Warlock (1989)

A warlock flees from the 17th to the 20th century, with a witch-hunter in hot pursuit.

Director:

Steve Miner

Writer:

David Twohy

Stars:

Julian Sands, Lori Singer, Richard E. Grant

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julian Sands	...	Warlock
Lori Singer	...	Kassandra
Richard E. Grant	...	Giles Redferne
Mary Woronov	...	Channeler
Kevin O'Brien	...	Chas
Richard Kuss	...	Mennonite
Allan Miller	...	Detective
Anna Levine	...	Pastor's Wife
David Carpenter	...	Pastor
Kay E. Kuter	...	Proctor
Ian Abercrombie	...	Magistrate #1
Kenneth Danziger	...	Magistrate #2
Art Smith	...	Scribe
Robert Breeze	...	Jailor
Frank Renzulli	...	Cabbie

Storyline

In Boston of 1691, a warlock is sentenced to death, but escapes magically into the future (our present), followed doggedly by the witch hunter. There he is searching for the three parts of the Devil's Bible, trailed by the witch hunter and the woman whose house he landed in. They must stop him, as the book contains the true name of God, which he can use to un-create the world.

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Plot Keywords:

witch hunter | warlock | book | death | flying | 

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Taglines:

Satan also has one son.

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Genres:

Action | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 January 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Czarnoksieznik

Filming Locations:

Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$9,094,451 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New World Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Scene in the theatrical previews indicating that the Warlock was the satanic Messiah was cut some time before video distribution.

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Goofs

Following the death of the medium, the Warlock is on the other side of the table and squatting down. The chair on the right side of the screen is still visible.

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Quotes

Giles Redferne: Let's tarry not!

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Connections

Referenced in My Name Is Bruce (2007)

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Soundtracks

"CORAZONITA"
Performed by Los Almejas
Words and music by Vince Melamed and Josh Leo

User Reviews

Formulaic, but fun.

It's not the most intelligent or witty horror flick ever made, but there's something about "Warlock" that makes it strangely compelling. Imagine a sort of "Terminator"-type plot in reverse, and you've got the gist of the plot.

An evil warlock is transported from 17th century Boston to 20th century Los Angeles, along with Gyles Redferne, a world-weary witch-hunter. Thus their long-standing feud continues afresh (at the beginning of the film, the warlock is about to be executed). The warlock sets off in search of the satanic Bible containing the name of God which can invoke the undoing of all creation. Following him are Redferne and Kassandra (Lori Singer), a self-obsessed waitress on whom the warlock has inflicted a cruel ageing spell. And so begins a cross-country race against time, with a healthy dose of dark humour thrown in amongst all the more obvious time-travel gags.

Julian Sands excels in the title role, and clearly relishes playing the bad guy. Richard E. Grant, as Redferne, makes an unlikely, but effective action-hero, and also seems to enjoy himself immensely, despite his dodgy Sean Connery accent. Lori Singer's role as the vacuous female lead could have been played by anyone, but she suffices, and, so as not to overshadow her in the company of Sands and Grant, she is given some good one liners.

If you're after a fun action/horror movie that will kill a couple of hours without using up too many brain cells, "Warlock" is certainly worth a look, if only for the strength of the lead performances. It's a pretty lightweight yarn, but is no less enjoyable for that.

And it's infinitely better than any of the sequels.