Wishmaster introduction

[Jonathan]

Wishmaster is a 1997 American horror film directed by Robert Kurtzman. It was executive produced by Wes Craven, the only film of the Wishmaster series with his name attached. The plot of Wishmaster concerns a djinn, an omnipotent, supremely evil entity 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 the earth.

The film stars Andrew Divoff as The Djinn and Tammy Lauren, and features many actors from other popular horror movies such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and Candyman.

Three sequels were released: Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies, Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell and Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled.

[Jonathan]

Contents
Plot Edit

A narrator (Angus Scrimm) 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, that person will receive three wishes but the third wish will free legions of djinn on Earth. In 1127, the 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 (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) supervises workers lowering a box containing an antique statue of Ahura Mazda onto a ship. The worker (Joseph Pilato) who is operating the crane is drunk and drops the box, killing Beaumont's assistant (Ted Raimi) and destroying the statue. A dockworker 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 (Tammy Lauren) 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 is killed, upon his wish for relief from his physical pain.

Alex tracks the gem to the statue which she tracks to Beaumont, who sends Alex to visit Wendy Derleth (Jenny O'Hara), a folklore professor, who explains the history of the gem and the djinn. Later, Alex learns that the djinn needs to power the gem with human souls and then grant her three wishes before he can open the gateway to release the djinn on Earth. Meanwhile, the djinn takes the form of a dead man and uses the name Nathaniel Demerest. He grants wishes in exchange for souls while he searches for Alex. Each time the djinn grants a wish, Alex sees troubling visions. She consults Derleth, but 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, as well an extra "test" wish; she orders the djinn to kill itself. He shoots himself in the head with a gun but his wound heals instantly, revealing the djinn as an immortal. Using the first of the official three wishes, Alex wishes to know her opponent, the djinn. He teleports her to his world within the gem which terrifies her. She wishes herself back to her apartment, alone.

The Djinn had been threatening Alex's sister, Shannon (Wendy Benson), so Alex hurries to a party Beaumont invited them to earlier. The djinn follows, again disguised as Nathaniel Demerest. When Beaumont wishes his party would be unforgettable, the djinn causes artwork to kill the guests. Eventually the djinn corners the sisters and attempts to scare Alex into making her third wish. Alex wishes the crane operator, Mickey Torelli, had not been drunk at work, undoing the events that followed and trapping the djinn in the fire opal again.

The now sober crane operator 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 waits on a throne, waiting to be released.

Cast

[Jonathan]

Tammy Lauren as Alexandra Amberson
Andrew Divoff as The Djinn / Nathaniel Demerest
Robert Englund as Raymond Beaumont
Chris Lemmon as Nick Merritt
Wendy Benson as Shannon Amberson
Tony Crane as Josh Aickman
Jenny O'Hara as Wendy Derleth
Kane Hodder as Merritt's guard
Tony Todd as Johnny Valentine
Ricco Ross as Lt. Nathanson
George 'Buck' Flower as Homeless Man (cameo)
Ted Raimi as Ed Finney (cameo)
Reggie Bannister as Pharmacist (cameo)
Angus Scrimm as narrator (voice only)

[Jonathan]

Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies

Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies is the 1999 horror sequel to the film, Wishmaster. It premiered on cable television in March 1999, and was released directly-to-DVD bundled with the first movie in August of that year

During an attempted robbery of a museum, the fire opal that contains the Djinn is accidentally released by a stray gunshot. One of the burglars, a beautiful young woman named Morgana Truscott (Holly Fields), steals the gem and is forced to abandon her partner during the escape. The Djinn escapes and kills the remaining burglar when he accidentally wishes he'd never been born. As the police enter the museum, the demon finishes forming into full size, revealing the Djinn (Andrew Divoff). The Djinn surrenders to the police and is led away.

That evening, Morgana is shown sleeping very restlessly, her left arm dangling over the edge of the bed. In the meantime, Demarest is in a holding cell waiting to be transferred to prison, where he kills a fellow prisoner. In her dreams, she sees glimpses of the Djinn in his true form. The next day, Morgana goes to Church to visit the priest tending the church, a man named Gregory (Paul Johannson) - a former lover of Morgana's before he found God and joined the priesthood.

In prison, Demarest continues to kill prisoners and other personnel through purposely misconstrued wishes, and is confronted by Butz (Rhino Michaels) and his two henchmen, the Tiger brothers (James Kim and Simon Kim). Butz runs all "underground business" at the prison and gives Demarest a "friendly" warning that he is going to be watching him.

