Wishmaster (1997) LIVE Entertainment/Horror RT: 90 minutes Rated R (horror violence and gore, language) Director: Robert Kurtzman Screenplay: Peter Atkins Music: Harry Manfredini Cinematography: Jacques Haitkin Release date: September 19, 1997 (US) Cast: Tammy Lauren, Andrew Divoff, Robert Englund, Chris Lemmon, Wendy Benson, Tony Crane, Jenny O’Hara, Ricco Ross, Gretchen Palmer, John Byner, Tom Kendall, Kane Hodder, Tony Todd, George “Buck” Flower, Ted Raimi, Dan Hicks, Reggie Bannister, Joseph Pilato, Dennis Hayden, Angus Scrimm (narrator). Box Office: $15.7M (US)
Rating: ***
It’s comforting to know that cheesy horror movies didn’t completely die out in the 80s, the Golden Age of the genre. Wishmaster came out in ’97, but it feels like something from ten years earlier. Directed by Robert Kurtzman (The Demolitionist), it’s low-budget all the way with its nonsensical plot and cool practical FX- i.e. latex, puppetry and stage blood. Plus, it features a career-best performance from Andrew Divoff (Toy Soldiers) as the antagonist, an evil genie with but one desire, to destroy humanity as we know it. All he needs is some poor fool dumb enough to make three wishes.
The fool he needs may or may not be Alex (Lauren, The Last Flight of Noah’s Ark), an appraiser for an auction company that comes into possession of a fire opal containing the spirit of the evil genie, hereafter referred to as the djinn. He was trapped there by a 12th century sorcerer after a Persian emperor comes perilously close to making his third wish which would allow the djinn to summon forth legions of his own kind. It would be bad for humanity if the world was taken over by djinn. Are you with me so far?
Asked to examine the gemstone, Alex manages to awaken the evil djinn who escapes and kills her friend Josh (Crane, TV’s The Big Easy) when he tries to analyze it. He immediately sets forth collecting souls in order to restore his power. It works like this. He tricks some poor sap into making a wish then uses it against that person. When an attractive shopgirl wishes for eternal beauty, he turns her into a mannequin. When a security guard says he’d like to see the djinn go through him, he fuses him into a glass door. Get the idea? Good.
Already freaked out by her friend’s death, Alex really starts to lose it when she finds out what she’s up against. Everytime the djinn grants a wish, she has a vision of it. The djinn eventually tracks Alex down and offers up the customary three wishes. It’s a pretty safe bet she’ll find a way to beat him at his own game. Isn’t that how it always works?
Check out the cast of Wishmaster. It’s totally bad ass! It’s a list of who’s who in horror. Freddy Krueger himself Robert Englund tops the list as the wealthy art collector responsible for bringing the cursed gem (embedded in a rare statue) to America. I’m not surprised he showed up for the party; after all, it’s produced by his pal Wes Craven. Kane Hodder, four-time Jason Voorhees player, is the aforementioned security guard. Tony Todd, better known as Candyman, is another security guy who has a run-in with the djinn. The cast also includes Chris Lemmon (Just Before Dawn), Ted Raimi (Evil Dead 2), Reggie Bannister (Phantasm I & II), Joseph Pilato (Day of the Dead), George “Buck” Flower (They Live), Dan Hicks (Evil Dead 2) and Angus Scrimm- aka “The Tall Man” from the Phantasm movies- narrates the prologue. In addition, one of the Marines from Aliens (Ricco Ross) and one of the terrorists from Die Hard (Dennis Hayden) make appearances.
Like I already said, Divoff is great as the evil djinn, an amalgam of Pinhead, Freddy Krueger and Warlock. He relishes every moment he’s on screen. He has this creepy, surreal voice and wicked charm that gives you the chills. He gets some great lines too- e.g. “Listen to their screams, child, listen to the music of their agony.” Lauren looks suitably frightened as the heroine still plagued by guilt stemming from a childhood tragedy. It’s why she’s so protective of her younger sister Shannon (Benson, Still Breathing). Jenny O’Hara (Devil) has some good scenes as a folklore professor who gives Alex a crash course on the real history of the djinn.
There is ample gore and grisly effects in Wishmaster. That, by itself, is cool. What really seals the deal for me is they’re not CGI. We’re talking cheesy old school effects here. To my eyes, they look great. The gore highlights include a skeleton bursting out of a body, somebody dying gruesomely of a sudden onset of cancer, bloody shootings in a police station and a fancy party turning into a massacre complete with an appearance by Jack the Ripper.
It may be dumb and unoriginal, but I really dig Wishmaster. It’s fun and sometimes funny. But is it scary? I’d say no. It’s too silly and predictable. In this instance, I don’t mind. I like how Kurtzman, working from a script by Peter Atkins (Hellbound: Hellraiser II), doesn’t stray from formula. It’s a neat throwback to the goofy horror flicks I rented from the Video Den as a teen. Craven’s influences are obvious as well. You’ll never look at I Dream of Jeannie or Aladdin the same way again.
