Wishmaster

(1997)

   Horror film in which an evil DJINN is unleashed in the world. Directed by Robert Kurzman, the film stars Tammy Lauren as Alexandra Amberson, Robert Englund as Raymond Beaumont, and Andrew Divoff as the djinn, also known as Nathaniel Demerest. Kane Hodder plays a role as a guard. According to the back story, God created djinn of smokeless fire and pushed them out of the earth to make way for humans, condemning them to the void between the worlds of ANGELs and humans. The djinn wish to reclaim the world, and thus they are at war with humanity. If a human awakens a djinn, it grants three wishes, after which it is free to summon hordes of fellow djinn into the world. In Persia, in 1187, a sorcerer trapped an extremely powerful djinn in a stone and buried it inside a statue of the god Ahura Mazda.

   In present times, the statue is taken to New York. Its crate is dropped by a drunken crane operator, and the statue breaks and the stone flies out. It winds up at an auction house, where Amberson and Beaumont attempt to identify and appraise it. Amberson accidentally releases the djinn, who is now freed to wreak havoc. The djinn disguises himself as a wealthy man, Demerest. He attacks people and kills them for their souls. However, he is obligated to grant Amberson three wishes before he can summon djinn reinforcements into the world. She learns his true identity. He tries to trick her and succeeds in making her waste two wishes. Her third wish is that the crane operator was not drunk on the day the statue was unloaded from the ship. This wish changes history. The crate does not break, the statue is not shattered, and the stone, entrapping the djinn, remains hidden inside the statue.

   Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies was released in 1999 and was directed by Jack Sholder. Divoff again plays the djinn. Morgana (Holly Fields) is a not-very-bright thief. With her partner, she attempts to steal a rare statue from a museum. The heist fails, her partner is killed, and the djinn is released. In this plot, the djinn must collect 1,001 human souls before he can start the apocalypse. He also must still grant the three wishes to the one who freed him, Morgana.

   Demerest commits a crime that puts him in prison, where he begins his collection of souls. Then, he relentlessly pursues Morgana to fulfill the requirement of the three wishes. Aided by a priest, Morgana manages to defeat the djinn, but not as cleverly as her predecessor heroine in the original film.

   Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell was released in 2001, followed by Wishmaster 4: The Prophecy Fulfilled in 2002. In Wishmaster 3, a college girl, Diana Collins (A. J. Cook), accidentally frees the djinn (John Novak). He goes on a rampage on campus, until she figures out how to send him back to his prison in the stone. Wishmaster 4 features a painter, Sam (Jason Thompson), and his girlfriend, Lisa (Tara Spencer-Naim). Sam has an accident that leaves him paralyzed. Lisa engages a lawyer, Steven (Michael Trucco), to file a lawsuit. He develops a crush on Lisa. Steven refuses to take money for the case and gives Lisa a jewel he has found hidden in his desk. It imprisons the djinn (Novak), which is now released, and takes POSSESSION of Steven. He tries to win over Lisa. She inadvertently makes three wishes, the third of which is to love Steven as he really is. Knowing that his true djinn form will repulse her, he refuses, but he offers Lisa the choice of ruling with him when the djinn overtake the world or being cast down into HELL. Sam arrives and thwarts the action. He dies and Lisa survives. The djinn fails.