Year of Release: 1989
Director: Steve Miner
Starring: Julian Sands, Richard E. Grant, Lori Singer, Mary Woronov, Richard Kuss, Kevin O'Brien, Allan Miller, Anna Thomson, David Carpenter, Kay E. Kuter, Ian Abercrombie, Kenneth Danziger
Genre: Action, Fantasty
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
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Synopsis and Review
Steve Miner will forever be associated with the "Friday the 13th" film series, as it marked both his feature and sophomore directorial endeavors (with parts 2 and 3 respectively), but he has since then have had an eclectic career, including titles as "My Father the Hero", "Lake Placid" and multiple TV shows, including "Felicity", "Eureka" and "Once Upon a Time". "Warlock" followed his work on the successful TV show "The Wonder Years", and is actually one of the first produced screenplays of the famous David Twohy, who has since then made a name for himself writing/co-writing the scripts for Andrew Davis' "The Fugitive", Ridley Scott's "GI Jane", Kevin Reynolds' "Waterworld", and the "Pitch Black/Riddick" series, which he has directed himself. The film follows the story of a Warlock who is captured in the 17th century by witch-hunter Giles Redferne. He is sentenced to death, but malevolent forces manage to save him and send him to the 20th century, with Redferne hot on his pursuit. The Warlock lands at the house of a waitress named Kassandra, and wreaks havoc in her life, including murdering her roommate, while also placing a curse upon her. Redferne explains to her the rules of Witches and Warlocks and what's at stake if they don't stop the Warlock's intents. Not to mention the fatal aspect of her curse. They pursue the Warlock to a Mennonite family where they battle him out, but he eventually flees the scene, though Kassandra eventually manages to revert her curse. They figure out his ultimate goal lies in Boston, and they have a final confrontation with the Warlock in a cemetery.
While "Warlock" was completed in 1988 and had its international release in 1989, it only made its premiere in the US in 1991, due to the bankruptcy of New World Pictures. The film has modest ambitions, and while it tries to embark in some of the motifs some fantasy films in the late 80s had, such as Ron Howard's "Willow" and even Jim Henson's "Labyrinth", its modest budget prevents the film from having a more distinct point of view (and visual effects). The film also suffers from not being able to carve out stronger lead characters, with the Warlock, Redferne and Kassandra all coming across as somewhat anemic and without much charisma. In a way films such as Robert Kurtzman's "Wishmaster" which was produced almost a decade later, has a similar DNA but gives the narrative both more pulp and slash, which means, while the characters are flimsy described and presented, the villainous lead is given a more distinct point of view and motivation for his actions (and the mayhem also increases). With "Warlock", and while the fantastic Julian Sands brings the character to life, both his motivation and the consequences of his actions are never truly magnified, which makes the film always have the feeling of being at the precipice of something but held back, a bit like unresolved potential. There are some similarities between Richard E. Grant's character in this film and how Christopher Lambert portrayed his Connor MacLeod in Russell Mulcahy's "Highlander", but once again, he doesn't get a chance to do much in the film, or bring the usual layers of humor he typically places on his performances. One of the highlights of the cast goes to Mary Woronov who as a brief but memorable participation, whereas the production team is unremarkable (and the visual effects are quite mediocre). It's watchable, and Julian Sands and Richard E. Grant do try their best with their characters, but the film fails to convincingly create an ominous environment, which makes it ultimately not particularly memorable.
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