Wishmaster is an onslaught of mean spirited and immensly creative chaotic practical effects work reminiscent of goopy madness from the likes of Barker, Craven, Gordon, and Yuzna, all masterminded by a Djinn equal parts Pinhead and Krueger cycles through a post Scream filter... and it’s totally respectful of its influences.Opening with an insane gore galore equence of intestines strangling people, a man-snake hybrid slithering around, and mr. Skeleton man walking around, this movie knows exactly what it is and I love how it opens and closes with a party sequence, both full on crazy spectacles for absurdity: a piano uses its strings to decapitated someone, ancient statues come to life to kill, Jack the Ripper jumps out of a painting and slits a guys throat, eyelids sewn shut, Kane Hodder gets walked through, Buck Flower wishes Reggie Bannister to get cancer and die, faces and bodies deforming like they are at a shunting party, it’s all so absurd and nutso I couldn’t help but love it this time around.There’s flaws but I wouldn’t use three wishes to change any of it because honestly I had a ton of fun—At a time when meta fever was taking over here comes Wishmaster straight outta 1988 with an evil genie and a hellscape puzzlebox-esque opal ruby thing and Robert England pukes up a slimy amoeba facehugger that sprouts tentacles so yeah, 4 stars.
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Hooptober XIII: 19/31Honestly, I don't know what the hell I was on the first time Wishmaster came into my world. Famed makeup & FX artist Robert Kurtzman's foray into the directorial seat with Wishmaster is an endearing celebration for 80's & 90's horror fans, chock full of B-movie stylistic flourishes and nods. The incredible, all-time horror cast, the absolutely mesmerizing practical gore and creature effects, over the top acting performances, the somehow kind of plot relevant basketball coach subplot. Maybe it was the chill in the air signaling the Halloween season, but upon this latest stroll with Wishmaster, it was like the cosmos aligned with a perfect synchronicity, leading me back to finally, and fully adore Wishmaster for the masterpiece it is. This film is just so... ambitiously absurd. Upon subsequent viewings, the realization of Wishmaster being created for an audience so uniquely unserious yet tragically tasteful, my brain couldn't fully process just how incredibly majestic it all was. The heart & spirit of Fangoria Magazine and EC Comics courses through its DNA, which again, just didn't fully hit me the first time around. Sometimes we just don't appreciate what we have in the moment, ya know?That final set piece too. It truly is one for the horror history books. Full of bizarre facial trauma, vomited xenomorph resembling creatures, and my own god damn irrational fear of statues coming to life. Marvelous. Fucking Mickey Torrelli!!🧞📜👿🩸🍺⛔️😵
