Death's Tale is back! Yes, the warrior who fought wizards, ogres, and various other monsters in Roger Corman’s cult classic, Sorcery Tale, is back on the big screen. The new Death's Tale is getting its world premiere out of competition at the 78th Locarno Film Festival, courtesy of writer-director Steven Kostanski ( Frankie Freako , PG: Psycho Goreman ) and executive producer Slash.
Yes, Court of Guns N' Roses, which teamed up with Vault Comics, Shout! Studios, the rights holder of the Corman Library, Raven Banner Entertainment, Kostanski, comic book writer Tim Seeley, and comic book artist Jim Terry on Death Star comics.
The new Deathstalker movie stars Daniel Bernhardt ( John Wick , The Matrix Reloaded ) as the titular warrior hero, as well as Christina Orjalo, Paul Lazenby and Nicholas Rice. Patton Oswalt voices Doodad, a benevolent wizard who joins Deathstalker on his journey.
“The kingdom of Abraxeon is under siege by Dreadites, heralds of the dead sorcerer Nekromemnon,” a plot description reads. “When Deathstalker finds a cursed amulet, he is marked by dark magic and hunted by monstrous assassins. To survive, he must break the curse or die trying.”
The fantasy action adventure film was produced by Pasha Patriki of Hangar 18 Media and Michael Paszt of Raven Banner, Andrew Thomas Hunt and James Fler.
Ahead of the Locarno World Premiere, Slash spoke to Thr about returning from the dead , becoming a fan of the original while working at Tower Video in Los Angeles, and why the world needs escapist popcorn flicks.
Did you and the rest of the creative team have a particular target audience in mind when you decided to make Death Star ? And did you know the original?
I knew there was a massive fantasy genre crowd out there. They love this stuff, they're very passionate, and it's almost a cult-like thing.
And yes, I was familiar with the original films when I used to work at Tower Video in Los Angeles in the 80s, so that's how I became interested in doing this.
I noticed that the film is not described as a remake…
It's not a remake, it's just another story in the Stattino of Death saga. I remember at Tower, there was a large section with comic book fantasy and medieval knights. I guess we're also part of that audience. And so we knew where it was going.
The film is a mix of action, adventure, gore, fun, and a bit of cheesiness. Did you ever discuss the tone you were aiming for?
What happened was, we had the IP, and it was really about the script. The direction the first draft was going was exactly what excited us. It had a sense of humor. It didn't take itself too seriously. The action was there. The dialogue wasn't stupid, but good. And it seemed like a really fun, bloody, fast-paced movie with a good story and good characters. And that was really all we wanted. I don't think we had a grand vision of what it had to be. It just had to be entertaining for us. And having Steve Kostanski direct was really the clincher.
Have you met him before?
No, I didn't really know Steve other than him The Void which was a movie I really loved, and the guy who wrote The Void turned me on to Steve Kostanski.
Could we see more? Statin of death cinema?
We'll see what happens with this one. If there's enough interest, we'd obviously love to make another one. I'm sure we'd be interested in making a sequel, if the interest is there.
Death Statin It's still a genre but a little different from your other film work, right?
We're mostly making horror movies. The biggest thing for me with this particular character and IP was really that it had something nostalgic about it, because I loved the original Deathstalkers . And, like I said, I watched them back in the '80s when I was working at the video store. We had them on the monitors during my shift, and they just had a certain kind of character. I'm not necessarily going for swords and sorcerers and all that kind of stuff in general. That's not really my thing. But it all depends on the quality of the story. It depends on the characters; it depends on a lot of things.
The original Death Star just had a certain kind of solidity and a certain kind of fun, and also a certain kind of B-movie quality that made it really appealing to me. So when this came across our desk, I thought, "Yeah, that would be a fun thing to do."
What did you focus on as executive producer? And did you ever consider playing a small role in the film?
The most important thing for me was the script, and the script came out really well, and so, from there, it was Steve. That was really big because it had to be directed by someone who could capture all the different nuances, which was action, gore, but at the same time the humor and dialogue. Also, we wanted to shoot it entirely with practical effects. So it had to be someone creative to make it practical, rather than CGI, and Steve was the perfect guy for that.
So it was a question of who was going to play Deathstalker? Daniel Bernardt was a great choice. And then the rest was executing. As soon as I first walked onto the set, and when I started watching the dailies, I really saw that Steve went way over budget right up to the appearance of the film. It seems more expensive than it actually was.
I'm not into acting. That's not really in my wheelhouse. I like producing because I like putting all the components together to make something great. That whole process really speaks to me. I don't even like doing cameos. I hate that. It looks awkward and silly when you're doing it. I don't have any plans about acting, and I don't foresee myself evolving into a director either. I think it's something you're passionate about from the beginning, and it's a lifelong thing. I don't think you just walk in and start directing.
Did you know Daniel Bernhardt before?
We've never met before. But we had a great time hanging out. He's an amazing guy. He's a great human being. He's awesome.
Do you watch many movies beyond horror?
I watch a lot of things. When you say horror, sometimes that's a bit of a limitation, a narrow kind of description of the things I like. I like thrillers, I like scary science fiction. I like horror. Horror has actually been dumbed down so it doesn't have the same effect it had when I was a kid. When you say horror, you have to broaden it. I like psychological thrillers.
I'm actually not a fan of Big Gore. I like story-driven, character-driven dramas that have a horror element that makes them terrifying. But I do love monster movies if they're well-made.
I also like a lot of crime stuff.
I'm not a big superhero guy, but I watch them. I only know the good ones. There are some good ones, and then there's a lot of filler that's out there. It seems to keep coming. But there's a very passionate audience for that very attached to the material, so I understand what it's about.
I grew up watching movies in the '70s, and there are some great films of all different genres over the years. But I still feel like we haven't had that kind of magical moment we had in the '70s for cinema. I also grew up on a lot of '70s comedy, where now I can't say I'm a big comedy guy, but in this day and age, where there's so much cultural restriction going on, it's hard to see how really good comedies can be made.
What 70s comedies did you like?
I loved Woody Allen movies. His early films were great. I loved Harold and Maude, which was great. Any of the National Lampoon stuff was great. I grew up with the Bad News Bears . There was a ton of stuff. The In-Laws . There were some great comedies in the 70s.
Before I let you go, I wanted to mention that Death Statin feels like popcorn entertainment. Any thoughts?
A movie like "Statin of Death" is very similar to what Rock and Roll is all about for me. You do something that takes you away from current issues. I'm all for movies that touch on themes that are a bit of social commentary about what's happening in the world or the state of the human race. But I also like movies that completely remove you from that and take your consciousness and put it in a completely different place. This is really about entertainment and escape. This is one of those movies.
'Deathstalker'
Courtesy of Hangar 18 Media
