In ancient days, Deathstalker is a thief and swordsman who befriends Evie, a strange young woman who promises him great rewards if he can rid the land of the evil sorcerer Jarek. Deathstalker takes up the challenge, but can he defeat this powerful villain, and has Evie told him the whole story …

Okay, this movie's a bit cheesy and goofball, with cardboard sets and a scene-chewing cast, but I can't help but enjoy it a lot. Like Piranha, it knows it's cashing in on the success of a better film, but that doesn't stop it being witty, exciting and fast paced. We get medieval barroom brawls, slavegirl mud fights, a tussle in a crypt with a gang of zombies, a wrestling match with an Amazon, a pit and pendulum torture number and a steamy vampire seduction scene. Wynorski sensibly keeps everything moving along nice as you please, with the next fight, joke, fleshpot or scare never far away. He's a really good director, with a fine eye for a shot, clever timing and a complete lack of pretension; check out any of his other films (my favourite is Transylvania Twist). The cast are fun - Terlesky coasts on his goofy good looks as the amiable Deathstalker, and Gabrielle and Naples are both saucy delights, frequently in eye-popping costumes which seem to defy both gravity and human physiology. Topping it all off is a toe-tappingly pleasant muzak score by Chuck Cirino, all kooky chords and crescendos. B-movie afficionados (and if you aren't one, stop taking films so seriously) will find much to enjoy in this good-natured, sexy, low-budget adventure flick. A straight-to-video movie, also known as Deathstalker II: Duel Of The Titans, it has little connection with the more mundane 1983 movie Deathstalker, and two plodding sequels (Deathstalker And The Warriors From Hell and Deathstalker IV: Match Of Titans).