Customer Reviews

Wishmaster [VHS]

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

As I nestled in for Halloween night with a couple of horror flicks, I really didn't expect anything more than the usual cookie cutter blood and slash fare that is to be expected in a watered down genre. What I found in Wes Craven's Wishmaster, was a smart and original film. It revolves around a population of "Djinn" (pronounced like gin) who are supernatural jeannies dwelling in the void between the worlds. The Djinn bide their time till they are able to find some poor smuck willing to make 3 wishes, at which time the door to our world will be opened up and allow the Djinn to rule. I found this to be an original idea for once. I can't remember seeing any other film quite like it. The effects and make up are done nicely and the acting was not too bad either. I didn't think the movie was particularly scary, but in today's time, not many new horror movies are. What it is, though, is an entertaining supernatural thriller. Can't bring myself to give it 5 stars just for the simple fact that I think the filmmakers confuse gore with scary. The gore/death scenes in this film are very reminiscent of the Hellraiser series, with some extraordinarily vivid images of torturous death. However, sometimes its the things we don't see that truly scare us most. All in all, I would recommend this film to most, just be sure you have a strong stomach.

Now, I'm not necessarily gonna say that 'Wishmaster' is 'good', in the conventional sense, but damned if it isn't extremely amusing. It's hard to say how we're supposed to take this movie, as it isn't a parody, but it doesn't really seem to be entirely serious either. And frankly, it really never works as a horror movie, but amusing is amusing, and this movie is damn amusing. That's all it takes.

About 4 of the 5 stars go towards Andrew Divoff's absolutely fabulous high camp performance as the Wishmaster himself. Everything about him is great, particularly his ridiculous voice and his whole sleazy, pseudo-high class look and attitude. And the dialogue the give him is absolutely priceless, particularly in the scenes where he must manipulate people into wishing for something. I can't describe it really, but trust me, he's totally great.

Most of the special effects aren't exactly realistic, but they are fun and cool, in a KNB fx sorta way. The big scene at the beginning is particularly sweet, with the crawling snake-monster-man. The big party at the end is pretty cool too, though nothing there matches the snake dude. And, even though the concept itself is pretty stupid, the conceit that a genie can manipulate one's wishes to kill them allows for plenty of potential amusement, which is exploited nicely here. He kinda cheats some, but who the hell cares. And, all the roles and cameos for horror icons are kinda fun too. They got Kane Hodder, Ted Raimi, Robert Englund, Angus Scrimm, Reggie Bannister, Tony Todd, Joseph Pilato and maybe a few others than I missed or forgot.

Yeah, I'm done. This movie rules.

A genie is rubbed out of an ancient opal and terrorizes poor Alex Amberson with the visions of his killings. WISHMASTER is an excellent low budget horror flick, one of the best. Complete with bloody special affects and a fabulous performance given by TAMMY LAUREN, not to mention, three horror movie villians (Freddy [ROBERT ENGLAND], Jason [KANE HODDER] , the Candyman [TONY TODD]) and the special appearance of Mini-me [VERNE TROYER]What more could you ask for in a movie? ANDREW DIVOFF does a wonderful job as the infamous Djinn and him and TAMMY LAUREN have a classic predator/prey relationship. It is a shame that his appearances on MARTIAL LAW and WALKER TEXAS RANGER, were missed oppurtunities to have him and Miss Lauren on other works together. When purchasing WISHMASTER be prepared for a bumpy ride and intelligent plot twists that keeps you saying, "What is happening?!" Fear one thing in all there is, Fear the Djinn.

This has to be one of the better horror movies of the 90's, It has style and a very original plot, and it really strays from the teeny bopper horror flicks of today, although it does seem to borrow from the Hellraiser series with some of the over the top gore effects. The story is as follows: A evil Djinn is set free form its prison, by a woman who ends up busting the Jewel in which the Djinn is trapped. After he is freed he begins a bloody Killing spree looking for the one who set him free. Not really a scary movie, but its a lot better than most of the other Horror Flicks of the 90's. Rated R for gruesome violence and Strong Language

There are few horror movies I haven't seen, but most of them always dissappoint me because they try to be humerous or just show that the killer or monster is able to do anything it wants. Wishmaster, however, was great because it included little to no jokes, and I think that this is good because in a horror movie, I want to be scared, if I want to get a laugh I can watch a comedy. Also, the idea that the djinn can't do anything until asked to is just wonderful. Going on, the movie is pretty gory which would attract horror fans, and at some parts very non-gory which would please people who are rather watching suspense. Lastly, and I might be the only one that thinks so, the djinn isn't just 'cool' in both forms, I think he's absolutely attractive in both forms. To just refer to his human disguise, Nathaniel, there is no doubt that his wolfish smile and good looks are obvious. The djinn itself is just like a slightly evil version of Nathaniel, but he's still cool-and-great looking. I also think the djinn's creepy voice is incredible, and I like it how he speaks in a bit of an ancient, slow, almost british english, while near the end he's learned a bit and is a bit more slang-like, which gives him a cool edge. I absolutely love this because the old concept of 'Be careful what you wish for' is touched upon. In my humble opinion, Wishmaster is the best horror movie there is, and anybody who thinks I'm crazy and thinks it's not so, I will be happy to lead a flame war, because I will be defending the Djinn and Nathaniel to my last breath! "...if you can't beat 'em, burn 'em, baby!" (from the final shodown scene)

