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| Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Jack Sholder |
| Written by | Jack Sholder |
| Based on | Characters by Peter Atkins |
| Produced by | Tony Amatullo |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Carlos González |
| Edited by | Michael Schweitzer |
| Music by | David C. Williams |
| Distributed by | Artisan Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | English Russian |
| Budget | $2.5 million (estimated) |
Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies is a 1999 direct-to-video dark fantasy horror film and a sequel to the 1997 film Wishmaster. The film premiered on television on March 12, 1999, and was released on DVD on August 17, 1999, bundled with the first film.
Plot
[edit]During the robbery of a museum, the fire opal that contains an ancient Djinn is accidentally released by a stray gunshot. One of the burglars, a young woman named Morgana Truscott, steals the gem and shoots a museum guard, but then she is forced to abandon the other burglar during the escape. The Djinn kills the remaining burglar when the burglar wishes he had never been born. As the police enter the museum, the Djinn assumes its Nathaniel Demarest persona and surrenders to the police.
Morgana later has dreams where she sees glimpses of the Djinn in his true form. Later, Morgana goes to Church to visit the priest tending the church, a man named Gregory, a former lover of Morgana's. She tells him that a man named Demarest confessed to the robbery. In prison, Demarest offers wishes to several inmates in exchange for their souls. He is confronted by Butz and his two henchmen, the Tiger brothers. Believing Demarest to be a dealer, Butz asks for his drugs, any drugs on which he can "get wasted ... stomped into the ground." Demarest grants his wish literally, and Butz is savagely beaten by his own underlings. Demarest is temporarily sent to solitary, suspected of instigating a spate of recent troubles at the prison.
Meanwhile, Morgana researches Persian mythology, particularly the Persian deity Ahura Mazda, who had bound the Djinn in the past. Morgana opens up to Gregory, telling him about her nightmares in which a voice tells her to "fulfill the prophecy," and she tells of her involvement in the robbery and the murder of a guard. Morgana goes to the prison to visit Demarest and demands to know why he falsely confessed to the robbery. He says it was so she would not have to, and admits to not having to be in prison long, before showing his true form, driving Morgana away.
Later that evening, Morgana begins undergoing many rituals aimed at purifying her soul, as only someone pure of heart can banish the Djinn back into his prison. Meanwhile, Demarest kills the prison warden, Tillaver, and escapes with a Russian inmate he befriended named Osip. As Demarest drinks with Osip, Morgana enters and shoots Demarest, but he is unaffected by the wound. She leaves, in despair.
Gregory finds Morgana praying at the church altar, and sobbing inconsolably. She laments that her guilt, the blood of the innocent man she killed at the museum heist, can never be washed away, and so she can never hope to defeat the Djinn. Gregory has compiled more notes, discovering that the Djinn is seeking 1001 souls. He also finds the incantation used by the alchemist who imprisoned the Djinn.
In Las Vegas, the Djinn begins granting wishes to casino patrons to collect the remaining required souls. When Morgana and Gregory confront Demarest, Gregory wishes for the Djinn to be sent back to hell. They are all transported inside the fire opal where Gregory is crucified. Morgana angrily wishes for a world without evil; the Djinn says without evil, good cannot exist. Morgana asks the Djinn the meaning of fulfilling the prophecy. The Djinn impatiently recites the prophecy to her, that after 1001 souls are gathered, the one who wakes the Djinn shall have three wishes. Upon the granting of all three, the race of Djinn will reign over the Earth. Morgana wishes for the guard she killed to be alive again. After receiving a vision of the guard alive and well, her pureness of heart restored, she takes the Djinn's fire opal and speaks the alchemist's chant, "Nib Sugaroth Baheim." The Djinn is again banished into the opal, and all the victims are returned to life.
Cast
[edit]- Holly Fields – Morgana Truscott
- Andrew Divoff – The Djinn / Nathaniel Demarest
- Paul Johansson – Gregory
- Bokeem Woodbine – Farralon
- Tommy Lister Jr. – Tillaver
- Rhino Michaels – Butz
- James Kim – James Tiger
- Simon Kim – Simon Tiger
- Oleg Vidov – Osip Krutchkov
- Levan Uchaneishvili – Mr. Pushkin
- Timo Flloko – Moustafa Ransky
- Ilia Volok – Pushkin's Bodyguard
Reception
[edit]The film received mainly negative reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 9% based on reviews from 11 critics.[1]
During his interview for the documentary, Behind the Curtain Part II (2012), writer and director, Jack Sholder, had this to say about the film:
"That's one that I have very mixed feelings about because there are parts of it that I really like, but I think, all in all, it's a little dumb. To tell you the truth, I haven't seen it since I, uh, made it. When I was making it, I thought it was good. I thought a lot of it was kind of funny or clever. I definitely feel it has merit. From what I can gather, it's one of those films that divides people. Some people don't like it, others do. And, you know, it was also a sequel to a movie that I thought wasn't a good movie at all. It's a movie that I did, and I don't regret doing. You know, there's a lot of stuff that I think is pretty good from it. You know, like the scene from the casino I thought was pretty good. Maybe it comes off as being silly."[2]
References
[edit]- ^ "Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
- ^ Sholder, Jack. Behind the Curtain Part II (2012).