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Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled
Artisan // R // October 22, 2002
List Price: $24.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
"When God breathed fire into the universe, 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. According to an ancient prophecy, one who wakes a Djinn shall be given three wishes. If the third wish is granted, the unholy legions of the Djinn will be unleashed upon the earth. Fear one thing only...fear the Djinn."
So begins Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled, the fourth entry in Artisan Entertainment's horror series. Any good horror franchise -- well, any horror franchise at all, really -- has a defined formula. Chucky weasels his way into some hapless kid's life, knocking off everyone around him as the Good Guy doll makes another vain attempt to switch bodies. Jason is somehow awakened, slicing and dicing promiscuous campers daft enough to spend a weekend at the site of several hundred gruesome murders. Someone stirs Freddy's bones, and a group of friends is subsequently knocked off one by one as they sleep until a plan is devised to stave off Krueger's reign of terror until the next sequel. The list goes on and on...
Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled similarly doesn't divert greatly from the series' established formula -- wishes go awry as a Djinn pursues a strong female lead in an attempt to bring abou Armageddon. Our lady of the morning this time around is Lisa Burnley (Tara Spencer-Mairn). As The Prophecy Fulfilled opens, we're introduced to Lisa and her husband Sam (Jason Thompson), a couple so amorous that the audience is treated to a sex scene before the movie's even three minutes in. A horror movie that kicks off with a giddy couple obviously won't stay so cheerful for long, and after hopping forward a few years, Sam is crippled and their once spotless marriage is in shambles. Their lawyer buddy Steven Verdel (Michael Trucco) is hard at work, striving to get the negligent motorcycle company responsible for Sam's accident to cough up a few million bucks. To thank Lisa for her patience and to try to position himself as a viable romantic option, Stevie gives her an antique box discovered during a late night eBay marathon. Lisa drops the box, spilling out a crimson jewel. Yup, the Djinn is awakened and, after spouting off exposition already covered in the movie's prologue, assumes Steven's identity to get closer to the Waker.
Artisan would have a tough time continuing the Wishmaster franchise if a Djinn actually managed to bring about Armageddon, so the race's track record over the past few millenia would have to be pretty disappointing. Up to this point in the series, our Strong Female Leads™ cleverly used their third wishes to undo the Djinnsanity wrought over the past hour and a half of material. In The Prophecy Fulfilled, Steven-Djinn actually manages to yank three wishes from Lisa with relative ease, but there's another stumbling block keeping the Djinn from overrunning the earth. As Steven-Djinn fetches her a glass of water, Lisa mutters that she wishes she could love him for what he really is. It's a wish that doesn't make much sense, sure, but it's also one the Djinn cannot grant. In order to destroy the world, Steven-Djinn has to woo Lisa away from her cantankerous cripple of a husband and win her heart. Another complication is the introduction of the Hunter, whose prey isn't as obvious as it might seem. The Hunter is destined to awaken when the Waker makes her third wish, which would seem to me to generally be one wish too late.
I don't watch horror movies for sterling dialogue or complex, three-dimensional characters, but I do like inventive kills, something there was no shortage of in the first couple Wishmasters. With each installment, production values have spiraled downward, and that's what hurts The Prophecy Fulfilled more than anything. The body count is comparatively low, and the Djinn grants far fewer of the ancillary wishes than in previous entries in the series. The kill scenes are generally very tame, and there's not much lingering gore to speak of after the first couple of murders. Angel does take full advantage of the cheapest kind of production values: his female cast members' willingness to bare their breasts. Lisa seems to sieze every possible opportunity to disrobe, appearing in several lengthy sex scenes as well as showering behind a translucent curtain. There are even a couple of scenes that take place in a strip club. Speaking of which, The Prophecy Fulfilled's attempts to further flesh out the Wishmaster mythology aren't particularly memorable. The Hunter is a minor character in the scheme of things, and the three additional Djinn pictured on the back of the box ("He's back...and he's brought company!") remain in another dimension, appearing only to remind Steven-Djinn that the prophecy must be fulfilled. Actually, everyone seems to speak at some point about the prophecy and its fulfillment. I guess they came up with the title before the screenplay had been banged out.
Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled is surprisingly okay. It's something I'd be willing to invest a couple of hours watching on HBO or the Sci-Fi Channel on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and I'm probably even deranged enough to fork over a couple of bucks for a rental. Twenty dollars, on the other hand... The Prophecy Fulfilled is the weakest of the Wishmasters I've seen, and should Artisan decide to put a fifth entry into production, hopefully they'll invest enough money into the project for it to be done correctly.
