Wishmaster Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Be careful what you wish for.
Don't Make A Sound Don't Make A Move And Above All Else...Don't Make A Wish
Beg For Your Life, Pray For Your Soul, But Whatever You Do... Don't Make A Wish!
Your next wish could be your last...
Magically powerful. Supernaturally evil.
In ancient Persia, an evil creature called the Djinn wreaks havoc on a local kingdom before being sealed inside a stone - a fire opal. Centuries later, the stone, encased in a statue, is discovered when the statue is broken apart in a loading accident. A young gemologist, Alexandra Amberson, examines the jewel to appraise it. But she unwittingly awakes the horrible Djinn inside. Soon the Djinn is loose on the streets, twisting people's wishes and and killing them so he can steal their souls. Eventually the Djinn disguises himself as an elegant man-about-town, Nathaniel Demarest. In both human & Djinn form, he pursues Alexandra to trick her into making three wishes, to enable his unholy legions to conquer the Earth...
| Tammy Lauren | Alexandra Amberson |
| Andrew Divoff | The Djinn/Nathaniel Demerest |
| Robert Englund | Raymond Beaumont |
| Chris Lemmon | Nick Merritt |
| Wendy Benson-Landes | Shannon Amberson |
| Tony Crane | Josh Aickman |
| Jenny O'Hara | Wendy Derleth |
| Kane Hodder | Merritt's Guard |
| Tony Todd | Johnny Valentine |
| Ricco Ross | Lt. Nathanson |
| John Byner | Doug Clegg |
| George 'Buck' Flower | Homeless Man |
| Gretchen Palmer | Ariella |
| Ted Raimi | Ed Finney |
| Angus Scrimm | Narrator |
| Robert Kurtzman |
5.00 out of 10 (4417 votes)
Visitor Reviews
The Wishmaster!Andrew Divoff is awesome!!
posted on 20 Jul 2009The Wishmaster series is a very different series. In the first Wishmaster Andrew Divoff plays the Djinn excellently!The film starts off with a bang and it is gory but its not that bad.The film is really a good horror fest!If you like Michael Myers,Freddy,and Jason,then you'll love the Djinn,the Wishmaster!
Very Impressive
posted on 05 Jun 2009One of the better "recent" horror movies that is out there right now. This movie does what other recent horror's (Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer) fail to do, hold your interest. Andrew Divoff is possibly the BEST person to play the Djinn (Jack Nicholson??) His facial features can play the part alone. As for the rest of the cast, it is average at best, but held together with some wicked special effects (the stained-glass window/person I liked) and gory death scenes, this movie makes an excellent rental on a scary night.
Really Gory
posted on 30 Apr 2009I don't normally like horror films, and I don't have a particular problem with Wishmaster, but I did think that the violence was a bit extreme. If you like horror movies with a lot of gore, you'll probably like this one, but if you're at all squeamish, don't watch this one.
is this really worth watching?
posted on 15 Apr 2009Yeah, it really is. Comparing it to many s****y films produced nowadays, it really is entertaining. The Reason I like is probably because the fair amount of great gore-sequences, the intro is quite wonderful.Another thing is all the cameo-apperances, like Ted Raimi, Tony Todd (Candyman), the military captain from Day of the Dead in a small part (he has gained some weight) , Kane Hodder (Jason) and Reggie from Phantasm.And we´ve got Robert Englund i a pretty good role, but I didn´t like the heroine, she just wasn´t cool, until in the end.See this film, but only if you haven´t got something like Hellraiser I or II, which this movie obviously borrowed some things from. 6 / 10
A great horror movie !
posted on 06 Apr 2009Andrew Divoff is fantastic as the evil Djin in this movie who takes pleasure in twisting wishes into hideous punishments . Andrew's performance just oozes with charm and wickedness and he is equally effective in both Make up and human form . Also the movie contains cameos by some of the greats of modern horror including Tony"Candyman" Todd and Kane"Jason" Hooder . Rober Englund who is of coarse best known as Freddy Krueger plays a millionaire in this film and he does quite well in a non villian role . The heroine of the story is played by Tammy Lauren , she isn't bad at all allthough the spasms she throws everytime someone dies do to the Djin tend to become a bit annoying .But the real treat of this movie are the amazingly gruesome Make up Effects by KNB FX group .All in all a great movie for horror fans . Non fans maybe turned off by the gruesome effects .