Morgana is up at dawn, screaming out to her unseen tormentor, demanding to know who he is. She goes to her computer and does an internet search on Persian Mythology. A voice-over from Morgana recites the contents of a web site she is reading on the Persian deity Ahura Mazda. He was known as a deity of both light and dark, symbolizing the duality of good and evil. He was also known as the keeper of the Stone of the Sacred Fire. Gregory arrives at her loft, he says that Father Dimitri from the church noted that she had passed by, and she seemed unwell. Morgana opens up just a little, telling Gregory she hasn't been sleeping well, and experiencing confusing nightmares about a voice telling her to "fulfill the prophecy" and confesses to the robbery and the murder of the guard.

Morgana goes to the prison to visit Demarest. She demands to know why he confessed to the robbery, and he says it was so she wouldn't have to, and admits to not having to be in prison long, before showing his true form, driving Morgana away. Morgana is at home, doing more research on the internet on Persian mythos. She finds references to the Djinn, a powerful being that laid waste to the Persian court before the King's alchemist created the Stone of the Sacred Fire and imprisoned the Djinn inside it. The Persian deity Ahura Mazda was enlisted to keep the Djinn imprisoned in the "space between worlds" so that he cannot escape and bring about world-wide apocalypse. Morgana is startled as her window is abruptly blown open by a sharp gust of wind, papers flying everywhere.

Morgana goes to see Gregory the next day to tell him about her findings. Gregory rides to the prison with Morgana and confronts Demarest, demanding he leave Morgana alone. Demarest knows exactly who Gregory is, and about his past relationship with Morgana. He even perfectly duplicates Morgana's voice, speaking seductively to Gregory.

Later that evening, Morgana, alone in her loft, begins undergoing a number of rituals aimed at purifying her soul, as only someone pure of heart can banish the Djinn back into his prison.

Back at the prison, Demarest kills the prison warden and escapes the prison when one of the prisoners wishes to be released.

Osip brings Demarest to Pushkin and tells him that Demarest is a Wishmaster who can give Pushkin anything he wants. But Pushkin brushes them off, saying he already has great wealth and power, and he doesn't need or desire fame. As he is leaving, Demarest asks if Pushkin has any enemies he would like to see eliminated, and Osip quickly pounces. Pushkin's greatest enemy is a rival crime boss named Moustafa. The mere mention of Moustafa's name sends Pushkin into a rage. Demarest assures Pushkin that he can do what Pushkin himself might not be able to, like take care of Moustafa. Carelessly, fueled by his anger, Pushkin wishes to have Moustafa's head.

Just then, Morgana rushes into the club room, shooting Demarest twice in the chest with her gun. Both she and Osip freeze in horror as the attack only causes the Djinn to assume his true form. He laughs at Morgana's foolishly thinking she could kill him.

Gregory finds Morgana praying feverishly at the church altar, and sobbing inconsolably. She confesses to Gregory that she tried to kill Demarest and then saw the Djinn's true face. She laments that her guilt, the blood of the innocent man she killed at the art gallery heist, can never be washed away, and so she can never hope to fight the Djinn. Gregory patiently counsels her, promising that God can cleanse any and all burden she carries if only she allows Him to, and that while the Djinn might be too powerful for they to fight, God can win the battle using them as His instruments. During this, they find Morgana is invulnerable when she attempts suicide so the Djinn can not grant her the three necessary wishes.

Morgana and Gregory are preparing for the trip in pursuit of the Djinn. Gregory has compiled more notes, including the incantation used by the alchemist who imprisoned the Djinn; "As was prophesied, the alchemist took the stone into his hand as a woman pure of heart takes the light of God unto her soul, and spoke the words, Nib Sugaroth Baheim". Morgana points out that unlike the two of them, the alchemist knew what he was doing. But as Gregory points out, these notes are the only solid plan they have on how to defeat the Djinn. Morgana begins to kiss Gregory, and despite his initial reticence, she makes love to him. In Vegas, the Djinn begins granting wishes to the casino patrons in order to collect the remaining required souls.

As Morgana and Gregory ride a cab through Las Vegas to the casino Demarest is operating out of, the Djinn stands in his office in his true form. Holding up the fire opal, he intones a deep growl and calls in all the debts owed him—he claims the souls everyone gave up through their wishes.

Noting that Demarest has left the fire opal on his desk, Gregory quietly inches toward it while Demarest is speaking to Morgana. Rushing forward, he grabs it and recites the incantation used by the alchemist. Demarest merely smiles again, noting the two of them have studied the legends well, before gesturing, and the fire opal vanishes from Gregory's hand into Demarest's. He warns them about playing with forces they don't understand. After Morgana accidentally wishes for the Djinn to go to hell, they're transported inside the fire opal, and Gregory is killed after she wishes for him to be released.

