Little fright, much gore saturates
'Wishmaster'

By Tim Burchett
Special to The Bakersfield Californian



If it's a scary movie you want, forget about seeing "Wishmaster."

On the other hand, if you're a gorehound, it's right up your alley.

Written by Pete Atkins (Hellraiser 2 and 3), "Wishmaster" tells the tale of a genie who is released from a jewel in which he has been imprisoned for several thousand years, and of the bloody havok he wreaks.

Tammy Laurens plays the requisite female lead who may be the world's only hope to stop him.

Andrew Divoff is okay as the Djinn, but he's not effective enough to be the new answer to Freddy or Jason. Laurens is fine in her role but it could have been written better.

The FX work is actually pretty good. I guess that credit has to go to director Robert Kurtzman, who knows a thing or two in that area, being the K in KNB FX Studios (the studio also worked on "Spawn").

As I mentioned earlier, "Wishmaster" is an extremely gory movie, but it's not as disturbing as other movies out there; the filmmakers keep a sense of humor about everything.

Perhaps the best reason to watch "Wishmaster" is for the cameos by many horror veterans. My favorite was Robert Englund. His role as a museum curator is the best role in the movie.

I recommend waiting the six months until "Wishmaster" comes out on video. But, hey, if you want to spend your money now, go ahead. I'm sure the producers will be happy if you do.