''Wishmaster'' is a 1997 American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

horror film directed by

Robert Kurtzman Robert Kurtzman (born November 25, 1964) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and special effects makeup artist. Career Kurtzman began his career in 1984 when he moved from his hometown of Crestline, Ohio, to Hollywood, Cali ...

. The film was executive produced by

Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...

, and is the only film of the ''Wishmaster'' series with his name attached. Its plot concerns a

djinn Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic myt ...

, a wish-granting, evil genie who is released from a jewel and seeks to capture the soul of the woman who discovered him, thereby opening a portal and freeing his fellow djinn to inhabit and enslave the Earth. The film stars Andrew Divoff as The Djinn and

Tammy Lauren Tammy Lauren Vásquez (born November 16, 1968), known professionally as Tammy Lauren, is an American film and television actress. She starred in the 1997 horror film '' Wishmaster'', portraying Alexandra Amberson, a young woman who accidentally ...

. The film was followed by three sequels, '' Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies'' (1999), '' Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell'' (2001) and '' Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled'' (2002). The first and second movies are considered to be in the horror genre, while the third and fourth movies have less horror elements and are more associated with action and romance films.

Plot

A narrator (

Angus Scrimm Angus Scrimm (born Lawrence Rory Guy; August 19, 1926 – January 9, 2016) was an American actor, author, and journalist, known for his portrayal of the Tall Man in the 1979 horror film '' Phantasm'' and its sequels. Early life Scrimm was born ...

) explains that when "God breathed life into the universe…the light gave birth to Angels…the earth gave birth to man...the fire gave birth to the djinn, creatures condemned to dwell in the void between the worlds." If a person wakes a djinn they will receive three wishes, but the third wish will free legions of djinn on Earth. In 1127, one of these Djinn ( Andrew Divoff) asks a Persian emperor to make his second wish. When the emperor wishes to see wonders, the Djinn uses his powers to torture and mutilate people in the palace. The emperor is horrified, but the Djinn tells him to use his third wish to set things right. Before the emperor can make his third wish,

Zoroaster Zoroaster,; fa, زرتشت, Zartosht, label= Modern Persian; ku, زەردەشت, Zerdeşt also known as Zarathustra,, . Also known as Zarathushtra Spitama, or Ashu Zarathushtra is regarded as the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. He is ...

(Ari Barak), a sorcerer, explains the consequences of the third wish and reveals a fire opal, which pulls the Djinn inside and traps him. In present-day America, Raymond Beaumont (

Robert Englund Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the '' Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. Classically trained at the Royal Academy o ...

) supervises workers lowering a box containing an antique statue of Ahura Mazda onto a ship. The crane operator Mickey Torelli (

Joseph Pilato Joseph Pilato (March 16, 1949 – March 24, 2019) was an American film and voice actor. He was perhaps best known for his performance as Captain Rhodes in the 1985 film '' Day of the Dead''. Early life He was born in Fitchburg in 1949 to an I ...

) is

drunk Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ...

and drops the box, killing Beaumont's assistant Ed Finley (

Ted Raimi Theodore "Ted" Raimi (born December 14, 1965) is an American character actor, director, comedian, and writer. He is known for his roles in the works of his brother Sam Raimi, including a fake Shemp in ''The Evil Dead'', possessed Henrietta in ...

) and destroying the statue. A

dockworker A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number ...

steals the fire opal from the rubble and pawns it. Eventually the jewel reaches Regal Auctioneers, where Nick Merritt ( Chris Lemmon) instructs appraiser Alexandra "Alex" Amberson (

) to examine it, which wakes the Djinn. Alex sees something inside the jewel and leaves it with her close friend and colleague, Josh Aickman (Tony Crane), to analyze. As he is collecting data, the gem explodes, destroying the lab and releasing the Djinn. Josh, wounded, wishes for relief from his physical pain, and the Djinn "grants" his wish by killing him. Alex, having been informed of Josh's death by Lieutenant Nathanson (

Ricco Ross Ricco Ross is an American actor. Life and career Born at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, he is the fifth of eight children, and in addition has three step sisters and another brother from his father's first marriage. He first acted ...

), tracks the gem to the statue which she tracks to Beaumont, who sends Alex to visit Wendy Derleth (

Jenny O'Hara Patricia Joanne "Jenny" O'Hara (born February 24, 1942) is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for Dixie in ''My Sister Sam'' (1986–1988), Janet Heffernan in ''The King of Queens'' (2001–2007), and Nita in ''B ...

), a folklore professor, who explains the history of the gem and the nature of the djinn: a djinn grants wishes in exchange for souls, but as djinns are demonic in nature, the wishes will be twisted into curses for the djinn's amusement. Later, Alex learns that the Djinn needs to power the gem with human souls and then grant her (the person who originally released him) three wishes before he can open the gateway to release his fellow djinn on Earth; meanwhile, the Djinn takes the form of a dead man and uses the name Nathaniel Demerest. He kills a pharmacist (

Reggie Bannister Reginald Horace "Reggie" Bannister (born September 29, 1945) is an American musician, actor, producer, writer, and activist. He is known for his role as Reggie in the ''Phantasm'' film series. Biography Bannister is known for playing the gun-t ...

