Apparently the Prophecy was that This Movie Would Suck
Main Cast: Tara Spencer-Nairn and Michael Trucco
Director: Chris Angel
So THAT’S how it all ends? Four movies, all those hours, and that is the ending to the series? Alright, then.
This, hopefully final, time around, the evil djinn (once again, John Novak) is freed from his prison inside the fire opal, which is now in an entirely different hiding spot than it was in any of the previous movies. This time he’s in a small silver box purchased by lawyer Steven Verdel, for his client Lisa. Lisa and her boyfriend have hired Steven to represent them in a case against…I’m not sure who, only that the issue is the failed rear braking system on Sam’s bike which has left him paralyzed from the waist down.
The case isn’t going well, the defendants don’t want to settle, but Steven has decided this is the perfect time to give Lisa this gift in hopes she’ll realize her love for him and leave Sam. Not so fast, there. Lisa actually loves Sam, even though since the accident–some time within the last three years–Sam has turned to drinking and internet porn and has grown more and more resentful of Lisa because he thinks she’s still with him out of pity.
So when Steven goes in for the kiss, Lisa freaks out, drops the box, it breaks open revealing the opal and, when she leaves, the djinn reveals himself and steals Steven’s face to better grant Lisa’s three wishes. The goal here is the same as all the other movies, grant the waker three wishes and, upon the granting of the third wish, open the gates between the human world and the djinn world so they can cross over and rule.
Actually, this time the first two wishes come in fairly rapid order. Lisa wishes for the case to be settled, so it is, for 10,000,000. She wishes Sam could walk again, and he can. But neither of those things improve his mood. He’s still convinced she’s only there to get her cut of the settlement. Lisa on the other hand still loves Sam dearly and just wants things to go back the way they were.
When they don’t, she makes her third wish, that she could love Steve, the lawyer, for who he is.
Now here’s a conundrum, because in the world of wish-granting, making someone love you is one of those tough ones. Love must be freely given, otherwise it’s not love. So the djinn can’t exactly grant this particular wish. What he CAN do, is try to work some playa magic and MAKE Lisa fall in love with him, then revealing who he really is when he thinks the time is right.
Meanwhile, he’s still tooling around town granting wishes to random people and gathering their souls. Oh, and Lisa making her third wish has also brought the Hunter into the picture, who I was assuming was a black-clad angel with a big sword. His task is to kill Lisa before her third wish can be granted. If he kills her, the wish can’t be granted and if the wish can’t be granted, then the portal can’t be opened.
And all the while, Lisa just wants Sam to love her again.
John Benjamin Martin (a few episodes of “Poltergeist: The Legacy”) wrote the script, with Chris Angel returning as director. In fact, this movie was filmed back to back with the third installment which means someone out here had high hopes for part 3, or part 2 did REALLY good. Either way, there is absolutely no connection between the two movies other than John Novak as the djinn. The story from part 3 doesn’t carry over and continue on, no references are made, we’re not even sure how the djinn went from the last time we saw him in part 3 to the first time we see him in part 4. You’d think with one director working on both movies nearly simultaneously, stuff like that could have been ironed out beforehand.
The acting is nothing special at all. Tara Spencer-Nairn (“Poltergeist: The Legacy”) stars as Lisa who basically has to do nothing but be morose and mourn the boyfriend who doesn’t want her anymore. The real star here is Michael Trucco (“Battlestar Galactica” and “Revenge”) who plays Steven Verdel and the human face of the djinn. He’s a smooth dude who makes things happen, but also lets glimpses of a softer side shine through as he’s trying to make Lisa fall for him. Unfortunately, a softer side doesn’t really work in a Wishmaster movie. We’re talking about an evil djinn who, when someone says I wish I were thinner, makes them puke up their stomach and for all the fat to be sucked out of their bodies. This guy doesn’t have a softer side. Yet in this movie, he does. He still wants to grant Lisa’s third wish and bring his brethren to earth, but I got the feeling that what he REALLY wanted was Lisa.
I just didn’t care for it. It negates the menace of your villain when all he wants is for someone to love him.
Personally, I hope this really is the last movie in this franchise. With each movie it was feeling more and more like the Leprechaun series, and I just don’t know if I could watch Wishmaster in Space, or Wishmaster N Da Hood!
This series wore out its welcome with the first sequel. Parts 3 and 4 are just overkill and neither one of them add anything of value to the series. Wishmaster 4: The Prophecy Fulfilled especially. Sure, if you’ve come this far and you’ve already got the movie in your possession, give it a shot. But if you have to put forth any effort, such as buying a copy with actual money, then, no you’re just wasting your time with this movie. And this series.
C. Dennis Moore is the author of over 60 published short stories and novellas in the speculative fiction genre. Most recent appearances are in the Dark Highlands 2, What Fears Become, Dead Bait 3 and Dark Highways anthologies. His novels are Revelations, and the Angel Hill stories, The Man in the Window, The Third Floor, and The Flip.
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