Have you ever wished for something so hard that it came true? Do you remember telling that wish to a complete stranger, a Djinn perhaps? Well, for your sake I hope not. Djinn’s are tricksters and only wish to cause havoc and chaos. If you ever meet a stranger who tells you he can grant anything you desire, run. And don’t stop running. He might just be a Wishmaster.
WISHMASTER (1997)
An ancient evil, a Djinn, is released from a precious gemstone and seeks the one who released it. If that person asks for three wishes the Djinn will be allowed to summon his brethren to Earth. And that is not something you want to happen.
Wishmaster is a delightfully fun film. It’s energetic, wacky, and doesn’t get bogged down in its own mythology. It flows at a reasonably well pace and delivers some rather intriguing wish granting. We’ll get to that in a little bit.
We’re first introduced to the Djinn (Andrew Divoff) in ancient times, causing mayhem as usual. He is then trapped inside a fire opal (their version of a genie bottle I suppose) by a sorcerer . Jump to the 21st century and the Djinn is found inside a statue and sold to an auction house. Alexandra (Tammy Lauren) is in charge of evaluating the fire opal, determining its price on the market. But she inadvertently releases the Djinn, killing her best friend Josh (Tony Crane) in the process. It quickly feeds on people’s souls, recharging the opal and himself. He even gets a new face to fit in, all the while tracking Alexandra down to grant her three wishes. But he doesn’t care for her desires or needs. He’s looking out for number one; himself. And when he forces Alexandra to make her wishes, that’s when the sh*t really hits the fan.
Wishmaster has a brilliant cast of horror veterans such as, Robert Englund, Ted Raimi and Tony Todd – it’s nice to see them on-screen together, even if they serve no purpose to the plot. Tammy Lauren is finely cast as Alexandra, a woman with psychic tendencies. She is linked to the Djinn and can feel the pain of the souls he’s captured. But the real star of the show is Andrew Divoff as the Djinn. He excels at being a devilish charmer whilst maintaing a terrifying persona. He is a character not to be messed with. His power lies in his ability to get people to wish for things. Without that he is powerless. But he could sell a used toothbrush to the wealthiest person alive and come out of that deal with their all of their possessions. Yes, the Djinn is that good at jabbering. And there are quite a few scenes of jabbering. His exchange with Tony Todd lasts a good five minutes longer than necessary and ends with Tony inside a fish tank.
The film really has fun with its interpretations of people’s wishes. If you wish to see the world, you could end up in space looking down at the planet. If you wanted to be a Hollywood star, you could end up as a star, but on the Hollywood Walk of Fame looking up as people trample on you. I won’t spoil what wishes don’t come true, I’ll let you enjoy that for yourselves. But it’s nice to see a horror film enjoy itself.
I really liked Wishmater. It was entertaining and steamed ahead to a final, dramatic conclusion. It does suffer from cheesy dialogue and awful exposition, but it remains tongue and cheek throughout. The cheap and lousy special effects don’t do it any favours and let it down, especially compared to its practical effects. I was also reminded of Hellraiser and Candyman while watching it. These are great films but it felt like Wishmaster relied too heavily at times referencing these movies.
Despite my complaints, I think Wishmaster is a solid entry into the B-horror film society. I welcome it with open arms. I just wish they’d put a little more effort into the story.
Best Line: “That which is eternal cannot die. But if it’s any consolation sweet Alex, THAT HURT LIKE HELL!”
Best Moment: The Djinn tries to get past a security man but is wished away.
5/10