) with the wish of a vengeful vagrant ( George 'Buck' Flower) and grants sales clerk Ariella's ( Gretchen Palmer) wish for eternal beauty by turning her into a

mannequin A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. P ...

. Searching for Alex, he goes to Nathanson to gain her information. Nathanson refuses to help him, but the Djinn grants Nathanson's wish to easily prove a criminal's guilt by having the criminal go on a shooting spree inside the police precinct, and in the chaos finds Alex's home address and leaves. He next visits Nick, killing a security guard (

Kane Hodder Kane Warren Hodder (born April 8, 1955)According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905–1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com is an Americ ...

) along the way by fusing him into stained glass (when the guard says he'd "like to see" the Djinn "go through me"). Nick facetiously agrees to help in exchange for a million dollars - which he receives when his mother takes out a life insurance policy and is killed the next day in a plane crash. Alex sees troubling visions every time the Djinn grants wishes. She consults Derleth again, but soon realizes that she is talking to the Djinn, who has killed Derleth and taken her form. The Djinn confronts Alex and offers her three wishes. In the spirit of fair play, he offers her a "free" wish, just to see what will happen. She wishes for him to shoot himself, but he is

immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film ''The Wisdom of ...

and the gunshot fails to harm him. Using the first of her three official wishes, Alex wishes to know what he is. The Djinn teleports her to his hellish world within the gem which terrifies her as he boasts his evil to her. She then wishes herself to escape back to her apartment, alone. The Djinn had been threatening Alex's sister, Shannon (

Wendy Benson Wendy Benson-Landes (born July 8, 1971) is an American actress, known for her roles on television. She played the role of Julie Harris (actress), Julie Harris in the 2001 biographical television movie ''James Dean (2001 film), James Dean''. Benson ...

), so Alex hurries to a party Beaumont invited them to earlier. The Djinn follows, again disguised as Nathaniel Demerest. Alex tells doorman Johnny Valentine (

Tony Todd Tony Todd (born December 4, 1954) is an American actor who made his debut as Sgt. Warren in the film ''Platoon'' (1986), and portrayed Kurn in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1990–1991) and '' Star Trek: Deep Space N ...

) to hold the Djinn, as he is trying to kill her; however, the Djinn manipulates Valentine into making a wish "to escape is routine life, allowing the Djinn to trap Valentine in a

Chinese water torture cell The Chinese Water Torture Cell is a predicament escape made famous by Hungarian-American magician Harry Houdini. The illusion consists of three parts: first, the magician's feet are locked in stocks; next, he is suspended in mid-air from his an ...

, making his way into the party. The Djinn charms Beaumont, who wishes his party would be unforgettable, and thus the Djinn causes artwork to kill Beaumont, the guests, and the security guards called in to help. Eventually the Djinn corners the sisters and attempts to scare Alex into making her third wish by trapping Shannon in a burning painting. Alex wishes that Torelli had not been drunk at work two days ago, which the Djinn is forced to grant, but this undoes the events that followed the destruction of the statue and traps the djinn in the fire opal again. The now sober Torelli lowers the crate with no problems. Alex visits Josh — now alive again — who notices that Alex seems pleased with herself, though she does not explain why. Inside the jewel on the statue of Ahura Mazda — now in Beaumont's private collection — the Djinn sits on a throne, waiting to be released.

Cast

Main cast

as Alexandra Amberson * Andrew Divoff as The Djinn / Nathaniel Demerest *

as Raymond Beaumont * Chris Lemmon as Nick Merritt *

as Shannon Amberson * Tony Crane as Josh Aickman *

as Wendy Derleth *

as Lieutenant Nathanson * Gretchen Palmer as Ariella

Cameos

as narrator (voice only) * George 'Buck' Flower as Homeless Man *

as Ed Finney *

as Merritt's Guard *

as Johnny Valentine *

as Pharmacist *

as Torelli * Dennis Hayden as Security Guard *

Tom Savini Thomas Vincent Savini (born November 3, 1946) is an American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and film director. He is known for his makeup and special effects work on many films directed by George A. Romero, including ''Martin' ...

as Man in Pharmacy

Production

Casting and cameos

''Wishmaster'' is notable for featuring many actors from popular horror films.

, who was

Freddy Krueger Freddy Krueger () is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. He was created by Wes Craven and made his debut in Craven's '' A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984) as the malevolent spirit ...

in the ''

Nightmare on Elm Street ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise and stars Heather Langenk ...