A great film with great actors!!
posted on 19 Mar 2009The one thing that was great about Wishmaster,was that the story was very original,except for the fact that it goes along the lines of those classic "becareful what you wish for" stories.The design of the Djinn is what intruiged me,the design and make up was a masterpiece.The one thing that makes this movie so good,is the acting.Andrew Divoff gives an outstanding performance as the Djinn,his voice and the devilish smile adds to the horror.The movie is very gruesome,but thats what makes it so good.The blood and gore effects are very realistic,and at times disturbing.I've always been a fan of Wes Craven films ever since I was 2,and I've seen a crap load of his movies,but Wishmaster seems to be the best next to Nightmare on Elm Street.I would highly recommend Wishmaster to any horror movie fan,or a Wes Craven fan. This movie was great. 10 out of 10.
This was awful
posted on 23 Feb 2009How I managed to sit through the whole movie is a mystery to me as it was awful...no it was CRAP.For those of you that watched this sad excuse for a horror movie, my sympathy goes out to you all.It is ironic that the premise of the movie is that by having a wish granted to you by a demon...horrible things would happen to you (slow painful death etc). During the movie I wished I was no longer watching it....My pain was to have to sit through it.This movie actually makes "Grandmothers House" look like a plausible horror movie and that movie I rated 1/10.Do yourself a favour. avoid this rubbish at all costs
Entertaining...
posted on 19 Dec 2008This was one of my first horror movies (one of many). I first saw it when I was eleven. Back then it was extremely scary, but now, nine years later, it still had those "peekaboo"-moments.If you want a scary and well made horror movie with a thrilling plot, this is not something for you. But if you want a gory, humorers and easygoing b-movie, this is just what you are looking for.Although I usually like extremely complex plots, I also like watching movies with plots a three-year old could come up with - like Wishmaster and most action movies. The heroine is cliché - traumatizing past, strong and willful, protective older sister to an impulsive younger. The djinn is also quite cliché, with his cunning and evil ways. He has "I am not going to succeed in my evil quest to enslave mankind" written all over his face.The movie is all about gruesome and gory things happening to people. Most things that happen are funny and gory. It's not like those movies that look away when the blade meets the neck - here we see everything, the camera even stays to show us what it looks like afterward.Entertaining - but not much more.
A fun horror icon, in an equally fun film!
posted on 01 Dec 2008An evil Djinn is accidentally unleashed into our time from an ancient opal & once out, attempts to snatch the souls of those whom make a wish. The wishes I might add, all have a violent twist. In order to make it around the city unnoticed, the Djinn assumes the human disguise of a dead man in a morgue & then sets out to find his "waker" whom herself, is having violent hallucinations & dreams about him & his victims. Now she must fight to send him back into the opal before he finds her & makes her make three wishes that will unleash his evil brotherhood that awaits on the other side. Gorefest directed by special effects artist ROBERT KURTZMAN is a fun 80's style horror hit, which was a nice change of pace, after the success of SCREAM filtered us with a slew of copy cat imitators, where the killer would not be revealed until the end. Horror movie faves, TED RAIMI, REGGIE BANNISTER, TONY TODD, KANE HODDER & not to mention ROBERT ENGLUND appear as standard guest victims. A MUST SEE for all horror fans. Followed by three sequels, starting with, WISHMASTER 2: EVIL NEVER DIES **** (stars)
Laughable...
posted on 07 Nov 2008I think I should point out that the reason I became a registered user was just to badmouth this movie. I read the sparkling review of the user before me and had to set the record straight- this movie is terrible. My friends and I laughed throughout the whole thing on the big screen, and we laugh at it every time it comes on television. We use it as our standard bad movie (That movie was bad, but it was no Wishmaster). This is the sort of movie that keeps you thinking that they must have intended it to be bad - this couldn't just be some sort of horrible mistake. Maybe I give it such a bad rap because they started with a pretty good premise and I went in with rather high expectations. All things said and done, this movie was about as bad as it could be given what they had to work with. This and New Nightmare certainly haven't helped Wes' stock.
