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90’s action staple Daniel Bernhardt has not gone quietly into that goodnight since the glory days of VHS mayhem. The prolific martial arts action star has amassed quite the filmography arsenal throughout the years since appearing in such blockbuster films as Extraction 2 as well as the John Wick franchise and its subsequent spin-off Ballerina. Bernhardt hasn’t lost a step at all and still looks sensational in battle and with his latest offering, the hard-hitting star is wielding all the glory and one hell of a sword in the reboot for Deathstalker which hails from PG: Psycho Goreman director Steven Kostanski.
The new trailer is now online courtesy of Shout! Studios and it looks to throw it back to the heydays of video stores when sword and sorcery films ruled the shelves and cable networks Check out the new footage below!
In Deathstalker, the Kingdom of Abraxeon is under siege by the Dreadites, heralds of the long-dead sorcerer Nekromemnon. When Deathstalker recovers a cursed amulet from a corpse-strewn battlefield, he’s marked by dark magick and hunted by monstrous assassins. To survive, he must break the curse and face the rising evil. Death is just the beginning… of great adventure!
I am a huge fan of the Roger Corman produced series of DTV films that planted tongue firmly in cheek and with this new vision, Kostanski looks to bring a darker and more bloody vide to the proceedings with Bernhardt’s titular character facing off against a horde of monsters, demons and the worse of man. Kostanski also pays homage to the earlier films by utilizing practical creature suits, prosthetic FX make-up and stop-motion animation hailing from the filmmaker’s Action Pants FX shop. It’s blood soaked old school in the best way possible.
Patton Oswalt (Young Adult, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) provides the voice of the benevolent wizard Doodad Nina Bergman, who co-starred with Bernhardt in director Jesse V. Johnson’s Hell Hath No Fury, stars as well and she plays the character of Grendul, who is described as “a confident, tough leader of the Abraxeon Thieves Guild who has a history with Deathstalker.” Other cast members include Christina Orjalo, Paul Lazenby, Nicholas Rice.
Deathstalker is also making an appearance at this year’s Fantastic Fest and you can hit the link below to absorb all the intel on the festival and all the other films playing as well.
Along with the movie, there is also going to be a comic book tie in which elates me even more. Vault Comics will be the distributor with Kostanski being a part of the comic’s creative team along with writer Tim Seeley, artist Jim Terry and Slash himself. No worries as I will be putting that comic title on my pull list as soon as I am able to.
What makes this trailer and hopefully movie in all so kick ass is the fact that they used to original music from the OG flick but ramped it up with a hardcore heavy metal tinge to it. Unfortunately, this’ll be lost on casual viewers but die hard fans are losing their collective shite right now. Home run guys, home run.
Bernhardt, who still looks and moves amazing, has been keeping busy in the industry over the decades and has appeared in some of the best action films of recent memory like John Wick and Atomic Blonde. Bernhardt also returned to the Baba Yaga universe last month when he took on Ana de Armas in Ballerina. His fight sequence with Armas is a showstopper and proof that age is just a number as Bernhardt brings the hyper-kinetic action flair once again in that single scene.
Shout! Studios will release Deathstalker in theaters on October 10, 2025!
