If you've been waiting and watching for a horror film to come out boasting to be the Expendables of horror than you need only look backward to Robert Kurtzman's sophomore film Wishmaster. Not only does it cast a bevy of iconic horror film actors that Kurtzman and KNB FX company had worked with over the many years of doing practical FX but the production team behind it is also astounding. Peter Atkins who had given us a direct vision of hell with his amazing script for Hellraiser 2 was given the task to write a film about an evil genie. With copious amounts of research he took the original darker versions of the Djinn to write a screenplay that would be any FX artists dream job. The question is who would direct? Kurtzman had just directed his first film the low budget cult film the Demolitionist and KNB having had such great ties to films like Evil Dead 2, made Sam Raimi push for Kurtzman to direct the film which in turn got close friend Wes Craven to help produce the movie in support of his friend Kurtzman. With a budget of 6,000,000 he only had six months from start to finish to deliver the film and it's a pretty amazing flick that plays like an eighties film that was made in the nineties helped by a score from Friday the 13th composer Harry Manfredini to complete its all star horror cast and crew. 
A Persian emperor in the year 1127 discovers a Djinn that will grant him three wishes, upon wishing to see wonders beyond imagination the Djinn horrifies the emperor by setting his kingdom into a spiraling hell as his people are turned into hideous monsters, split into ungodly shapes and mangled beyond belief. Upon a third wish the Djinn may unleash the legions of the Djinn upon the Earth mastering the human race, but before a third wish can be made a sorcerer condemns the Djinn into a ruby called a Fire Opal never to harm the Earth again. In present day, collector Raymond Beaumont has acquired a rare statue that unbeknownst to him houses the Fire Opal and the dock worker who is lowering the statue off of a ship onto the dock drops it smashing it on Beaumont's assistant due to him being drunk on the job. A dock worker sees the Fire Opal and steals it to pawn it off. The Opal eventually makes its way to appraiser Alex Amberson who upon inspecting it awakens the Djinn. When her colleague Josh closely examines the Opal with a laser it explodes freeing the Djinn who tethers himself to Alex as she awoke him. With every wish the Djinn grants it collects the soul of the wisher which empowers him, but he must grant three wishes to Alex herself in order to set his people free to enslave the Earth, Alex must learn the secrets of the Djinn and choose her words carefully when confronting him lest he twist her wishes into acts of chaos that he has wrought upon all others who makes a wish. 
KNB FX group is the pinnacle of practical makeup FX starting with Greg Nicoterro who did 2nd unit directing on the film, Howard Berger and Kurtzman himself who all in turn learned from Maestro's Tom Savini, Screaming Mad George and Mark Shostrom. In the first five minutes of the film we are introduced to the Djinn by narration from the Tall Man himself, Angus Scrimm! "God breathed life into the universe...the light gave birth to Angels...the earth gave birth to man...the fire gave birth to the djinn, creatures condemned to dwell in the void between the worlds." From the chilling utterance of Scrimm we are moved right into utter chaos by KNB and their crew of artists including Gary Turncliffe who has done Pinhead's makeup for most of the Hellraiser films, with his effect of a skeleton leaping from a screaming body and then attacking someone. People are fused to walls, turned into snake creatures, gashes and wounds erupt from people! It's horrifying yet beautiful work done by true professionals. The opening itself hooks you and throughout the film we get up close moments of the Djinn inflicting pain on others such as Reggie Bannister from the Phantasm franchise. Good Ol' Reggie owns a pharmacy in this film and pisses off George Buck Flowers the hobo begging for money outside. If you've seen a Carpenter film you've seen George play a hobo and the man is hysterical in this flick, but after Reggie pisses off George he runs into the Djinn. Taking a long puff off his cigarette he wishes a cancer would eat Reggie away and the Djinn abides as we witness a fast acting cancer eat away at poor Reggie as George looks in horror throwing his cigarette away. Best anti smoking ad ever. Little moments like these build up the film but the climax is just amazing as Raymond Beaumont, played devilishly by Freddy Kreuger himself Robert Englund, throws a big party showcasing his collection. With a simple wish of wanting to have a party memorable for the ages, the Djinn then has the artwork come to life slaughtering the guests and many of the elites little repartee is taken quite dangerously literal. Statues slaughtering guests and security alike, Lovecraftian tentacles emerging from people and attacking others, it's brutally spectacular. 
In a decade conquered by the Scream formula we lost our beloved supernatural icons in lieu of the teenage who dunnit structure. Two exceptions were made. Tony Todd's Candyman and Andrew Divoff's Wishmaster. Divoff is horrifyingly intense in the role obscured by an awesome makeup concept by Kurtzman himself combining something regal and devilish. While the look is something to behold and Divoff helps give the character a larger than life stature and air of mystery with his movements it's his voice and line delivery that truly sells it. With each malicious word you hear the devil. The twisting of people's wishes into horrifying antithesis is what makes each kill interesting and every time someone asks for something you sit in shock at what horror could this character come up with for the wish. Divoff is just as amazing out of makeup as he is in it. Cutting the face off of a corpse in a morgue and fusing it with his own he maneuvers through our world with elegance and a sense of devilish charm that piques people's interest but also unsettles them. It's one of the greatest villainous horror performances of all time. One of my favorite moments was when Tony Todd cameos as a security guard and he and Divoff come face to face battling each other verbally as the two icons of nineties horror! 
For how much time he had and the budget, Kurtzman gave us a horror fan's delight that I think a lot of people take for granted especially for the time period it was made. We weren't getting films like this anymore, the actors whom make up this Expendables of horror weren't being seen in large speaking roles anymore, scores like Harry Manfedini's which permeated this film were no longer a thing as new metal and grunge were the soundtracks of horror at the time. Monsters were gone and self aware slashers were in. Even to this day this kind of film is rare. My only complaint is the at times dated CGI that tries to intertwine with the practical FX that just don't work. If he had more time I feel he could've taken the time to plan out more practical solutions but the film is a fun throwback and clever storyline that I feel should be up there with a lot of the greats if you look at what an amazing accomplishment it was in horror.
19 Days till Halloween! Halloween!
19 Days till Halloween! Silver Shamrock!
