The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This is the classic 3 wish from a Djinni set up, although there's a strange twist in which the Wishmaster can actually grant wishes from pretty much anyone and take their souls without really telling them what is going on. He basically goads them into saying they want something. The whole thing is meant to be a wink to the audience, but as a universe with a set of rules it doesn't make sense and the whole enterprise feels curiously like there's no way the Djinn haven't already taken over the world.The central plot is that whomever awakens the Djinni gets 3 wishes and after those are cast all the Djinn take over the earth. Of course, the awakener Alexandra never has to say "I wish" or anything like that and the Djinni can apparently appear as different people and try to trick her into asking for things. Again, the classic wish rules are applied sloppily and as a result it's hard to care about anything that's going on with the plot.Andrew Divoff is the Wishmaster here and he has a unique presence and an indelible voice. He's well cast. There's some awful CGI that hasn't aged well at all, and a lot of the wishes lack top-notch creativity. There are however, two scenes of pure orgiastic destruction that make the watch worth it - statues come to life, people are torn to shreds (one person has his skeleton literally come to life inside his body, it's amazing), chaos and panic ensues. These scenes are meant to show off the prowess of special effects maestro Robert Kurtzman, who's also the director here, and they work. But as a storyteller, he's not at the same level.

This 1997 horror film stars Tammy Lauren, Andrew Divoff and Robert Englund. This focuses on gemologist, Alexandra (Lauren) who unwittingly unleashes an evil genie, a Djinn (Divoff) that's been imprisoned in a ruby who intends on becoming mortal, but needs her soul. As a way of getting to her, he starts granting wishes to people with deadly results and she can see visions of them. Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street) plays Beaumont, an antique collector. This isn't that bad, except for some of the acting. Divoff is creepy in it, Harry Manfredini's score is chilling and there's some gruesome make-up effects. Kane Hodder (Jason Goes to Hell), Tony Todd (Candyman), Reggie Bannister (Phantasm), Ted Raimi (Army of Darkness), George 'Buck' Flower (The Fog) and Joe Pilato (Day of the Dead) make brief appearances as well as K.N.B. make-up artists, Greg Nicotero, Howard Berger and Robert Kurtzman. If you're into horror, give this a try at least once.

An opening narration explains, "Once, in a time before time, God breathed life into the universe. And the light gave birth to Angels. And the earth gave birth to Man. And the fire gave birth to the Djinn, creatures condemned to dwell in the void between the worlds. One who wakes a Djinn shall be given three wishes. Upon the granting of the third, the unholy legions of the Djinn shall be freed upon the earth. Fear one thing only in all that is… Fear the Djinn." You should think of the Djinn as a wicked Genie. From here, we briefly visit 1127 A.D. Persia, where the Djinn wrecks some gory havoc. The main gore takes place in present day America...Due to a worker drinking alcohol on the job, ancient relic collector Robert Englund (as Raymond Beaumont) watches his arriving crate smash to pieces. The broken statue reveals a magical ruby, which houses the evil Djinn. The jewel changes hands until possessing blonde appraiser Tammy Lauren (as Alexandra "Alex" Amberson). She is our heroine. The visual effects team orchestrated by Robert Kurtzman and Thomas C. Rainone do a good job, making "Wishmaster" move well. Andrew Divoff plays the monster with wicked charm. Oddly, the story ends with a character inexplicably losing the ability to reinterpret wishes.***** Wishmaster (9/19/97) Robert Kurtzman ~ Tammy Lauren, Andrew Divoff, Robert Englund, Chris Lemmon

In ancient Persia, an evil creature called the Djinn wreaks havoc on a local kingdom before being sealed inside 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, Alex, examines the jewel to appraise it. But she unwittingly awakes the 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...Even thought the film is as subtle as a sledgehammer, it's the nearest cinema has had to a new Jason/Freddy/Michael Myers in a very long time.Ignore the Presented by... moniker, it's for status,and get ready for some proper B-movie cheese. Divoff is excellent as the titular character, and chews his lines with glee. ##Kills are inventive, but beyond these two aspects, the film is just you average horror.The inclusion of (at the time) horrors greatest stars, is a little cringe worthy, and the effects are really bad, even for the limited budget.But if you can overlook, these little flaws, it's quite an good spin on the horror genre, with something original, which was lacking at the time of release (hello ironic horror).