Back in 1983, legendary producer Roger Corman brought the world a sword and sorcery film with an awesome title: Deathstalker. It was so successful, it paved the way for three sequels: Deathstalker II: Duel of the Titans (1987), Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell (1988), and Deathstalker IV: Match of the Titans (1991). The franchise went dormant for more than thirty years, but now it has been revived by filmmaker Steven Kostanski – whose previous credits include Manborg, Father’s Day, The Void, Leprechaun Returns, Psycho Goreman, Frankie Freako, and episodes of the short-lived Day of the Dead TV series. Kostanski has written and directed a Deathstalker remake that has Daniel Bernhardt (John Wick) playing the title character… and even though it leaves out the gratuitous nudity the franchise featured back in the good ol’ days, it turned out to be pretty cool nonetheless. You can read my 7/10 review at THIS LINK. One of the many cool things about the movie, which reached theatres last Friday, is the fact that the theme song was a collaboration between legendary musician Slash, composer Bear McCreary, and Deathstalker II composer Chuck Cirino – and now that theme song has a music video, which can be viewed at the bottom of this article!
Here’s what the Deathstalker remake is about: The Kingdom of Abraxeon is under siege from The Dreadites, a mysterious horde of warriors, whose sudden appearance is rumored to foretell the return of Nekromemnon, an ancient sorcerer long thought dead. Such times of chaos are times of fortune for men like Deathstalker who, having broken ties with all guilds and banners, now ekes an existence from the spoils recovered in the wake of Dreadite attacks. Our story begins when Deathstalker unknowingly recovers an enchanted amulet from a corpse-ridden battlefield, and finds himself cursed by an arcane magick. Now pursued by a monstrous clan of assassins at the behest of the Dreadite scourge, Deathstalker is forced into a perilous quest to reverse the curse and rid the realm of evil. Death is just the beginning… of great adventure!
Christina Orjalo (Murdoch Mysteries) stars alongside Bernhardt as Brisbayne, who sets off on a journey to rid the magic amulet of its powers with Deathstalker. Nina Bergman (Hell Hath No Fury) also stars as Grendul, “a confident, tough leader of the Abraxeon Thieves Guild who has a history with Deathstalker.” Plus, the one and only Patton Oswalt provided the voice of a goblin wizard called Doodad.
In addition to this film, there’s also going to be a Deathstalker comic book series from Vault Comics. Kostanski is on the comic’s creative team with writer Tim Seeley, artist Jim Terry, and Slash of Guns N’ Roses. Slash has also collaborated with composer Bear McCreary and Deathstalker II composer Chuck Cirino to come up with the new film’s theme song.
The Deathstalker remake comes our way from Hangar 18 Media. Pasha Patriki, Michael Pazst, Andrew Thomas Hunt and James Fler are producing the film, with Slash listed as one of the executive producers.
Slash told Blabbermouth, “One of the great things about being a producer is I get to get involved in the music. We wanted to do a remake of the Deathstalker theme, and I’m good friends with Bear McCreary, so I called him, and it turns out he’s a big Deathstalker fan and a fan of Chuck Cirino, the original composer for the original song. So we thought, ‘Let’s remake the song. We’ll get a live band and we’ll do it like that.’ So we went into a studio, Bear and I and some musicians and Chuck. And we did a great version of the original theme song. It was just a blast to do. That’s how it all came together.” Bear McCreary added, “I spent every weekend in high school watching cult movies with my buddies. The night we watched Deathstalker II, I was immediately struck by the catchy melodies in Chuck Cirino’s score. I picked up a little Casio keyboard I had lying around and played along. After I moved to Los Angeles to pursue my own dreams of scoring films, Chuck and I became good friends. Years later, my friend Slash told me he was developing a new feature film version of Deathstalker, and I knew right away that my worlds were about to collide! I was thrilled to collaborate with Slash, Chuck and my brother, vocalist and lyricist Brendan McCreary, on a new song inspired by Chuck’s iconic Deathstalker II theme to match director Steven Kostanski’s lovingly bloody vision.“
Slash, Bear McCreary, and Chuck Cirino teamed with singer Brendan McCreary, drummer Gene “The Atomic Clock” Hoglan, bassist Pete Griffin, and guitarist Omer Ben-Zvi for the theme song.
Have you watched the Deathstalker remake? Take a look at the music video, then let us know by leaving a comment below. If you like the music, you can pick up the three-track single Deathstalker (Songs from the Motion Picture) from Sparks and Shadows Records.
