Director
Steve Miner
Cast
Julian Sands - The Warlock
Lori Singer - Kassandra
Richard Grant - Giles Redferne
Warlock may not be as obscure as other movies as it seems well known among horror movie fans. Though it's no B-movie, it doesn't seem too well known among the general population.
I saw this movie probably 30 years ago and some scenes have stuck with me all this time since because of its shock value.
The last time I watched this was two nights ago after I found a VHS copy at a horror movie convention in St. Joseph, Mo., last weekend.
What makes Warlock stand out are scenes that really drive home the evil of the main antagonist, the Warlock (Julian Sands).
In the movie, the Grand Grimoire - an ancient book which has been separated into three parts and hidden in different locations - will reveal to him the true name of God. The devil himself has commanded the Warlock to reassemble to book and read aloud God's name backwards which will result in the destruction of all creation. Wow- what a low blow! I mean ALL OF CREATION. Not just someone's dog, or someone's grandma, or maybe a section in New York, or a few neighborhoods out in the burbs getting destroyed. Everything!
The movie starts out in 1691 Massachusetts where a witch-hunter named Giles Redferne (Richard Grant) has arrested the Warlock and sentenced him to death for all sorts of evil deeds, including the death of Redferne's wife.
Just before execution is to be carried out, the devil sends the Warlock into the future - 20th century Los Angeles to be exact. And what crazy shenanigans will this bad 17th century guy-witch get into out there in L.A.? Stay tuned to find out! In the meantime, the Grimoire has been hidden by monks in three separate places, which the Warlock now needs to go find.
He crash lands through the front room window of Kassandra (Lori Singer) and her gay roommate, Chas. Rather than have the police take this unconscious stranger out of their home, they lay him on a bed to care for him (Because L.A. folk are known for being that caring!)
Kassandra goes off to work the next morning while Chas stays home alone with the Warlock - oblivious to the fact that he is a Warlock, of course.
He attacks Chas by cutting off his finger to steal a ring, and then biting off his tongue, throwing it in a frying pan, and leaving him to die from the shock. Now we know who we're dealing with!
Somehow, the police are notified, pick Kassandra up while she's at work, and question her.
She then runs into Redferne who followed the Warlock into 1989s version of L.A. and insists she help him track down and destroy the Warlock before he finds all three pieces of the Grimoire and destroys creation.
Unfortunately, Sands's performance seems bored. He's playing a 17th Century dude-witch hellbent on evil. And though he does a great job at conveying the evil that's in him - that makes him who he is - unhindered by any boundary, he's stoic with very little emotion. Evil doesn't mean bland.
Richard Grant, however, is the opposite as he's all gung-ho on capturing and destroying the Warlock.
He's pretty animated, yet really serious, in his role.
The comic relief comes in the form of these 17th century folks not understanding 20th Century culture, yet they don't overdue it, which would otherwise be a distraction. Instead, Redferne just goes along with all the strangeness he's witnessing, keeping focused on the task at hand. He asks a few questions here and there, but doesn't allow himself to get so immersed in the strange new world he's entered. Meanwhile, the Warlock focuses on finding the Grand Grimoire, as he blah-blahs and stuff through the movie.
But the horror is what makes this an entertaining movie. It's imaginative. Granted the special effects are dated, but the effort is certainly there.
The producers pulled no punches in making sure the audience knew how evil the Warlock is.
His evil nature centers around Warlock folklore, based on a hatred for creation - obviously, since his goal is to destroy all of it.
In one scene, the Warlock puts a curse on Kassandra, causing her to age continually until the curse can be broken. The aging makeup is laughable, even in late 1980s movie makeup standards. It looks terrible, and ridiculous, even down to her red shoulder-length hair suddenly growing long and white.
Otherwise, it brings in the sinister and unsettling vibes of the supernatural well enough. The movie is a hidden gem overall among horror movies.
I have to mention one factual error I noticed. In one scene, while Kassandra is talking to Redferne, she references Glinda as the "Good Witch of the West" from The Wizard of Oz. Wrong, Kassandra...with a "K!" In the 1939 movie, Glinda was the Good Witch of the North. The Wicked Witch was from the West. C'mon!
I didn't realize it at first, but famous voice actor Rob Paulsen makes a cameo as a gas station attendant. Paulsen has voice acted in well-know animated programs such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Animaniacs, and The Tick.
Director Steve Miner has other notable horror titles under his directing belt including Friday The 13th Parts 2 and 3, House, and Halloween; H20. And Warlock definitely has enough good stuff to have become a bigger franchise!
Julian Sands reprised the role in the sequel Warlock: The Armageddon (1993). Bruce Payne took on the role in 1999's Warlock III: The End of Innocence. I'll review those soon!
Richard Grant, however, is the opposite as he's all gung-ho on capturing and destroying the Warlock.
He's pretty animated, yet really serious, in his role.
The comic relief comes in the form of these 17th century folks not understanding 20th Century culture, yet they don't overdue it, which would otherwise be a distraction. Instead, Redferne just goes along with all the strangeness he's witnessing, keeping focused on the task at hand. He asks a few questions here and there, but doesn't allow himself to get so immersed in the strange new world he's entered. Meanwhile, the Warlock focuses on finding the Grand Grimoire, as he blah-blahs and stuff through the movie.
But the horror is what makes this an entertaining movie. It's imaginative. Granted the special effects are dated, but the effort is certainly there.
The producers pulled no punches in making sure the audience knew how evil the Warlock is.
His evil nature centers around Warlock folklore, based on a hatred for creation - obviously, since his goal is to destroy all of it.
In one scene, the Warlock puts a curse on Kassandra, causing her to age continually until the curse can be broken. The aging makeup is laughable, even in late 1980s movie makeup standards. It looks terrible, and ridiculous, even down to her red shoulder-length hair suddenly growing long and white.
Otherwise, it brings in the sinister and unsettling vibes of the supernatural well enough. The movie is a hidden gem overall among horror movies.
I have to mention one factual error I noticed. In one scene, while Kassandra is talking to Redferne, she references Glinda as the "Good Witch of the West" from The Wizard of Oz. Wrong, Kassandra...with a "K!" In the 1939 movie, Glinda was the Good Witch of the North. The Wicked Witch was from the West. C'mon!
I didn't realize it at first, but famous voice actor Rob Paulsen makes a cameo as a gas station attendant. Paulsen has voice acted in well-know animated programs such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Animaniacs, and The Tick.
Director Steve Miner has other notable horror titles under his directing belt including Friday The 13th Parts 2 and 3, House, and Halloween; H20. And Warlock definitely has enough good stuff to have become a bigger franchise!
Julian Sands reprised the role in the sequel Warlock: The Armageddon (1993). Bruce Payne took on the role in 1999's Warlock III: The End of Innocence. I'll review those soon!