Original take on a horror project
posted on 05 Sep 2008'Wishmaster' puts a new spin on most people's perception of genies. Most people think of a genie that fulfills your greatest wishes. But asking the Djinn to do so could have horrible consequences, as he twists your wishes in order to steal your soul.It begins in the 12th century when a Persian king is locked into a pact with the Djinn, who unleashes unholy suffering on the King's people. A man is frozen into a wall; a woman turns into a tree; another man's skeleton bursts through his skin and walks around; and another man turns into a crocodile. It is only through a magician's work that this suffering ends, as the Djinn is imprisoned in a fire opal that is then buried inside a statue.Fast-forward to the present day, when the statue is being unloaded at a Los Angeles dock for a collector, Robert Beaumont (Englund). An accident, however, kills Beaumont's assistant and breaks the statue open, revealing the opal. One of the dock workers steals it and turns it over to a gemologist, Alexandra Amberson (Lauren) for appraisal. During her examination, she unwittingly wakes the Djinn inside, and soon he is on the loose. First, he starts collecting souls by granting a single wish to certain people. One of the first is a homeless man, who sees a nasty pharmacist (Reggie Bannister of 'Phantasm') die a violent death from cancer after wishing for it. The Djinn then takes on a human appearance, sneaking into an anatomy lab and peeling the face of a cadaver off then plastering it onto his own face. Now he is Nathaniel Demarest (Divoff, who also plays the Djinn), a classy man-about-town. As Demarest, he continues his mission of misery by collecting souls - including that of a young sales girl by turning her into a mannequin. Eventually, he tracks down Alexandra to her place of work, and after taunting & killing the guard ('Friday the 13th's Kane Hodder) after the guard challenges Demarest to "go through" him, he confronts Alex's boss. He eventually obtains Alex's home address after granting her boss's wishes, and shows up menacingly in her apartment. Alex, meanwhile, has found out through a friend of Beaumont's that the Djinn are truly evil creatures who are devious & not to be trusted. When Demarest reveals his true identity, Alex is horrified when the Djinn starts asking her to make her wishes. When she wishes him to destroy himself, the Djinn fires a pistol into his head - which instantly regenerates! He taunts Alexandra by warning, 'That which is eternal cannot die. But if it's any consolation at all, sweet Alex - THAT HURT LIKE HELL!!' Alex is then taken by the Djinn into his hideous red world, where she learns about his origins. When she returns to her apartment, she heads immediately for Beaumont's party where her sister is. Demarest arrives just behind Alex, where he is confronted by Johnny Valentine (Tony Todd, star of 'Candyman' & 'Night of the Living Dead' [1990]). Valentine warns Demarest to leave, but Demarest tricks him - 'would you like to "escape"?'. When Valentine says yes, he finds himself chained in a steel-and-glass box filled with water! 'Houdini did it in 2.5 minutes,' Demarest says as he walks in.The party soon becomes a horror show, starting when one woman turns into a glass statue and then explodes. Demarest reveals his real identity to Beaumont, who backs up against a wall then flees. As Alex makes her way through the halls of the museum she is attacked by statues of historical warriors, including a Roman Centurion & Genghis Khan. The Djinn then tries to extort Alex's third wish from her - after which he will be able to rule the world. To give Alex some incentive, he shows her sister trapped in a fire, the flames licking at her back. Through some creative thinking, Alex words her wish to suck the Djinn back into the fire opal - the same way he had 8 centuries earlier. While the Djinn had some particularly bizarre ways of dispatching his victims, he also showed a demented sense of humor in doing so. Wishmaster also brought together several prominent horror film actors (Angus Scrimm & Reggie Bannister of 'Phantasm', Robert Englund of 'Nightmare on Elm Street', Tony Todd of 'Candyman' and 'Night of the Living Dead', and Kane Hodder of 'Friday the 13th') together. This is an original take on horror since most of us don't consider genies to be evil. It offers more than the standard slasher fare the dominated 1980's horror. 8/10
This film makes me sick!