Video: Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled is presented in anamorphic widescreen at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The image is grainy at times and doesn't offer the level of crispness and clarity expected from such a recent production. Even the additional resolution a 16x9-enhanced DVD provides doesn't make for more than an incremental improvement over a cable television broadcast in this case. Colors often seem drab, particularly in the first half hour or so, though the image isn't marred by speckling or the like to any great extent.
Audio: The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio fares a little better. Directionality is fair, and the surround channels and the LFE get a mild work out, nicely accentuating the movie's sound effects and the score contributed by Daryl Bennett and Jim Guttridge. Also available are an English stereo surround track and Spanish subtitles.
Supplements: Heading up the supplements on Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled are a pair of commentaries, helpfully labeled "Commentary 1" and "Commentary 2" on the menus. The first is headed by director Chris Angel, who is joined by Michael Trucco and Jason Thompson. The group is chatty, keeping the discussion constantly moving while interjecting a few jokes in with the anecdotes and technical details. Angel turns up on the less interesting second commentary as well, retreading much of the same ground with John Novak. Novak's attempts to blend in a little comedy quickly become obnoxious and grating.
The admittedly cleverly titled "Wishmasterpiece Theater" is a collection of full-frame behind the scenes material. With an appopriate yet somewhat irritating Alistair Cooke impression that'll have viewers fumbling for the 'Mute' button, this seven minute featurette includes footage of the sword fight, Tracy's levitation, Lisa and Steven-Djinn walking on water, pole dancing at the strip club, Brick's backalley brawl, the one-car car chase, and the special effects-riddled finale. There's a definite sense of humor about it, my favorite portion being the cutting back and forth between Tara Spencer-Nairn and her butch stunt double.
"The Wishmaster Dating Guide" is a hee-sterical question and answer session about the Djinn's love life. Each question has a couple of different answers selected at random, giving this feature a bit more in the way of replay value. A quick example: "Does the Wishmaster smoke after sharing intimacies?" "Does a bear shit in the woods?" The answers are all pretty stupid, but that's what makes it so funny.
Thirty-four storyboards run through much of the finale, and rounding out the supplements is a letterboxed, non-anamorphic trailer.
Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled is divided up into twenty chapters. The menus are largely static, with animated flames flickering in the background and zoom-'n-blur transitions from menu to menu.
Conclusion: With a larger cast to massacre and more gruesome special effects, Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled would've been much easier to recommend. Despite the impressive amount of supplemental material, the movie itself is unremarkable, even by direct-to-video horror standards. Established fans of the series might still find it worth a rental or purchase. Rent It.
So begins Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled, the fourth entry in Artisan Entertainment's horror series. Any good horror franchise -- well, any horror franchise at all, really -- has a defined formula. Chucky weasels his way into some hapless kid's life, knocking off everyone around him as the Good Guy doll makes another vain attempt to switch bodies. Jason is somehow awakened, slicing and dicing promiscuous campers daft enough to spend a weekend at the site of several hundred gruesome murders. Someone stirs Freddy's bones, and a group of friends is subsequently knocked off one by one as they sleep until a plan is devised to stave off Krueger's reign of terror until the next sequel. The list goes on and on...
Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled similarly doesn't divert greatly from the series' established formula -- wishes go awry as a Djinn pursues a strong female lead in an attempt to bring abou Armageddon. Our lady of the morning this time around is Lisa Burnley (Tara Spencer-Mairn). As The Prophecy Fulfilled opens, we're introduced to Lisa and her husband Sam (Jason Thompson), a couple so amorous that the audience is treated to a sex scene before the movie's even three minutes in. A horror movie that kicks off with a giddy couple obviously won't stay so cheerful for long, and after hopping forward a few years, Sam is crippled and their once spotless marriage is in shambles. Their lawyer buddy Steven Verdel (Michael Trucco) is hard at work, striving to get the negligent motorcycle company responsible for Sam's accident to cough up a few million bucks. To thank Lisa for her patience and to try to position himself as a viable romantic option, Stevie gives her an antique box discovered during a late night eBay marathon. Lisa drops the box, spilling out a crimson jewel. Yup, the Djinn is awakened and, after spouting off exposition already covered in the movie's prologue, assumes Steven's identity to get closer to the Waker.
Artisan would have a tough time continuing the Wishmaster franchise if a Djinn actually managed to bring about Armageddon, so the race's track record over the past few millenia would have to be pretty disappointing. Up to this point in the series, our Strong Female Leads™ cleverly used their third wishes to undo the Djinnsanity wrought over the past hour and a half of material. In The Prophecy Fulfilled, Steven-Djinn actually manages to yank three wishes from Lisa with relative ease, but there's another stumbling block keeping the Djinn from overrunning the earth. As Steven-Djinn fetches her a glass of water, Lisa mutters that she wishes she could love him for what he really is. It's a wish that doesn't make much sense, sure, but it's also one the Djinn cannot grant. In order to destroy the world, Steven-Djinn has to woo Lisa away from her cantankerous cripple of a husband and win her heart. Another complication is the introduction of the Hunter, whose prey isn't as obvious as it might seem. The Hunter is destined to awaken when the Waker makes her third wish, which would seem to me to generally be one wish too late.
