1997's WishMaster is one of those types of films. The late 80s and all through the 90s seemed like a heyday for goofy and overly gory horror films. Many of them were fun, some were tolerable, and many were downright terrible. Wishmaster is considered to be a classic B-style horror by some. But ultimately--despite its enjoyable parts--Wishmaster is a forgettable horror film.
We cut to Persia during 1127 where the Djinn's evil power is killing and torturing an entire civilization of people. The Djinn only needs the emperor to make one more wish and he will have power over all mankind. Luckily a sorcerer comes in and traps the Djinn inside of a ruby forever.
Jump ahead to the present day and a wealthy art collector has just received a shipment of his new piece. It is a middle eastern statue that is worth a fortune. Unfortunately, a clumsy crane worked breaks the statue and the ruby, which was encased inside, falls out. Another dock worker finds the ruby and steals it.
Eventually the stone ends up in the hands of Alexandra, a woman who works for an auctioneer company. As she is trying to find what the stone is worth she accidentally awakens and releases the Djinn. The Djinn starts to collect souls by granting horrific wishes to the people around Alex. If the Djinn can trick Alex into making three wishes he will gain power over all humanity.
I liked the fact that the movie opened with a bang, despite the strangeness and goofiness of it. All the crazy deaths and gore (a skeleton ripping itself out of someones body for example) were fun if a little stupid. Some of the deaths were legitimately disturbing which is impressive. Either way, the opening scene caught my attention and instantly began to fill my B-horror itch.
Once the movie moved to the present day the plot slowed down a little bit. It still kept me interested but most of the deaths after the opening sequence were surprisingly mild and unimpressive in comparison. Similarly, the plot seemed to falter in its moments near the films climax. I had begun to lose interest near the end but still was engaged enough to want to see the ending.
I credit the actor who played the Djinn for my sustained interest in the film. He was a crazy, somewhat overacting, evil character who drove the entire film. But the main thing that was a disappointment was Alex's solution to banishing the Djinn. It seemed an obvious and uninventive climax on the screenwriter's part.
Despite that, I legitimately didn't have many problems with the movie throughout. Minor things bothered me about the film but not enough to completely ruin my enjoyment. The main thing I found wrong with this film is that I completely forgot about it after I watched it. A good film will stay in my mind for a day or two and a great film will stay in my mind for months. With Wichmaster I had forgotten about the film within the same day. It simply wasn't interesting or entertaining enough.
Summing it Up
Deaths: X
Language: 3
Gore Factor: 3
Sex Factor: 0
Scare Factor: 2
Fun Factor: 3
Overall Rating: 3