posted on 04 Jul 2008This film sucks!!!! This film make Evil Never Dies looked like it have won an award for best picture at the Academy awards.I hate this movie more than I hate the sequel. This film makes me give Evil Never Dies a much higher rating because Evil Never Dies fixed all the mistakes that Wishmaster have. So I had to award the sequel with two stars, but this film doesn't deserve anything from me.This movie is too painful to watch. I rather watch Evil Never Dies than watch this crap all over again.I will give this crappy movie * out of ****
Freddy vs. Candyman!
posted on 01 Jul 2008There is one scene that makes seeing this movie worthwhile. Robert Englund (better known as Freddy Krueger) plays a professor of some sort, and there is one part where he is trying to get into a party. Well, the security guard outside is Tony Todd- Candyman!! Nice face-off there...Movie was pretty good overall, worth renting, maybe not worth paying to see it in the theater.
Wishmaster
posted on 13 Jun 2008Produced by Scream director Wes Craven and directed by Robert Kurtzman (writer of From Dusk Till Dawn), and starring some popular horror people, this is a really good example of gory horror and an interesting story. Basically there is a creature known as The Djinn, like a genie except it grants evil wishes, and to the person who releases him he grants three wishes, and after the third he could realise an apocalypse on the world. This creature was put into a gem a long time ago and hidden in a statue for years. The Djinn (Andrew Divoff) is now out of this gem seeking souls to charge the stone, and then get to the one who released him, Alexandra Amberson (Tammy Lauren), and grant her wishes that could lead to the end of the world. He is doing this disguised as Nathaniel Demerest, after stealing his face. Also starring Robert Englund (aka Freddy Krueger) as Raymond Beaumont, Chris Lemmon as Nick Merritt, Wendy Benson-Landes as Shannon Amberson, Tony Todd (aka Candyman) as Johnny Valentine, Kane Hodder (aka Jason Voorhees) as Merritt's Guard, Ricco Ross as Lt. Detective Nathanson and Ted Raimi as Ed Finney. Filled with good gore, a good twist on the genie format and a good nasty villain, in and out of make up, this is one for the horror fans! Good!
Wishmaster, need I say more!?
posted on 23 May 2008This movie was made of poor taste.1- When someone wishes for wonders, does that mean destroy and horrifyingly destroy the kingdom?2- The worst line in this movie was Homeless Man - AHHH!!!!/ Djinn- Run Run, and tell everyone that there is something loose, something that feeds on WISHES! How would the Homeless Man know about him feeding on wishes. Come on Djinney.3- When you see a 3-4 ton statue in a crate falling about 100 ft. above you, wouldn't you move?4- This movie sucks.out of 10 it deserves a 2.6 for creativity and Cast.
