Wishmaster (1997)

Director:

Robert Kurtzman

Writer (WGA):

Peter Atkins (written by)

Release Date:

19 September 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

Be careful what you wish for.

Plot:

A demonic djinn attempts to grant its owner three wishes, which will allow him to summon his brethren to earth.

Plot Keywords:

Djinn | Fire | Wish | Blood And Gore | Genie

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Tammy Lauren	...	Alexandra Amberson
Andrew Divoff	...	The Djinn / Nathaniel Demerest
Robert Englund	...	Raymond Beaumont
Chris Lemmon	...	Nick Merritt
Wendy Benson-Landes	...	Shannon Amberson (as Wendy Benson)
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 (voice)

Also Known As:

Wes Craven's Wishmaster

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence and gore, and for language.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Singapore:R21 | Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | Italy:T | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | France:-12 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Brazil:16 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Pierre David

Trivia:

Features numerous horror-movie actors, including Robert Englund (the A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) movies), Angus Scrimm (Phantasm (1979)), Tony Todd (Night of the Living Dead (1990), the Candyman (1992) movies), Kane Hodder (various Friday the 13th (1980) movies), Reggie Bannister (Phantasm (1979)) and Ted Raimi (Darkman (1990), Army of Darkness (1992)).

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Djinn traps the guard inside the glass door, the man is facing the Djinn, and is trapped in the door still facing that direction. But when the Djinn opens the door to walk in the shop, the guard inside the door is now facing the other direction, toward the inside of the shop.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[first title card]
Narrator: 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 will be given three wishes. Upon the granting of the third, the unholy legions of the Djinn will be freed to rule the earth. Fear one thing in all there is... FEAR THE DJINN.

Movie Connections:

References "I Dream of Jeannie" (1965)

Soundtrack:

Listen to the Heart

Make your wishezzzzz

The cool thing about "Wishmaster" is that it doesn't look like anything else. You can recognise a shot from "Wishmaster" quite easily, because Robert Kurtzman, who usually spends his time as a special effects/make-up guy, has a highly developed visual style in his direction. Just take for instance the memorable opening scene. Things look awesome. The idea is good too because the plot is very unpredictable, and on top of that it provides some very decent gore. I could just watch that party scene over and over again. All the other things aside, Andrew Divoff just steals this movie as the Djinn in his human form. There's no make-up involved, he just has that natural evil smirk we know and love. It just seems carved right into his face, it's even more prominent in the sequel but it gets tiresome there. The main actress was a disappointment, that's the only bad thing I can say about this movie. Just doesn't carry the movie, completely colorless. Apart from that this is among the best horror had to offer in the 90's.