First of all, let me say that it is unfair to blame Wes Craven for this. He did not direct this movie. They slapped his name on the title and gave him a producer credit. He himself has stated that he really had nothing to do with this film. Lay off. This is one bad movie. It's just stupid, gratuitous gore with a very unappealing heroine and a boring, by the numbers villain. The genie is as interesting as an episode of Martha Stewart. It's just god awful!. Although, it was a real treat to see Kane Hodder and the king of horror Robert Englund in this film. Too bad it wasn't together. Waste of time and talent.

I loved this movie! In order for a movie to keep my interest it must be different and very good. This one certainly covers both catagories. I loved it. It's the kind of thing I enjoy writing about myself.

It starts out with action, slows down, and concludes with even more action. There is action in the middle, but it's concentrated more on teaching about the Djinn (Andrew Divoff) so everything is understood better and more believable. Few movies are this believable, even true ones!

No matter how much money someone spends, there are few movies written and portrayed so well that they're this convincing!

If you ask me, the world needs more movies about Djinn (pronounced gin). These powerful genies are incredibly awesome yet they've never been given their due. Enter Wishmaster, a horror gem produced by Wes Craven.

Wishmaster is gushing with ingenuity. The Djinn (Alex Divoff) has to abide by a strict set of rules which make him a much more entertaining killer. He is completely powerless unless he can trick someone into making a wish. Once the wish is granted the Djinn is free to twist it anyway he sees fit and this leads to some truly inventive kills. Half the fun is seeing each seemingly innocent wish getting twisted into a moment of calamity and torment. My one major beef is that the film stooped to using "loud noise" scares that feel forced to make the audience jump. Note to directors...cut that crap out.

The movie is stuffed with imaginative kills that NEVER cut away from the gore. In fact the film usually goes the extra mile to show us every bloody detail. This is a gorehound's wet dream! There are occasional CG effects that are duds compared to the practical stuff but these are rare. Special effects guru, turned director, Robert Kurtzman, flexes his impressive talents as he puts on a clinic of practical effects with the help of his studio, K.N.B.

Divoff is marvelous as the diabolical Djinn. Watching his rise from an antediluvian tongued beggar to a regal, slang spitting deity is really enjoyable. Divoff makes the Djinn his own with a performance that easily goes toe to toe with the likes of Pinhead or Freddy. He's that good. You'll never forget that acerbic voice he uses and every second of screen-time is mesmerizing. On the other hand, Tammy Lauren's disheveled, crazy portrayal as the heroine, Alexandra Amberson, did wear on my patience. It's a shame they couldn't find an actress to match wits with Divoff.

Wishmaster is a movie by horror fanatics for horror fanatics. It wows us with its gore, excellent script, cameos from horror veterans, and mischievous villain. I found Wishmaster to be an enjoyable trip that quenches my thirst for something unique. The minute it ended I was wishing for more.

Final Grade: A-

Well this weeks pick was more of an accident then a plan of attack. We were all set to watch Jack Frost 2 when something happened that was beyond our control. Not sure if it was our current state or just the dvd acting up but it would only play the trailer over and over again. As we stood there for about 15 minutes trying to figure it out we got so bugged out that on demand became the only option. We searched through the menu until we came across some 90's horror b which is pretty much a no brainer.

Our feature kicks off with Alexandra Amberson as she recieves a mysterious stone to evaluate for an upcoming action. Being puzzled by what it is she passes it off to her pal to do analysis on it. As he's doing some b lazer test on the stone it breaks open releasing Djin aka the Wishmaster and all hell breaks loose. Once loose he preys on people in desperate need of a wish. Once they commit to trade the wish for their soul he grants it, only adds his twist to make the wish a disaster. Each person gives up their soul which makes Wishmaster stronger and stronger. Once he's about to max out on his power Alexandra figures out the perfect wish to bring him down and send him back into the ruby until they could scrounge up enough change to make the sequal.

So in a pinch we were very happy to come across Wishmaster. It had all the fine elements of a 90's b horror which is all we need for some enjoyment. It combined just the right amount of awful acting, cheap effects, and that unmistakable 90's b charm for a full 5 star effort. In fact we will be adding the other 4 Wishmaster flicks to Sid's must see list.

This movie was terrible. No acting, the plot is weak and makes me think it's time to Wes Craven give up his job (I'm not being . Honestly, the moral is so ripped of from others movies, in the end of this movie you keep thinking:

The moral was more well showed and expressed in the movie NeverEnding Story 2. Doubt it? Goo see it and make yours own conclusions. (not really saying that one was good, no way)