Second Viewing: Deathstalker II (1987)
Deathstalker II is basically a masterpiece, but you’d be forgiven for at first glance not thinking that. Thi sis the rare sequel (perhaps only joined by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2) that’s essentially a parody of the first film, and seeing as how I didn’t really like the first Deathstalker, I’m far more open to this kind of tone.
The movie features John Terlesky as Deathstalker and Monique Gabrielle in a dual role as the two leads, and they’re a good part of why this movie’s so great.
Terlesky’s just fucking funny, and charismatic as hell. He’s able to sell a lot of bad jokes and make them quite amusing.
And there are several reasons why Monique Gabrielle is awesome.
She’s incredibly sexy, and basically my favorite B-movie actress ever because of that. She’s also possibly the worst actor I’ve ever seen, but it’s so funny to see her try to act. I’ve seen a lot of bad performances, but not many by actors or actresses that seemed to be trying as hard as Gabrielle, which makes it that much more enjoyable.
And like Terlesky, she’s able to sell some pretty bad jokes as well, though sort of for a different reason, as her line deliveries are just so bad that they make basically anything funny.
Deathstalker II is one of the best B-movies out there, if you ask me. It’s incredibly entertaining, hilarious both intentionally and unintentionally, and I’m not certain anyone’s ever been hotter than Monique Gabrielle in 1987.
Why yes, I do have a podcast episode on this movie — thank you for asking. Check it out below.
Rating: 8/10
