Wishmaster (1997) ** (out of 4) Alexandra Amberson (Tammy Lauren) has a stolen jewel brought to her shop and before long she realizes the evil that it possesses. Inside of it is a Djinn (Andrew Divoff) who will do whatever he can to make her say three wishes so that he evil ways can fully come out.WISHMASTER is a film I saw when it was first released to theaters and I honestly hated it. Revisiting it twenty-years later I can't say I loved the film but at the same time it's not nearly as bad as I remembered it. Today the film is probably best remembered for featuring three horror icons. You've got Robert Englund who of course played Freddy, Kane Hodder who appeared as Jason and then Tony Todd from the Candyman series. Both Hodder and Todd are basically here in cameos but you've also got brief appearances by Ted Raimi (INTRUDER), Joseph Pilato (DAY OF THE DEAD) as well as Angus Scrimm and Reggie Bannister from the PHANTASM series.Obviously, that's a lot of star power but the highlight of the picture are the special effects by KNB. Those guys are pretty much legends now and this film here is a grand work of theirs. Not only do we get a variety of masks that are used throughout the picture we're also treated to a pretty good looking monster. The Djinn here isn't something that I'd call scary but I thought the look of it was terrific. I'd also add that the gore effects are wonderful and especially the opening sequence at a party where several people are ripped apart. The skeleton coming out of the flesh is without question a terrific sequence and it's really amazing how much the MPAA let go through.As far as the rest of the film, it's not as good. The main character really isn't all that interesting and there's certainly no suspense or terror anywhere. I must say that I also didn't care for the voice of the Djinn and there are also some fairly poor computer effects as well. The biggest problem with the film is the fact that it's really not anything original and there's nothing fresh here. As far as the gore goes, it's great. It's great seeing the various horror legends in one film. It's just outside of that WISHMASTER is a fairly standard horror picture.

Wishmaster (1997): The Good, the Bad and the Reminiscent Synopsis: A long lost artifact that plays host to a Djinn (which is an ancient demon) is found and comes into the possession of a young appraiser. Mysterious events begin to unfold until the Djinn finally reveals his plan: to grant three wishes to the woman and release his kind from their realm to rule the Earth.The Good: I really like the concept of this movie. The idea is a fascinating one, which is no surprise given Wes Craven has made a living out of coming up with good ideas. The idea of taking the old "genie in a bottle" myth and making it a fairytale told to cover up the existence of the Djinn is clever. The movie works well within the guidelines of that story. While the film is not at all scary, it has a number of really good, effective scenes... even by today's standards. The party scene near the end of the film is beautiful chaos and very well imagined by the director. Some of the effects are dated a bit, but it is disturbing nonetheless. The acting is adequate and the script isn't half bad. The actor who plays the Djinn in human form is actually more effective than the Djinn in demon form. Also, the "wish" format is intriguing. Part of the Djinn's devious nature is tricking people into making wishes they thought were going to give them treasure, etc. In essence, the Djinn does in fact grant the wish, he just does it in a way that brings pain and sacrifice to the wisher. It's a pretty clever mechanism and makes the film work.The Bad: All the things I said about the originality of the idea aside, it could have been done better. I just felt that parts of the script (and possibly the budget) held up the idea that Craven created. The movie could have been a whole lot "bigger" in scope with the ramifications of a "Djinn invasion" not localized to one protagonist. It was like the only one aware of the Djinn and apocalypse heading for the planet was this one girl. I get that they tried to make her interesting... giving her a past that made her susceptible to weakness and ultimately, redemption. It just made the stakes too small for me. Craven has always done this though, so maybe it was more the limitations of the budget or quite possibly, it was that the idea is to be more single character-centered... like he did with Nightmare on Elm Street's Nancy. Most horror films do this though.The Reminiscent: Speaking of Nightmare on Elm Street, I found a lot of similarities with Wishmaster to Craven's cornerstone franchise. The evil comes from a parallel or dream-like state. The protagonist is a young female. Much of the dialogue feels much like the early Elm Street movies. The evil is trying hard to bust through into our world and finds a way to manipulate those of us on "the outside". This movie even has an unmasked Robert Englund. Some of the originality is lost in this, because at times it feels a bit like a newer Elm Street movie with less of the cheese factor. I also feel like a lot was borrowed from the Hellraiser series as well. Even some of the imagery was similar - like a man hanging with his chest ripped open by chains and hooks. By the end of the film, I felt like I watched a decent movie that had maybe borrowed one too many scenes from other iconic horror movies.

Not a bad movie.Craven has his typical moments of horror and unreality, and a wonderful monster who really is a monster in the way he manipulates people.A Djinn is released from an ancient jewel, and starts granting wishes to people who never heard the adage, "Be Careful What you Wish for". Some of those are horror icons Kane Hodder, Tony Todd and Robert Englund.The special effects, just at the beginning of CGI technology, are very effective and the character portrayals are pretty interesting. But what makes this movie work is that Craven manages to deliver the scares with some pretty good timing.Sadly, as we will see, Much like Freddy Krueger, the Wishmaster will eventually find himself in the hands of less talented masters who don't get it.

With all the slashers that came after Scream, it's nice to see a gimmicky supernatural monster doing the rounds. Rather than haunting dreams, this guy grants wishes, but uses a number of amusing play on word jokes, to make sure the wishes end in disaster. It's a bit of fun and you can make a game of guessing how the exact words would be interpreted by the Djinn. There's some dodgy CGI which again takes me back to being a teen, and nice practical effects. More for gore than genuine chills, this isn't one to watch to feel scared, just watch it for the entertainment.. Divoff has a lot of fun as the Djinn, and there are plenty of horror icon cameos to spot. A fun evenings viewing.