For 'Fangoria' readers only
posted on 05 May 2008WISHMASTER Aspect ratio: 1.85:1Sound formats: Dolby Digital / DTS / SDDSAimed directly at the 'Fangoria' crowd, though not much fun for anyone else, WISHMASTER is 'presented' by executive producer Wes Craven and directed by makeup maestro Robert Kurtzman, so it's no surprise the movie emphasizes makeup and visual effects at the expense of plot and characterization. The story revolves around an ancient djinn (Andrew Divoff), trapped in an emerald for centuries and accidentally released in modern day America, whereupon it takes human form and grants various characters a series of 'wishes', all of which backfire in gruesome fashion (and I *do* mean gruesome!). For no discernible reason, the monster targets gem specialist Tammy Lauren whose three wishes can release the djinn's evil minions from the Other Side. Naturally, she resists...Stuffed full of 'Fangoria'-friendly cameos (Robert Englund, Tony Todd, Kane Hodder, Ted Raimi, Reggie Bannister, Angus Scrimm, etc.) and visual references to earlier, better pictures (HELLRAISER, THE THING, countless others), the movie has the same kind of bland, homogenized script and production design which afflicts many similar movies from the same period, and the results couldn't be less appealing. Content to showcase a series of grisly set-pieces - most of which, admittedly, are ingeniously designed and presented - the movie hasn't an ounce of depth. Lauren carries the picture with her gutsy performance as the imperilled heroine, and Kurtzman orchestrates the mayhem with enough flash-bang-wallop to hide the scenario's shortcomings, but the story is worthless, despite a smart climactic twist. Three sequels followed - beginning with WISHMASTER 2: EVIL NEVER DIES (1999) - all of which debuted on home video.
Better than it should be
posted on 05 Apr 2008"Wishmaster" is a lot better than it should be.**SPOILERS**Thousands of years ago, a Djinn, (Andrew Divoff) is imprisoned inside a red jewel and hidden inside a statue. Today, Raymond Beaumont, (Robert Englund) buys the statue, and Alexandra Amberson, (Tammy Lauren) a gemologist, values the jewel is quite rare and valuable. While running a few tests to verify it, the Djinn is released accidentally and goes on a killing spree, attacking Alex's best friends. As she struggles to understand her connection with the killings, she gains an understanding of the Dinnn and vows to stop it before it gets what it came for.The Good News: For the kind of film that this is, I was surprised at how good this one is. This is essentially a high-grade "Nightmare on Elm Street," style film, and it shows a lot in the film. This isn't a film that could be placed into the series and fit seamlessly, but it takes a couple cues here and there and just runs with it. Obviously, the wise-cracking killer is one of them, as is the supernatural, never-dying killer who inflicts bodily harm on himself. There's a couple of other little winks to the "Nightmare" stuff, but this needs to be discovered separately. One of the best things about this film, though, is the incredibly high body count in here. There is at least two dozen deaths in here, and that is calling the total conservatively. We get everything in here, from being set on fire to being impaled by fire, all the way to having their skeleton emerge through the shredded skin, there is a lot of great deaths in here. Granted, they mostly come at parties or large gatherings, but they're still there, and all are realized in great detail and execution. That there should be the movie's main claim to fame: featuring such a large assortment of impressive special effects. Not only are the deaths inventive and nicely realized, they are part of the impressive list of special effects in the film. When the Djinn is in his true state, it is one of the more creepy-looking villains in horror cinema. It's a nice play off the genie look, and it makes for an effective villain. The gags are cool, and the small stuff in addition to them are quite nicely realized and look really believable. I even have to admit to jumping every now and then. Plus, this is one of horror's first all-star casts. Robert Englund, Tony Todd, Kane Hodder, George Flower, Ted Raimi, Reggie Bannister and Angus Scrimm are among the cast, and those are all familiar names in the horror cannon. I was surprised at how much this got to me.The Bad News: The comparisons to Nightmare aren't warranted, but they do exist, and even though it isn't that much of a problem, it's still one to overcome, no matter how little or how much it affects you. Plus, although it has the very high body count, they're very far apart, leaving time between the deaths. This can lead to stretches where it seems like forever before something happens.The Final Verdict: This is a lot better than what it should've been, and it's quite an entertaining film. There is a little bit of a "Nightmare on Elm Street" influence in there, but with it having two principals involved in both films, it's understandable. This is definitely a big recommend here.Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language
Ages-old tale, wonderfully told.