But Morgana has forgotten that death is often a release. She screams in grief at the Djinn, angrily wishing for a world free of evil. But the Djinn reminds her that evil is but half of a perfect sphere—without it, good cannot exist. He warns her that he is losing his patience with her. Morgana tries desperately to resist the Djinn's will.

Morgana's fears suddenly quiet and she asks the Djinn the meaning of fulfilling the prophecy. She reminds him that he himself told her that she would know when the time was right. The Djinn impatiently recites the prophecy to her, that the one who wakes the Djinn shall have three wishes; upon the granting of all three, the race of Djinn will reign over the Earth. Due to a slip of the tongue, Morgana realizes the meaning of the prophecy, and wishes for the guard she killed to be alive again.

After receiving a vision of the guard alive and well, she takes the Djinn's fire opal and intones the alchemist's chant, "Nib Sugaroth Baheim". The Djinn is again banished and all the victims returned to life.

[Jonathan]

Wishmaster 3 Beyond The Gates Of Hell otherwise known as Wishmaster 3: Devil Stone in the United Kingdom is the second sequel to the film Wishmaster. The film stars Jason Connery and A.J. Cook in the lead roles. It was the second direct-to-video sequel in the franchise. The film was released throughout 2001, and in the US carried an R rating for Violence/Gore, some sexuality, and language[1]

Contents

For the third time, the evil Wishmaster returns with more evil to wreck the lives of more innocents. This time, his victim is a beautiful, innocent and studious teenage girl named Diana Collins who accidentally opened up the Djinn's tomb (a strange box with a jewel inside) and released him. After gaining his freedom, the Djinn is asked by Professor Barash to let him be the one who makes the wishes. The professor wishes for two of the world's loveliest ladies to be with him, in love.

However, as soon as the Djinn grants this wish, the women (who were dressed in very revealing belly-dancer outfits and being seductive) kill the professor; the Djinn takes the face off of the dead professor and is able to steal his identity. He then kills a secretary by her wishing for "files to burn up" but instead of the files, she burns, along with his needing the student file of Diana as an effort to find her and force her to fulfill her three wishes. While Diana is on the run, she must endeavor to prevent the Djinn from subjecting the entire world to Hell's wrath. While in a Church thinking it was safe, the Djinn is there instead of the priest where apparently her friend Ann is now the "professor's Teaching Assistant" and made the wish of "wanting to lose a little weight" to which she pukes up her guts in pain. Diana uses her first wish for her to stop having pain, but of course that to the Djinn means to kill Ann.

Diana noting that she is in a St. Michael church, uses another wish to summon the archangel Michael who possesses the body of her boyfriend, Greg (it was about to be her body, but Greg pushed her away as the spirit went into him). A slight fight ensues with the Djinn actually somewhat winning, but Michael and Diana escape into a stage theater. Meanwhile as the Djinn tries to follow them, he goes a different way and encounters a female student named Elinor who puts the moves on him, and then wishes for him to "break her heart", in which he literally does resulting in her death. Next, the Djinn goes into the room of Diana where her friend Billy is, with some sort of strangling him Billy tells the Djinn to "blow him" in which he does blow his body into a wooded head of a bull in which the horns pierce into the body of Billy in which the bleeding kills him. The Djinn then picks up a photo of Diana and her friends, and threatens to hurt Katie unless Diana makes her 3rd wish. Michael has revealed to her that only her using his sword can she kill the Djinn, but she isn't ready and when he does try to give her the sword, it severely burns her arm, but Michael heals it.

Katie happens to find the dead body of Billy and finds herself being pursued by the Djinn in a chase, it ends in a science room as the Djinn tricks her into thinking she could successfully hide from him, and then she wishes "for a place to hide" with him sticking her head into a cage of lab rats that presumably nibble at her head, resulting in her death. A 2nd battle ensues between Michael and the Djinn, actually resulting in the Djinn's hand being cut off by the sword, but it grows back. Michael is now in a car with Diana but then the Djinn runs to the car, jumps on top of it, and tries to hurt them but then Diana drives his side unto another car, thus making him fall off. In a crazy twist, she then drives into an information post and the car in flipped into a similar position in which her parents died in a car crash explosion, luckily this time no fatalities as it blows up. In the end, Diana's attempt to commit suicide by jumping off a building which if killed her would have the Djinn defeated (but then the Djinn saved her) actually gives her the ability to wield Michael's sword and she kills the Djinn with it, but is fatally injured when they both fall in the process. Michael heals her wounds before returning to Heaven, and Diana is finally able to admit she loves her boyfriend, who has returned to normal, though injured.


