Wishmaster

Released: September 1997

Director: Robert Kurtzman

Rated R

Run Time: 90 Minutes

Genre: Horror

Distributor: Vestron Video(Currently)/Lionsgate Studios

Cast:
Tammi Laurne: Alexandra Amberson
Andrew Divoff: Nathaniel Demorest/Djinn
Robert Englund: Raymond Beaumont
Wendy Benson-Landes: Shannon Amberson
Jenny O’Hara: Wendy Derleth
Kane Hodder: Merritt’s Guard
Tony Todd: Johnny Valentine
Rico Ross: Lt. Nathanson
Ted Raimi: Ed Finney

Throughout the entire history of the horror genre there have been many iconic villains.  Norman Bates from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho was one.  Texas Chainsaw Massacre had Leatherface while A Nightmare on Elm Street had Freddy Krueger.  Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th was another, with Tony Todd’s Candyman bringing up the rear.  All these characters have one thing in common:  Their staying power.  These characters were and still are loved by many fans around the world.  They helped shape the entire genre into what it is today.  In the mid-90’s, legendary horror filmmaker Wes Craven began producing a new horror film about a genie that would twist wishes into something horrible.  The film was called Wishmaster.

Opening in ancient times, we see the king of Persia making a wish to a mysterious hooded figure.  Soon after, the entire palace is thrown into chaos as the king’s wish has been twisted into a blood-bath.  It turns out the hooded figure is an ancient creature known as a Djinn, one of a race of beings condemned to walk the space between worlds.  Fearing for the future of mankind, the king’s sorcerer constructs a gem stone and traps the Djinn inside it.  Fast-forward a thousand years or two and we see a crate holding a prized statue for an egocentric collector named Beaumont.  An accident that crushes Beaumont’s assistant reveals the gem stone.  After taking the gem stone to a friend to have it analyzed, Alexandra Amberson realizes too late that the gem contained the Djinn, who is now loose on the city streets, granting wishes and stealing souls.  The film’s story is actually one of the more interesting aspects of the movie, because the filmmakers had drawn on some actual Arabian mythology.  What the film fails to mention is that not all Djinn were evil.  But for the sake of the film, they made their Djinn evil.  It’s very interesting seeing the Djinn take somebody’s wish and twist it into something unspeakable.  In fact, the stone that imprisoned the Djinn has to be charged with the souls of people whose wish had been granted.  But for the Djinn to unleash Hell on Earth, he has to find the person that woke him and grant them 3 wishes.  Upon the granting of the third, the doorway to the realm of the Djinn would be thrown open and Earth would be overwhelmed by these unstoppable beings.

There are a lot of things that make this movie work as well as it does, but let’s talk about the cast first.  This is a horror ensemble.  Prior to Wishmaster, we had never seen a cast with major horror movie icons.  Wes Craven and director Robert Kurtzman managed to get not just one, but FOUR legendary actors for his movie: Kane Hodder, who played Jason, Robert Englund who played Freddy, Tony Todd who played the villain in Candyman, and Ted Raimi, whose film and television credits are among some of the most memorable.  While some of these are nothing more than glorified cameos/victims, it is awesome to see all these icons of the genre in one film together.  But the real star of the show has to be Andrew Divoff as the Djinn.  This guy has one of the most diverse filmographies of any actor out there.  He’s played everything and everyone.  You may not recognize his name, but I’m pretty damn sure you’ve seen him before.  Wishmaster is Divoff’s film, through and through.  He cuts through the material like a hot knife through butter.  His ability to change on a dime is amazing.  One minute, he’ll be the charming Nathaniel Demorest, and the next he’ll be terrifying you as the Djinn.  His performance is incredibly nuanced and he just nails the role.

The special effects in this film are especially interesting to see.  Now, some of the CGI that you see in the film doesn’t really hold up after 20 years, but the practical effects are still really freaking good.  You can thank the good folks at the KNB Effects Group for that.  In fact, the director of the film, Robert Kurtzman is the K in KNB.  KNB is one of the most famous special effects and make-up companies in the entire industry.  These guys are to horror what Industrial Light and Magic is to science fiction and fantasy.  It really gets gruesome at some points.  The opening scene in ancient Persia is surprisingly haunting.  It’s gory as fuck, but it’s incredibly impressive how they did it.  The closing scene at Beaumont’s mansion is equally impressive.  It’s not just the effects, but also the costume design that’s impressive.  The look of the Djinn is one of the most unique character designs I’ve ever seen, and Divoff’s performance under the make-up really make this character a terrifying being.

With all the great stuff that the movie has to offer, there are some issues here and there that need to be addressed.  One, it’s never explained how many souls are needed to charge the stone.  It’s answered in the sequel, but why not here?  Also, as I said before, the CGI in the film isn’t that great.  In fact, some of it is pretty awful.  After 20 years and on Blu-Ray, the CGI in Wishmaster sticks out like a sore thumb.  Some of the performances in the film are not necessarily what they could be.  Tami Lauren’s character is awfully one-note and fairly wooden throughout the entire film.  It also seemed like the movie was trying to deliberately craft a new kind of villain that would continue a franchise.  It did for about three more movies, and then it died.  Why?  The first film was a theatrical release, while the sequels were direct-to-video.  There’s nothing wrong with a DTV horror movie, not if it’s done well.  With the exception Wishmaster 2, the other films fell flat and missed the entire point of the original film.  Now, I got all four Wishmaster movies in a collection by Vestron Video, so I will be reviewing the other ones as well.

With all the negative aspects of the film in mind, it’s still a really solid and effective horror movie with a fairly iconic villain.  It’s certainly an iconic performance by Andrew Divoff in what is probably his best-known role.  The gore and most of the special effects are still top-notch and the musical score by Harry Manfredini is still creepy.  Despite the film’s problems, I would still recommend this movie to any fan of the genre, because it is memorable for mostly the right reasons.

Final Score: 8/10

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