Wishmaster Review by Larry McGillicuddy Copyright Larry McGillicuddy
** (out of 4) Directed by Robert Kurtzman Starring Tammy Lauren, Andrew Divoff, Jenny O'Hara, Robert Englund
The success of movies like From Dusk Till Dawn, The Craft, and especially Scream have revived the once dead horror genre. Movies that for the past few years have been released by companies like Full Moon entertainment are now getting released to theaters. Wishmaster (I refuse to attach Craven's name to this) is a current and annoying example of this recent trend. Unfortunately, the very flaws that killed this genre in the late 80's are evident in this movie.
Wishmaster tells the story of a Djinn, an evil genie who must receive three wishes from the person who awakens him to conquer the world. He has magical powers, but can only utilize them if someone makes a wish. The movie begins in medieval times, where a Djinn grants an unwise wish to a King and makes a mess of a party in his castle. The king's magician advises against a 3rd wish and is able to trap the Djinn in a gemstone.
Flash forward to the present. An art dealer is receiving a shipment of a statue. There is an accident however, as the crate comes loose and crushes someone underneath. Guess what gem is found in the wreckage?
The gem is taken to a local gemologist (Lauren) for an appraisal, and guess who she wakes up? The Djinn escapes during an examination by her colleague and longtime friend, who is of course killed.
The Djinn then promptly goes searching around for the gemologist who awakened him, so he can receive his 3 wishes. During this, he tricks several unexpected victims into making some very unwise wishes. The best moments of the film come here, when the film shows the creative ways in which the victims are conned.
There is some good material here that could've worked in the hands of a talented director. Unfortunately, the direcotrial chores were given to Kurtzman, a former makeup and FX artist who was more interested in showing us how creative he is with gory makeup and special effects than suspenseful sequences with horrific payoffs. The movie turns out to be a freak show, as Kurtzman seems to be pissed off he didn't get the Freddy vs. Jason job (which unfortunately also went to a makeup/FX guy). I don't mind much gore in my horror movies, but this movie goes way too far over the top several times.
Tammy Lauren is a very weak and uninspired lead. She doesn't even know how to scream right for this kind of movie. Her ineptness kills several moments. However, Andrew Divoff (who has a very cool voice) is very effective as the Djinn, and veteran character actress Jenny O'Hara plays the part of a kooky theater director and expert on Djinn's on the perfect note of wide-eyed oddity.
My advice to Kurtzman: Watch Halloween and Psycho. Look at how much gore is in those movies. Look how scary and suspenseful each of them are. Learn how to direct a movie. then get back to me.
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