Wishmaster 4: Prophecy Fulfilled

The plot follows Lisa (Tara Spencer-Nairn), who is struggling to keep her relationship with her crippled boyfriend, Sam (Jason Thompson), and her own life together. Their lawyer, Steven Verdel (Micahel Trucco) is also doing his best to defend Sam against the company, whose defective motorcycle was the reason of Sam's accident, which cost him his ability to walk.

When Lisa stops by Steven's home to discuss the case, he surprises her with a gift, which she accidentally drops, and it busts and out comes...heheh...the opal containing the Djinn (John Novak). Late than night, the Djinn decides to show himself, and "borrows" Steven's identity (the whole face-stealing thing) to gain easy access to Lisa, who is often referred to as the Waker.

The first two wishes are made, and we are surprised when Lisa makes the third wish! But, there's a little bit of a problem, it's a wish that only Lisa can grant: to love Steven for who he truly is.

This delay does not stop the Djinn's reign of terror on Lisa's town, and more and more people continue to fall at the mercy of their wishes. There's even a scene I particularly enjoyed where a Strip Club guard wishes for Steven/Djinn to put up a better fight, so the Djinn goes Djinn and kicks the crap of the guy, eventually impaling him on a metal bar and throwing him into a dumpster, which brings me to the reason why this film got four stars, well, one of them.

First of all, the part when the Djinn actually throws the guy was extremely lame, that takes up about 3/4 of the missing star, because for God's sake they guy looked like he was hanging from something while he was flying through the air (though he was anyway). The last 1/4 of the missing star was that the fight between the Djinn and the Hunter (Victor Webster) was too dang short! Plus, it needed better coreography.

Wishmaster 4: The Prophecy Fulfilled is definitely best on DVD, but the extra 'WishmasterPiece Theatre' thing was extremely stupid. However, the trailer was awesome, and that little feature on the Djinn's guide to Dating was sort of funny. I'd also like to comment that Tara Spencer-Nairn was lookin' good, and is seen disrobed three scenes, two of which she engages in sexual conduct. Wishmaster 4 is rated "R" for strong horror violence/gore, language and sexuality.

Thanks for reading this review, I hope it has been helpful to you.

"Wishmaster 4" is inferior to its immediate predecessor even though Chris Angel directed both parts three and four. On this outing the evil djinn (genie), once again played by John Novak, continues his mission to bring about the end of the world. A young woman named Lisa (Tara Spencer-Nairn) and her main man Sam (John Thompson) seem to live the perfect life. They just bought a house, got married, and look forward to days of tranquil bliss. Regrettably, a motorcycle accident leaves Sam in a wheelchair, and as the story picks up a few years after the tragedy it is obvious serious tensions are undermining the relationship. Sam, frustrated that he can't take care of his wife, vents his anger on her whenever he isn't sitting listlessly in front of his computer. Lisa, for her part, works with attorney Stephen Verdel (Michael Trucco) to win a lucrative settlement from the crash. Sam's wife is an attractive woman, however, and Verdel falls in love with her. The attorney is a professional, so he tries to keep his feelings in check while grinding on with his lawsuit. In an attempt to covertly convey his feelings to Lisa, he buys her a little trinket as a token of his affections.

The box in question contains the crystal housing the evil genie, which Lisa inadvertently liberates. Just as in the third installment, the waker of the genie (Lisa) is not the first to feel the wrath of the creature. That burden falls squarely on the shoulders of the hapless Verdel. Again, as in the third installment, the genie assumes a human form-in this case, Stephen-and then goes on a quest to find Lisa. He needs her to make three wishes so he can free his compatriots from Hell, thus ushering in anarchy, chaos, and higher gas prices. And what do you know? The djinn actually gets Lisa to make three wishes. Of course, the last wish turns out to be one not easily fulfilled, so the djinn stalls for time to make it a reality. While three of his pals pop up from time to time demanding he fulfill the request so the djinn race can finally rampage on earth, our genie in the interim does have a bit of fun with other humans who make wishes. Check out the pimple wish and Lisa's business partner's wish to see the horrific effects of dealing with the genie. Oh, I almost forgot-there's also some chap called the Hunter (Victor Webster) running around trying to dispose of the genie and Lisa.

"Wishmaster 4" could have been a better movie. The low budget shows in the make up and gore effects, neither of which are as good as the stuff we saw in the third episode. As for the acting, well, you don't want to go down that road. With the exception of lead Tara Spencer-Nairn, the cast mostly falls flat on its face. Especially the guy who plays the Hunter; he's on par with the cheesy Archangel Michael from the third film. Director Chris Angel seems to sense the cast is a weakness, so he punches up the film with a few racy scenes in an effort to draw attention away from the pedestrian acting. The effort fails. The pacing of this film fails, too, as it doesn't move nearly as fast as "Wishmaster 3." Another problem hampering the success here is the lack of interesting wishes. No broken hearts or rapid weight loss emerges to ramp up the gore. There's a fistfight between the genie and a bouncer at a bar that is moderately interesting, but certain other elements achieve such a high level of hokeyness that it ruins the overall impact. The showdowns between the Hunter and the djinn aren't exciting, either. Yep, "Wishmaster 4" could have succeeded if only a few things worked better.

Extras on the disc include a couple of commentary tracks with Chris Angel, John Novak, Michael Trucco, and John Thompson. A few trailers grace the DVD, along with storyboards, a cheesy extra about the Djinn's guide to dating, and an even cheesier "Wishmasterpiece Theater." It doesn't look like further installments in the "Wishmaster" franchise are in the works, so perhaps we've seen the end of these films. Horror fans will probably want to give this one a rent if for no other reason than to complete the series. As for me, I need to go back and watch the first and second episodes.