I don't watch horror movies for sterling dialogue or complex, three-dimensional characters, but I do like inventive kills, something there was no shortage of in the first couple Wishmasters. With each installment, production values have spiraled downward, and that's what hurts The Prophecy Fulfilled more than anything. The body count is comparatively low, and the Djinn grants far fewer of the ancillary wishes than in previous entries in the series. The kill scenes are generally very tame, and there's not much lingering gore to speak of after the first couple of murders. Angel does take full advantage of the cheapest kind of production values: his female cast members' willingness to bare their breasts. Lisa seems to sieze every possible opportunity to disrobe, appearing in several lengthy sex scenes as well as showering behind a translucent curtain. There are even a couple of scenes that take place in a strip club. Speaking of which, The Prophecy Fulfilled's attempts to further flesh out the Wishmaster mythology aren't particularly memorable. The Hunter is a minor character in the scheme of things, and the three additional Djinn pictured on the back of the box ("He's back...and he's brought company!") remain in another dimension, appearing only to remind Steven-Djinn that the prophecy must be fulfilled. Actually, everyone seems to speak at some point about the prophecy and its fulfillment. I guess they came up with the title before the screenplay had been banged out.
Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled is surprisingly okay. It's something I'd be willing to invest a couple of hours watching on HBO or the Sci-Fi Channel on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and I'm probably even deranged enough to fork over a couple of bucks for a rental. Twenty dollars, on the other hand... The Prophecy Fulfilled is the weakest of the Wishmasters I've seen, and should Artisan decide to put a fifth entry into production, hopefully they'll invest enough money into the project for it to be done correctly.
Video: Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled is presented in anamorphic widescreen at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The image is grainy at times and doesn't offer the level of crispness and clarity expected from such a recent production. Even the additional resolution a 16x9-enhanced DVD provides doesn't make for more than an incremental improvement over a cable television broadcast in this case. Colors often seem drab, particularly in the first half hour or so, though the image isn't marred by speckling or the like to any great extent.
Audio: The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio fares a little better. Directionality is fair, and the surround channels and the LFE get a mild work out, nicely accentuating the movie's sound effects and the score contributed by Daryl Bennett and Jim Guttridge. Also available are an English stereo surround track and Spanish subtitles.
Supplements: Heading up the supplements on Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled are a pair of commentaries, helpfully labeled "Commentary 1" and "Commentary 2" on the menus. The first is headed by director Chris Angel, who is joined by Michael Trucco and Jason Thompson. The group is chatty, keeping the discussion constantly moving while interjecting a few jokes in with the anecdotes and technical details. Angel turns up on the less interesting second commentary as well, retreading much of the same ground with John Novak. Novak's attempts to blend in a little comedy quickly become obnoxious and grating.
The admittedly cleverly titled "Wishmasterpiece Theater" is a collection of full-frame behind the scenes material. With an appopriate yet somewhat irritating Alistair Cooke impression that'll have viewers fumbling for the 'Mute' button, this seven minute featurette includes footage of the sword fight, Tracy's levitation, Lisa and Steven-Djinn walking on water, pole dancing at the strip club, Brick's backalley brawl, the one-car car chase, and the special effects-riddled finale. There's a definite sense of humor about it, my favorite portion being the cutting back and forth between Tara Spencer-Nairn and her butch stunt double.
"The Wishmaster Dating Guide" is a hee-sterical question and answer session about the Djinn's love life. Each question has a couple of different answers selected at random, giving this feature a bit more in the way of replay value. A quick example: "Does the Wishmaster smoke after sharing intimacies?" "Does a bear shit in the woods?" The answers are all pretty stupid, but that's what makes it so funny.
Thirty-four storyboards run through much of the finale, and rounding out the supplements is a letterboxed, non-anamorphic trailer.
Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled is divided up into twenty chapters. The menus are largely static, with animated flames flickering in the background and zoom-'n-blur transitions from menu to menu.
Conclusion: With a larger cast to massacre and more gruesome special effects, Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled would've been much easier to recommend. Despite the impressive amount of supplemental material, the movie itself is unremarkable, even by direct-to-video horror standards. Established fans of the series might still find it worth a rental or purchase. Rent It.
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