a battle between the kingdom’s warriors and the devil-like Dreadite, Deathstalker steals an amulet that he soon realizes latches onto him. Determined to undo the curse of the amulet, Deathstalker teams up with the diminutive wizard Doodad (voiced by Patton Oswalt) and the self-proclaimed “thief extraordinaire” Brisbayne (Christina Orjalo) on a quest that sees them face off against a dark sorcerer named Necromemnon hunting for the amulet.
In an exclusive interview, The HoloFiles had the chance to sit down with star Daniel Bernhardt and writer/director Steven Kostanski at Fantastic Fest to discuss their reimagining of Deathstalker, the incredible practical effects featured in the film, Bernhardt taking on a leading role, and more.
Kostanski is no stranger to Fantastic Fest, having premiered his films Manborg, The Void, Psycho Goreman, and Frankie Freako at the popular genre festival. But Deathstalker marks a decidedly different venture for the filmmaker- a violent, yet goofy fantasy movie with a surprising heart. Despite treking into new territory, however, Kostanski continues to affirm his reputation for extraordinary creature effects in Deathstalker. The film features two-headed trolls, stop-motion animated eyes that fly with wings, a person who has a caged brain for a head, and so much more. In our interview, star Daniel Bernhardt spoke about what it was like to act opposite all the practice creature effects. “Kudos to my master here. He built these incredible monsters that I got a chance to fight, which is so much more fun than fighting a tennis ball on a stick.”
But Deathstalker isn’t all about wild creature effects (although viewers eager for that sort of thing will come away more than satisfied). Kostanski spoke about the importance of balancing all the silly creatures with a dramatic story. “I love juxtaposing intense silliness with intense drama and seriousness and going back and forth,” Kostanski said. “To me, that tonal whiplash brings me a lot of joy. It fits so well. I think it is really silly and then you’re brought back into the moment….I think if you don’t have moments like that, the audience isn’t going to be on board. You have to care.”
A perfect example of the film’s heart comes in a brief moment in which Bernhardt’s Deathstalker and his tiny wizard companion Doodad exchange a hug after a victory. Kostanski revealed that this emotionally pivotal moment was not scripted. That moment was really a chance for everyone to just kind of play around,” said Kostanski. “That moment wasn’t really written. It wasn’t really on the page. So on the day, I was like, ‘I want to feel more of just a heartfelt interaction here.'” Kostanski continued, “We just did take after take where they improv and had this like real awkward conversation where they’re talking over each other with excitement because they’re just happy to see each other. And the energy felt so real and natural. That’s what I was after.”
Kostanski ensures that audiences will care for, not only Deathstalker, but the found family he assembles along his journey. Deathstalker himself Daniel Bernhardt attributes the success of the film’s theme of found family to Kostanski’s directing. “In the end, I alwas put it back to Stephen,” Bernhardt discussed. “It’s the world he created for us. The situation he creates. The script he brings us.”
Bernhardt elaborated on the flexibility Kostanski afforded him and his fellow actors on set. “[Kostanski] is a very generous director and where you know a lot of directors go, ‘I got to do this,’ unless there’s a real specific reason that I have to be over there we would just start running our lines and we start moving
around and he watches us and he goes, ‘Oh that was actually interesting.’… And then he gave us a lot of freedom.”
For Bernhardt, Deathstalker sees the Swiss actor come full circle as he headlines a feature film once again. In 1996, Bernhardt made his feature film debut as the lead actor in Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite, a sequel to the iconic Jean-Claude Van Damme action movie. Bernhardt spoke about what it was like to star in a theatrically released movie again. “My first film was in 1996,” Bernhardt recounted. “I starred in Bloodsport II. I was chosen to be the lead. And it was amazing. It was a theatrical release. Thirty years later, I’m the lead in Deathstalker. And we’re having a theatrical release. Now, all the experiences I’ve had over the last 30 years doing Matrix Reloaded, John Wick, Bloodsport, all the movies, I can now put in Deathstalker [to my filmography].”
Despite not quite fitting into the horror genre, Deathstalker feels like a perfect fit for Fantastic Fest. This was proven as the audience on opening night delivered an uproarious reaction to every wild moment of Kostanski’s movie. “It feels like a movie tailored for Fantastic Fest,” the writer/director said. “As a filmmaker coming down here…I will always treasure that experience and I’m always chasing that high and every time I come back [to Fantastic Fest] it just gets better and better.”