The Kingdom of Abraxeon has fallen under siege by the Dreadites, a scourge of bloodthirsty demonic warriors said to herald the return of the sinister, ancient sorcerer Nekromemnon. The titular Deathstalker (martial artist and legendary stuntman Daniel Bernhardt) is a lone wolf who survives by scavenging the corpses strewn about the battlefields. After recovering a mysterious amulet, he becomes cursed by an arcane magick, sending him on a quest to remove the curse and rid the realm of evil.
Inventive practical effects take center stage in FX wizard Steven Kostanski’s (Psycho Goreman, Manborg) thrilling reboot of the 80s cult classic sword-and-sorcery film series. Featuring animatronic demons, rubber masked trolls, stop-motion skeletons, copious amounts of blood, and a hard rock theme song composed by Slash (who is also a producer of the film), Deathstalker is a heavy metal hack-and-slash adventure that offers something for gorehounds, fantasy nerds, and anybody looking for a big dose of direct-to-video nostalgia.
Supported by
Media Partner
Daniel Bernhardt, Christina Orjalo, Paul Lazenby, Nicholas Rice, Patton Oswalt
USA/Canada
2025
English
At International Village
At The Rio
Book Tickets
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Slash
Producer
Pasha Patriki, Michael Paszt, James Fler, Peter Kuplowsky, Andrew Hunt
Screenwriter
Steven Kostanski
Cinematography
Andrew Appelle
Editor
Robert Hyland
Production Design
Joshua Turpin
Original Music
Blitz//Berlin
Steven Kostanski
Filmography: Manborg (2011); Father’s Day (2011); The Void (2016); Leprechaun Returns (2018); Psycho Goreman (2020); Frankie Freako (2024)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Nutcracker at Wethersfield
Back in the long, dark Covid winter of 2020, there was no way the New York City Ballet could mount their traditional Christmas production of Tchaikovsky's fairytale. But choreographer Troy Schumacher had a dream to save the show -- reimagining a classic.
The Secret Agent
Having run afoul of an influential bureaucrat in Brazil’s military dictatorship circa 1977, Marcelo decamps to Recife to live under an assumed name — but he’ll soon come to understand precisely how rampant the country’s corruption has become.
North of Ourselves
In the depths of winter, two adventurers set out to cross Quebec from one end to the other on bike and skis, exploring its staggering geography and meeting its inhabitants (human and otherwise) along the way.
Dean Thiessen Plays Vince Guaraldi + Charlie Brown
In 1965 jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi created the perfect soundtrack to Charles Schultz's beloved Peanuts. Dean Thiessen's 5-tet pays tributes to Guaraldi's catchy tunes, followed by a screening of the first Charlie Brown feature film.
Pictures of Ghosts
A companion piece to Mendonça Filho's The Secret Agent, Pictures of Ghosts is a lovely, relaxed, ruminative riff on movies, memory, the imaginative space conferred by that place we call Cinema, seasoned with love and boundless anecdotes.
It's a Wonderful Life
Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. This Christmas classic is whimsical, sure, but it has the depth to stand up to multiple watches, and it really should be a communal experience, because that is what it's about.

