fwdixon

I have always enjoyed this possibly guilty pleasure film.

In a performance so over-the-top, John Davis Chandler in his only leading role makes Al Pacino's Tony Montana in Scarface seem to be a reserved, understated example of the thespian art.

Mr. Chandler never really caught on in Hollywood, even though he was, in my opinion, perfect for sniveling punk or psycho roles.

And that is too bad because the times he did get work he was pretty good. He played a demented veteran demolitions expert on an episode of Columbo with Jack Cassidy in the lead role and gave a great performance.

Jerry Orbach is dreadfully miscast, Telly Savalas was Lt. Kojak before he was Lt, Kojak, Vincent Gardenia was a questionable choice for The Dutchman. Except for Mr. Chandler, the performances range from mediocre to bad.

Production values are nonexistent with 1960s era cars showing up in the background in the outdoor shots.

Chandler's sneering psycho killer is an unforgettable performance.

Granted, this film is no "Citizen Kane" but as cheesy as it may be, it is a fun gorefest with a great villain and right up there with the Freddie Kruger Nightmare oeuvre.

Andrew Divoff was perfectly cast as the evil malicious Djinn, his smirking countenance alone is worth the price of admission. One can't help but root for him as he grants wishes for the various lowlifes he encounters.

Tammy Lauren does her best as the lead actress but is singularly unimpressive.

Robert Englund and Ted Raimi also show up in minor roles.

Anyhoo, the film is episodic and choppy with bad early CGI special effects and an enormously silly plot. But the gory scenes more than make up for any deficiencies the film has.

All-in-all, if you like gory, cheesy horror, you'll probably like Wishmaster.

I'll preface this review by stating I simply loath Donald Sutherland. His voice is like nails on a blackboard to me and his soporific acting style makes junior high school thespians appear to be Lawrence Olivier.

Then there is "Hanoi" Jane Fonda, in films only because of her father and not tried for treason for the same reason. Her acting ability rarely rises above those found in Ed Wood Jr.'s oeuvre and this film is no exception, her Academy Award win notwithstanding.

Anyhoo, this film was in dire need of a good film editor. Boring scene after boring scene drag on interminably, not contributing one iota to the film and leaving one to pray for the sweet angel of death to come to you and the sooner the better!

Furthermore, the producers of this film should have sued the director and the lighting director for their money back!

The plot, such as it is, is simply ludicrous and the bad guy is easily identifiable even to the simplest dullard in the theatre after a few reels.

I truly wish IMDB would allow zero or negative stars, as it is one must be content with a one star rating but "Klute" doesn't even deserve that.