Wednesday, May 16, 2018

200 Items Or Less: Wishmaster (1997)

A few thoughts: Starting right off with a sequence full of some totally awesome effects work, the movie quickly does away with the practical and jumps into more CG territory. And not just any CG -- late '90s CG. Simply the best! Well, let's be fair, there are tons of practical effects throughout, but the CG is two lousy not to complain about. Basically, this is a Hellraiser rip-off, blending fantasy, folklore, and body maiming brutality. Unsurprisingly, Hellraiser is much better, but that doesn't mean there aren't things to like about this. As mentioned before, the practical effects and makeup are great, Robert Englund has a nice supporting role that's completely ham-free, and Andrew Divoff makes for a very entertaining and corny villain. With tons of cameos from horror stars like Angus Scrimm, Tony Todd, and Kane Hodder, and directed by Robert Kurtzman (known largely for his prosthetic/makeup work), this is a horror movie filled with little nuggets for fans of the genre. It's just not quite good enough to really stand on its own.


Who would I recommend it to? Mostly people who enjoy practical effects work. But again, that's blended in with some crap CG. Also, horror nuts will enjoy the cameos.

My grade: C-

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