'' series, played an antique collector and

, who played

Jason Voorhees Jason Voorhees () is a character from the ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in '' Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Mrs. Voorhees, in which he was portrayed by Ari Lehman. Created by Victor Mi ...

in the '' Friday the 13th'' series, played a security guard. Also in the film were

from '' Candyman'',

from ''Candyman'', '' Darkman'', ''

Evil Dead II ''Evil Dead II'' (also known in publicity materials as ''Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn'') is a 1987 American comedy horror film directed by Sam Raimi. It is considered both a remake and sequel (or "re-quel") to the 1981 film ''The Evil Dead'', and wa ...

'' and '' Army of Darkness'',

from '' Aliens'',

from ''

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead ( es, Día de Muertos or ''Día de los Muertos'') is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It is widely obser ...

'',

and the voice of

(From the '' Phantasm'' films),

from the later ''

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

'', Jack Lemmon's son Chris Lemmon from '' Just Before Dawn'' and George 'Buck' Flower (who was often used in small parts in various horror movies of the 1980s and early 1990s, often directed by

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

Verne Troyer Verne Jay Troyer (January 1, 1969 – April 21, 2018) was an American actor, comedian, YouTuber, and stunt performer. He was best known for his role of Mini-Me in the ''Austin Powers'' film series. He had cartilage–hair hypoplasia and was ...

of later ''

Austin Powers ''Austin Powers'' is a series of American spy action comedy films: '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (1997), '' Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me'' (1999) and '' Austin Powers in Goldmember'' (2002). The films were produced ...

'' fame appears as the smaller Wishmaster when he first escapes from his gem prison. A Pazuzu statue, a personification of the demonic figure which possessed

Linda Blair Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress and activist. She played Regan MacNeil in the horror film ''The Exorcist'' (1973), for which she won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for an Academy Award. The fil ...

's character in ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty ...

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...

, also appeared. This can be seen in Beaumont's collection room and on display during the party scene where it attacks some of the guests, though it is not formally referenced. A veiled reference to the Cthulhu Mythos can be heard in the incantation used to imprison the Djinn; the words "Nib Shuggurath", a

spoonerism A spoonerism is an occurrence in speech in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched (see metathesis) between two words in a phrase. These are named after the Oxford don and ordained minister William Archibald Spooner, w ...

Shub-Niggurath Shub-Niggurath is a fictional deity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft. She is often associated with the phrase "The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young". The only other name by which Lovecraft referred to her was "Lord of the Wood" in ...

. Makeup artist

also appears in a cameo as a customer at the pharmacy when Reggie Bannister's character dies. Many crew members, including director Robert Kurtzman (man killed by piano), had small cameos in the film.

Writing

Writer Peter Atkins, also known for his work on ''

Hellraiser ''Hellraiser'' is a 1987 British supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker, and produced by Christopher Figg, based on Barker's 1986 novella ''The Hellbound Heart''. The film marked Barker's directorial debut. Its plot invol ...

'' films, intentionally made some surnames of characters in the film (Beaumont, Finney, Etchison, Clegg, Derleth, Merritt and Aickman) match the names of writers of horror and fantasy fiction. Josh Aickman (played by Tony Crane), explains to Alexandra Amberson (played by Tammy Lauren) that he can't test the opal immediately because he has, "...about 2 hours' worth of Professor Leiber's bullshit to take care of first." This Professor does not make an appearance in the film and is not listed in the credits but is a reference to horror, fantasy, science fiction writer Fritz Leiber.

Reception

Box office

''Wishmaster'' was shot on an estimated budget of

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

5 million and its total domestic gross was US$15,738,769. During its opening weekend in theaters, 19–21 September 1997, ''Wishmaster'' made US$6,000,000, putting it in third place at the box office, behind '' In & Out'' (which was debuting in first place) and '' The Game'' (which was in second place during its second week).

Critical response

The film was panned by critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

it has an approval rating of 25% based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 3.97/10. Peter Stack of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'' called it "an extravaganza of bad special effects and worse acting". Of the few positive reviews, ''

The Times of Northwest Indiana ''The Times of Northwest Indiana'' (NWI) is a daily newspaper headquartered in Munster, Indiana. It is the second-largest newspaper in Indiana, behind only ''The Indianapolis Star''. History The paper was founded on June 18, 1906, as ''The Lake ...

'' critic Christopher Sheid gave it a B+ and stated that "considering that the djinn itself is essentially a combination of Pinhead and Freddy, it's safe to say "Wishmaster" is a movie respectful of its influences. It's also respectful of its audience's intelligence, which is to say this shocker doesn't bore us with the pretense of trying to be smart... You couldn't wish for a better low-budget fright flick."

Novelization

In 2020, an official novelization of the film was written by Christian Francis and published by Encyclopocalypse Publications.

References

External links

* {{Wishmaster series 1997 films 1997 horror films 1997 fantasy films 1997 independent films 1990s supernatural films American independent films American supernatural horror films 1990s English-language films Films scored by Harry Manfredini Films about wish fulfillment Films directed by Robert Kurtzman Films set in Iran Genies in film Artisan Entertainment films Lionsgate franchises Wishmaster films 1990s American films