posted on 23 Feb 2008Occasionally, you run across a true gem in the horror field. A story with factual bits of information, or a truly unique perspective. The story of the Djinn is thousands of years old. Richly written and well told, is this adaptation of that centuries-old legend. For what would you wish if you had three wishes?The humor is rich, and the dialog is clever and witty, dark and despairing; the perfect blend of Light and Shadow.The plot is intelligent, and Wes Craven's direction demonstrates his insightful cleverness and creativity. While this feature does contain a wee bit of campy humor, it is all in fun and a rich enjoyment of the wonderful plot this movie exhibits.With an intriguing cast of characters, a creative and rich plot, cohesive story line, and wonderful direction, this movie is quite entertaining. There are a few edge-of-the-seat moments, but for the most part, this movie is richly entertaining, rather than "scary."I thoroughly enjoy this movie.It gets a 6.4 from...the Fiend :.
as you wish...
posted on 21 Jan 2008In the beginning of the times, God created life into universe: light gave birth to angels, earth to men and fire to djin, creatures condemned to dwell in the void between the worlds.One who wakes a djin shall be given three wishes. Upon granting the third, an unholy legion of djins are freed through a doorway between the worlds upon the Earth. In 1127 A.D., in Persia, a sorcerer lures and traps a powerful Djinn in the stone of secret fire.In the present days, a drunken crane operator drops the valuable statue of Ahura Mazda over the assistant of Raymond Beaumont on the harbour, and one worker finds the huge and priceless opal red stone where Djin is seized.Alexandra Amberson, who works in an auction house, receives the stone for evaluation and accidentally awakes Djin.The evil creature is released later, charges the stone with people souls and feeds with their fears, while chasing Alexandra to force to make three wishes and unleash the demoniac fiends upon Earth.it's horror film for horror fans made by people who know horror (just see the cast), but they haven't made the best movie in the world.the story and the plot are paper thin, and one cannot help but think that the makers of the film were hoping that they would have another iconic horror legend in the vain of Jason or Freddy.it's not by any means the casts fault, Divoff is great as the titular character, and one cannot help but think why he he is reduced to cameos these days, he's the poor man's ray Liotta.it's gory enough and inventive enough to be watchable, but this is really a one trick pony, but the twist about ironic wishes is good.
Was this movie a comedy?
posted on 13 Aug 2009Who else laughed out loud when that girl was turned into a mannequin? Who laughed even more when that guy's jaw got ripped off at the police precinct? I honestly thought that this movie was supposed to be a horror film?The movie starts off with a decent premise. Many centuries ago, an evil djinn is released from a gem and wreaks havoc upon a city and its occupants. We see people running in pandemonium. A skeleton extracts itself from a man's body. A woman turns into a walking tree. People are flying around left and right.Cut to the present day, a gemologist receives a gem stone and unknowingly unleashes the evil djinn after trying to cut into the stone with a laser beam. The evil djinn takes a deceased man's body and charades amongst society by granting wishes to people's problems. Unknowingly, the person whose wish is granted is condemned to an eternity in Hell. But that little detail isn't mentioned by the djinn.Unfortunately, the movie takes a rollercoaster ride down comedy lane from hereon. A woman wishes she was forever youthful and beautiful. We cut to the next scene and she's a mannequin. If you thought that was hilarious - watch for the scene where her eyes roll into the back of her head.At the police precinct, a scuffle breaks out amongst a criminal and some police officers. A man stands there with someone's fingers in his mouth. We cut to the next scene and his jaw is getting pulled off. If you thought that was hilarious - notice how in one scene the guy looks real, and the next scene when there are fingers in his mouth, his head looks like its made out of plastic. A miniscule budget and bad special effects can explain that.Finally, the gemologist faces off against the evil djinn and sends him back to where he belongs, a video shelf life of eternal sequels. So far, three sequels have been made to this clunker, but I have no intentions of watching them.If you're looking for a comedy, forget Robin Williams and Jim Carrey - this is the real stuff!!!1/10