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The Wishmaster series was a franchise I only discovered after four movies had already been released, meaning it somehow flew completely under my radar. I doubt I’m alone in that, because Wishmaster seems to be one of those horror franchises that has quietly faded into obscurity, with seemingly nobody talking about it anymore. That surprises me, because horror franchises don’t exactly need much to stick around in the public consciousness. I’ve seen video essays about the Puppet Master franchise, for Christ’s sake, but Wishmaster? It’s as if these movies never existed. With the original Wishmaster approaching its 30th anniversary, it’s time to dust off this forgotten franchise and see whether it still has a few wishes left to grant.
In Wishmaster, a mysterious gemstone is accidentally released from an ancient statue, unleashing the Djinn, a powerful supernatural being imprisoned for centuries. When the gem comes into the possession of Alexandra Amberson, a young art expert, the Djinn begins granting wishes to those around her, twisting their desires into horrific realities. With every wish granted, he grows closer to unleashing his fellow Djinn upon the world. As Alexandra discovers the creature’s true nature and the catastrophic consequences of his powers, she must find a way to stop him before he can claim the three wishes needed to bring about the end of humanity.
The most notable aspect of Wishmaster is the parade of horror icons making an appearance. While the lead is played by the relatively unknown Tammy Lauren, she’s surrounded by the crème de la crème of horror royalty. The movie is produced by Wes Craven, written by Peter Atkins, and features appearances by Robert Englund, Tony Todd, Kane Hodder, Ted Raimi and George ‘Buck’ Flower, an actor whose IMDb credits frequently list him as some variation of bum or homeless man. The only real shame is that most of these genre veterans never share a scene, even when some of them are in the same location at the same time. Talk about a missed opportunity.
The Djinn is played by Andrew Divoff, an actor who has carved out a nice career playing villains. His rugged appearance and naturally squinty eyes make him a perfect fit for the role, and he clearly has a blast playing the Djinn. The character can switch between a human disguise and a monstrous form, giving Divoff two very different ways to torment his hapless victims. In human form, he’s essentially undercover, gleefully granting wishes that inevitably backfire in spectacular fashion. Divoff is easily the best thing about the movie, but unfortunately, the Djinn himself never becomes quite as memorable as some of his contemporaries. His monstrous design looks like a rejected H.R. Giger concept, and despite being brought to life with a full-body suit, there’s very little about his appearance that makes him stand out. That’s a shame, because Eve from Species, the Creeper from Jeepers Creepers and the Predator from Predator prove that a full-body monster suit can be the stuff of nightmares. The Djinn, on the other hand, fails to reach to that level.
Most of Wishmaster revolves around the Djinn trying to track down Alexandra, the woman who inadvertently set him free. She’s the only person who can make the three wishes that will release the Djinn’s fellow creatures and unleash them upon the world. Whenever the Djinn grants someone a wish, invariably with gruesome consequences, Alexandra experiences a vision of the event. These visions set her on a path to uncovering what’s going on, eventually leading to a showdown between her and the Djinn.
While the story is original, the movie feels a bit like a greatest-hits compilation of horror tropes. Peter Atkins’ experience writing several Hellraiser movies is evident, and it’s clear that the filmmakers are trying to create the next Pinhead or Freddy Krueger. In fact, the Djinn feels like a mash-up of the two. He delights in toying with his victims like Freddy, but he’s also bound by a set of rules, much like Pinhead in the first two Hellraiser movies.
The Djinn certainly doesn’t hold back when it comes to gruesome wish fulfilment, and the practical effects still hold up reasonably well. Unfortunately, the movie also features several moments of stop-motion animation and some truly rough ’90s CGI that pull you right out of the experience. Some of these shots look downright silly, with Kane Hodder’s death involving stained glass being a particularly egregious example. It looks less like a gruesome horror set piece and more like a cutscene from an N64 game.
The first Wishmaster is a decent horror movie, but it fails to deliver a truly memorable villain, both in terms of character and design. The rather weak story doesn’t help matters, but the abundance of genre favourites, a gleeful performance by Divoff and some effective gore effects keep it from becoming a complete disappointment.
