Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

just watch it!

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

31 Days Of Horror: Day 5Now for a trip into the the realm of schlocky, slimy excess. That's not to say that Robert Kurtzman's delightfully nasty little supernatural shocker doesn't have a brain in its head. It's got a sly, high concept central character, and the movie explores the methods in which he tricks, connives and bamboozles everyone in his path using genius little verbal traps to ensnare them into making three wishes, which eventually give him access to their souls. The character in question is a growling, demon eyed Djinn, a creature from beyond our time, unleashed via a magic jewel on an unsuspecting modern world that has moved on from mysticism. This Djinn is played by underrated bad boy Andrew Divoff, and he inhabits the role with snarling, sneering glee, both in the creature's heavy, impressive makeup and later when he takes human form, equally terrifying and darkly hilarious in both forms. He's got a jaded sense of humour too, tiresome of humans and often amusingly impatient for their wishes. He is lead to Alexandra (Tammy Lauren) the geologist who awakens his slumber, as she is the key soul in unleashing his unholy horrors upon our world. The script is quite unassuming for a monster movie, as we gradually see that scene by scene, there's a learned wit and knowing mirth to the dialogue, with setups and payoffs that are pure enjoyment, both for us and Mr. Djinn. There's also a priceless running joke of having other bogeymen and monsters from various horror films show up in human cameos, only to be outwitted and obliterated by the creature. Kane Hodder (Jason Voorhees) and Tony Todd (Candyman) show up as hapless, bumbling security guards, and Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund as a pompous history tycoon. It's Divoff's show throughout though, and he glides through the proceedings like he was born for the role, a smiling nightmare of calamity, fear and otherworldly arrogance, stealing the film and carrying it effortlessly. The slick practical effects are endlessly imaginative and strikingly disturbing at times, a latex and blood dripping kaleidoscope of limbs, horns, flesh, innards, inter dimensional portals, gory set pieces and homemade wonder. Like any horror flick of its kind, it gets a bit cheesy, but that adds to the fun! Great flick for the Halloween season, a real haunted house treat.

Why the Wishmaster has gone so unsung is perhaps due to the limitations of production at the time. In the 80's, much was forgiven on the basis of limitation... But once the threshold of "modern" horror films was crossed in the 90's, certain standards set by the industry may have forced a certain forgetfulness of DIY horrific sensibility and well, good clean sadistic fun. Wishmaster makes up for its comic book "campiness" throughout, with its appropriately thorough approach to the mythological villain. (It's interesting that Robert Englund and Tony Todd both make an appearance in this film. Both of their characters are surprisingly upstaged by the Wishmaster, especially in the realm of dialogue. The Wishmaster's one-liners get under your skin rather than beat you over the head.) His motivation is clear from the outset, which may turn off those who seek more mystery in their horror fare. But I found the viewing experience rather comforting, much like reading the Brothers Grimm (before good night's rest...). The violence and gore is evenly spaced throughout the film, making for a satisfying viewing for blood and guts fans. The music is goofy as heck, but somehow doesn't detract from the arc of the story.Some of the best films on IMDb are rated lower than 6, don't you forget it! In fact, seek them out... what you find within such films might be the "gem" that most people missed.

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

Wishmaster (1997): The Good, the Bad and the Reminiscent Synopsis: A long lost artifact that plays host to a Djinn (which is an ancient demon) is found and comes into the possession of a young appraiser. Mysterious events begin to unfold until the Djinn finally reveals his plan: to grant three wishes to the woman and release his kind from their realm to rule the Earth.The Good: I really like the concept of this movie. The idea is a fascinating one, which is no surprise given Wes Craven has made a living out of coming up with good ideas. The idea of taking the old "genie in a bottle" myth and making it a fairytale told to cover up the existence of the Djinn is clever. The movie works well within the guidelines of that story. While the film is not at all scary, it has a number of really good, effective scenes... even by today's standards. The party scene near the end of the film is beautiful chaos and very well imagined by the director. Some of the effects are dated a bit, but it is disturbing nonetheless. The acting is adequate and the script isn't half bad. The actor who plays the Djinn in human form is actually more effective than the Djinn in demon form. Also, the "wish" format is intriguing. Part of the Djinn's devious nature is tricking people into making wishes they thought were going to give them treasure, etc. In essence, the Djinn does in fact grant the wish, he just does it in a way that brings pain and sacrifice to the wisher. It's a pretty clever mechanism and makes the film work.The Bad: All the things I said about the originality of the idea aside, it could have been done better. I just felt that parts of the script (and possibly the budget) held up the idea that Craven created. The movie could have been a whole lot "bigger" in scope with the ramifications of a "Djinn invasion" not localized to one protagonist. It was like the only one aware of the Djinn and apocalypse heading for the planet was this one girl. I get that they tried to make her interesting... giving her a past that made her susceptible to weakness and ultimately, redemption. It just made the stakes too small for me. Craven has always done this though, so maybe it was more the limitations of the budget or quite possibly, it was that the idea is to be more single character-centered... like he did with Nightmare on Elm Street's Nancy. Most horror films do this though.The Reminiscent: Speaking of Nightmare on Elm Street, I found a lot of similarities with Wishmaster to Craven's cornerstone franchise. The evil comes from a parallel or dream-like state. The protagonist is a young female. Much of the dialogue feels much like the early Elm Street movies. The evil is trying hard to bust through into our world and finds a way to manipulate those of us on "the outside". This movie even has an unmasked Robert Englund. Some of the originality is lost in this, because at times it feels a bit like a newer Elm Street movie with less of the cheese factor. I also feel like a lot was borrowed from the Hellraiser series as well. Even some of the imagery was similar - like a man hanging with his chest ripped open by chains and hooks. By the end of the film, I felt like I watched a decent movie that had maybe borrowed one too many scenes from other iconic horror movies.