Cast

Jason Connery as Professor Joel Barash.
John Novak as the Djinn.
A.J. Cook as Diana Collins.
Tobias Mehler as Greg Jansen. Later becomes the host for Saint Michael the Archangel.
Louisette Geiss as Katie York.
Aaron Smolinski as Billy Matthews.
Emmanuelle Vaugier as Elinor Smith.
Sarah Carter as Melissa Bell.
Daniella Evangelista as Anne.
Jennifer Pudavick as Jose Rodriguez.

[Jonathan]

Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled is a 2002 American horror film. It is the third and final sequel to the 1997 film, Wishmaster.

As in the previous films, an evil genie is released from his prison - an ancient jewel - and must grant three wishes to the person who awakens him, in order to release the race of Djinns from hell and allow them to take over the earth.

Painter Sam (Jason Thompson) and his girlfriend Lisa (Tara Spencer-Nairn) have just moved in together when he has a terrible accident that leaves him paraplegic; specifically, the bones in his lower legs are fractured. Determined to help him, Lisa retains a lawyer, Steven (Michael Trucco), who has a crush on her. Due to his condition, Sam grows ever more distant from Lisa, ruminating on his and Lisa's inability to have sex and believing that she and Steven are having an affair.

Sensing Sam's growing distance from Lisa, Steven moves in, awkwardly offering as a gift a jewel he found hidden away in an antique desk. The jewel, unknown to Steven, is the Djinn's cell. Lisa inadvertently awakens the Djinn, which secretly kills Steven and takes his form. The Djinn/Steven begins making advances on Lisa to trick her into making wishes.

She first wishes for the case for Sam's condition to be won. The Djinn calls the opposing attorney and forces him to torture himself until he signs a settlement for 10 million dollars. The Djinn next takes Lisa out to a restaurant called The Palace to celebrate the winning of the case, asking her what she wishes for the most. When she says she wishes Sam could walk again, the Djinn grants this wish, enabling Sam to walk, but not repairing the injuries that left him paralyzed. They next go to Steven's place where they share champagne. While getting more for them to drink, the Djinn hears Lisa wish she could love "Steven" for who he really is.

Aware that his true form will lose her forever, he is unable to grant the third wish right away. The Djinn spends much time trying to decipher human love in order to "make" Lisa truly love him, and in the process he develops feelings for her.

One of these attempts is talking with one of her coworkers, who explains he has to grant Lisa's deepest desires, amongst which is ending her three-year-long sex-less life, and accidentally wishes for killer sex, that is extremely pleasurable to her at first, but does kill her. Meanwhile, his fellow Djinn constantly beg him to grant the third wish and let their race inherit the earth. He ignores them to keep learning about love, even visiting a Strip Club, where he meets Sam. Though he tries tricking Sam into making a wish, Steven ends up granting the wishes of a bartender to be a pimple on the rear of one of the strippers, and that of the bouncer, who wished he'd put up more of a fight after being thrown out.

An angel attempts to kill Lisa to prevent the third wish from being granted to her, which would cause the release of all Djinn and an ensuing armageddon. However, Steven arrives and sends her away to safety. The angel and the Djinn fight, with the Djinn eventually winning the battle and killing the angel. Due to his previous planning, Steven has tricked Sam into believing Lisa has now fallen in love with Steven and this forces him to leave. Steven later arrives at Lisa's house with some flowers in an attempt to calm her down from the angel's attack and console her. He gives her a kiss, which leads to them making out and then having sex in the living room. Once Lisa calms down afterward, she realizes she has missed having sex but does not love Steven. Steven asks Lisa very emphatically if she "truly [loves him] for who [he is]" in an attempt to make her grant the third wish; however she is taken aback and somewhat repulsed by his pushiness. Lisa runs upstairs for new clothes, leaving Steven with his thoughts.

At his wit's end, Steven redresses himself and heads upstairs to her bedroom, where she has finished putting on new clothes. Steven explains he gave Lisa what she wanted, but is angrily rebuffed with "thanks for the charity". The Djinn brethren make their presence known, forcing Lisa to flee. Steven voices rage at his fellow Djinn for jeopardizing the wish, telling them he will take care of it. Using his magic to make the upstairs a looping maze, Steven brings Lisa back to the bedroom and reveals his true form to her, offering Lisa a choice: take his hand as the second in command when the Djinn race takes over the world, or to be cast down to another dimension of hell. At the climax, Sam returns and tries to save the day with an angel's sword (wished for by him), but gets stabbed by the Djinn. While the Djinn is still attempting to convince Lisa to take his hand, Sam signals Lisa to push the Djinn through the blade, which is sticking out of Sam. Lisa does that, and both the Djinn and Sam perish. Lisa makes it out of the house and looks back at it, remembering the happier times that she and Sam shared.