Wishmaster (1997)

'Wishmaster' surprised many back in 1997 with its extreme gore and its cast of nearly every famous horror star of the time including Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street), Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th), & Tony Todd (Candyman). The story begins back in ancient Persia where an ancient evil demon known as the Djinn is wreaking havok before he is sealed away inside a red gem awaiting some poor soul to unleash him once again. And that's exactly what happens when a statue containing the jewel is stolen by a petty thief and the evil Djinn is released. The rest of the film consists of the Djinn asking someone what they'd wish for, then granting it but with an evil or ironic twist (I.E. a woman wanting to remain beautiful forever, thus the Djinn turning her into a mannaquin).

'Wishmaster' really is nothing too special now and even when it first came out, horror fans were more eager to see all the various cameos and gore effects regardless of what the premise was. And really, that's all you're gonna get out of the flick but at least in that department you get your money's worth.

Just some examples below (NSFW):

 For 1997, 'Wishmaster' contains practical effects work at its very best and seeing as how the film is directed by the head of KNB Effects who have worked on everything from 'Evil Dead' to the recent 'Walking Dead' series, you'd hope they can do that at least. Unfortunately, the effects come at the cost of everything else kind of sucking. When I first saw this film as a kid, I had no idea it came to theaters because it looks like a film you'd see on SyFy Channel late one night and in some of the lighter scenes, you almost think you're watching a softcore porn on Cinemax. The film's small budget clearly went to the gore and Djinn effects and I know that's what the audience wants to see, but horror movies also need to look the part and this film has no atmosphere due to its cheap cinematography and overall look.

Despite seeing almost every famous horror player at the time in various and often funny cameos, they take you out of the movie and frankly I just wished (heh heh see what I did there?) that I was instead watching one of their better flicks instead of 'Wishmaster' and that's something your movie should ever be doing. The one actor who does his very best is Andrew Divoff as the Djinn and he is by far the best aspect of the film. His character is both funny and sinister like many horror icons of the time. He gets the usual one-liners like Freddy or Chucky and when disguised in human form has the most hilarious evil grin constantly on his face, and yet no one ever finds this suspicious.

(Totally Not Evil At All)

'Wishmaster' is fun at times, but really doesn't hold up all that well. I loved this film as a kid but rewatching it recently it's actually quite boring to sit through. The finale is the only real epic sequence and where most of the effects are viewed. I would recommend skipping to the end if you come across it but don't expect much else out of it.

( D - )