{"id":14603,"date":"2017-03-19T23:38:44","date_gmt":"2017-03-20T06:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=14603"},"modified":"2017-03-19T23:43:33","modified_gmt":"2017-03-20T06:43:33","slug":"review-wishmaster-collection-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2017\/03\/review-wishmaster-collection-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Wishmaster Collection BD + Screen Caps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Although 3 out of the 4 movies in these are, well, utter crap, this Wishmaster Collection<\/em><\/strong> is a well done addition to the Vestron Collector\u2019s Series and includes some excellent new bonus material for the first film<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Wishmaster Collection<\/span>
\n(1997-2002)<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Horror, Fantasy
\nLionsgate | R \u2013 370 min. \u2013 $49.99 | March 28, 2017<\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 03\/19\/2017 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"\"
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"\"<\/td>\n\"\"<\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
MOVIE INFO (WISHMASTER<\/em>):
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Robert Kurtzman
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Peter Atkins (written by)
\nCast: <\/strong>Tammy Lauren, Andrew Divoff, Robert Englund, Chris Lemmon, Wendy Benson, Kane Hodder, Tony Todd<\/p>\n

MOVIE INFO (WISHMASTER 2<\/em>):
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Jack Sholder
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Peter Atkins (characters by), Jack Sholder (written by)
\nCast: <\/strong>Andrew Divoff, Holly Fields, Paul Johansson, Bokeem Woodbine, Tommy \u2018Tiny\u2019 Lister<\/p>\n

MOVIE INFO (WISHMASTER 3<\/em>):
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Chris Angel
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Peter Atkins (characters by), Alex Wright (written by)
\nCast: <\/strong>Jason Connery, A.J. Cook, Tobias Mehler, John Novak<\/p>\n

MOVIE INFO (WISHMASTER 4<\/em>):
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Chris Angel
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Peter Atkins (characters by), John Benjamin Martin (written by)
\nCast: <\/strong>Michael Trucco, Tara Spencer-Nairn, Jason Thompson, Victor Webster, John Novak<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

DISC INFO:
\n<\/u>Features: <\/strong>Commentaries, Featurettes, Trailers, Still Galleries
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>No
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio: <\/strong>Wishmaster 1 & 3<\/em> – <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 2.0); Wishmaster 2<\/em> – <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.0); Wishmaster 4<\/em> – <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
\nVideo: <\/strong>Wishmaster 1 <\/em>\u2013 1080p\/Widescreen 1.78; Wishmaster 2-4<\/em> \u2013 1080p\/Widescreen 1.85
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

THE MOVIE \u2014 2.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

The based premise of this franchise is: If a person wakes a djinn, that person will receive three wishes but the third wish will free legions of djinn on Earth. Each of the four films interchange a variety of female leads and change-up the plot ever so slightly. Of them, A.J. Cook is probably the most well known for her work on Criminal Minds<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Wishmaster<\/em><\/strong> (1997) \u2014 <\/strong>***\u00bd\/*****
\nThe first of the quadrilogy is, without question, the best. It has, what appears to be at least, respectable budget, Wes Craven\u2019s name as an executive producer and his pals make token appearances from Robert Englund as a philanthropist who collects ancient artifacts, one of which contained the gem that housed the djinn; to Kane Hodder as a security guard and Tony Todd portraying a bouncer, the latter two more cameos and fodder for slaughter.<\/p>\n

Although I did like Tammy Lauren as the lead actress, and she manages to do fine, the highlight is easily Andrew Divoff who carries the movie on his shoulders with a hammy but incredibly fun performance knowing all too well just the kind of movie he\u2019s in.<\/p>\n

And with a decent budget, the effects work by Robert Kurtzman (who also directed), Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger between the djinn monster and a finale that involves statues coming to life to kill our lead.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies<\/em><\/strong> (1999) \u2014 <\/strong>**\u00bc\/*****
\nThe sequel, from the very beginning, was clearly a step down in production value with some lousy visual effects, even by 1999 standards, but at least Andrew Divoff and his campy performance was back to make it a watchable romp while lead actress Holly Fields was serviceable and cute, but she is a step down from Tammy Lauren in terms of on-screen charisma.<\/p>\n

Taking over the directing duties is Jack Sholder (who also scripted) and I suppose given the budget, he didn\u2019t do a terrible job, though being responsible for the screenplay, he can\u2019t go blameless for a pretty thin plot. Prior to Wishmaster 2<\/em><\/strong>, Sholder also helmed A Nightmare on Elm Street 2<\/em>, so another connection to Wes Craven who did not return as executive producer but presumably recommended Sholder for the post.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell<\/em><\/strong> (2001) \u2014 <\/strong>*\/*****
\nAnd this is where the series takes a downturn. Under the direction of Chris Angel, whose career mostly consists of editing a variety of TV movies, Wishmaster 3<\/em><\/strong> apparently took a big hit to the budget and brought on a screenwriter who took inspiration of the rash of crappy teen slasher flicks. John Novak takes over the role of the Djinn and not unlike Robert John Burke in RoboCop 3<\/em>, Andrew Divoff\u2019s cheesiness was sorely missing. Also, A.J. Cook is the latest to tackle the female lead and while it\u2019s not even close she\u2019s had the more successful career post, she probably was one of the weaker characters of the four films.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Wishmaster: The Prophesy Fulfilled<\/em><\/strong> (2002) \u2014 <\/strong>*\u00bc\/*****
\nFrom what I\u2019ve read, the fourth and thankfully final film of this uninspiring franchise was apparently filmed not too long after the third and although it\u2019s certainly not very good, and John Novak\u2019s Djinn still is anything but scary or funny, admittedly this one at least attempted at some cheesy humor courtesy of Michael Trucco (a well known actor on a variety of TV shows like Battlestar Galactica<\/em>) as a lawyer whom the Djinn kills and takes form in; Trucco utters some lame puns and campy lines but I did manage to chuckle as the humor was done on purpose. Our female lead this go around was Tara Spencer-Nairn and she\u2019s alright considering her character was supposed to be in love with an absolute tool and all around a-hole.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 2.75\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

This 3-disc collection \u2014 Wishmaster 1 & 2<\/em> come on their own discs while 3 & 4<\/em> are on the third disc \u2014 and is housed in a standard Blu-ray case and with a glossy slip cover<\/strong>, matching the previous \u201cVestron Video Collector Series\u201d releases.<\/p>\n

Wishmaster<\/u><\/em><\/strong> \u2014 <\/strong>****\u00bd\/*****<\/p>\n