(Reviewed by Snake-666) - A movie that could have been something.  In this mediocre horror outing directed by Robert Kurtzman an evil genie (known as a Djinn) is imprisoned in a gemstone early on. Unfortunately after an accident with an ancient statue the gemstone finds it's way into the hands of Alexandra Amberson (Tammy Lauren) who unwittingly wakes the Djinn and free's it from the stone.

The Djinn (played by Andrew Divoff) then proceeds to collect souls in exchange for granting wishes, each wish has it's own twisted outcome. Unfortunately for Alexandra the Djinn is required to grant her three wishes so that the Djinn can break free from their world and inherit the earth. The Djinn is after her, and he's going to take some stopping.

All in all this film is alright for one watch, though you may be put off by the quite laughable opening scenes. Tammy Lauren is quite good as Alex, but unfortunately her performances are, on occasion, rather wooden and monotonous. As with many recent Wes Craven movies Alex has a disturbed past. Memories of a fire which took her parents from her remain, but this idea seems only to have been quickly introduced to the film in order to make a point later on. There is hardly any emphasis on this idea and the story surrounding it is barely touched, whether this was the intention or not I don't know.

Andrew Divoff was quite sinister as the Djinn, though the constant screwed up looks on his face when he was in human form became somewhat of an annoyance. However, he managed to play the part well despite the lack of effective dialogue and poor overall direction of the movie.

Having said that there are some enjoyable aspects to the film. The special effects in general were quite well done, and there were some good gore scenes (though many did look cheesy). The idea, though not entirely original, was quite good. It was an interesting take on the Genie stories.

Alas, the film though never really managed to impress. The ending is fairly well done, but all in all 'Wishmaster' is a below average movie which fails to shock or scare. If you like the look of it, try it...but I wouldn't be quick to hunt it down.