Warlock

Supernatural Thriller

Second Sight Films

R2 DVD

This film was first released in 1998 and has been one of the inspirations for many similar films of this genre. The original honour probably goes to Highlander, released some three years earlier.

The plot has become familiar to fans of this style of film. Ancient witch / warlock / evil person is about to die then is transported to the present where he / she / it must recover a lost talisman / book / artifact that, in their hands, will destroy humanity. Another will also be transported, and must thwart the evil plan and Save Humanity. Due to a dodgy trans-time transport system they will appear a long way apart in a large city and will often try to enlist local help for their cause. They will find each other and fight it out and it will all end in tears.

In this case it’s a warlock (well played by Julian Sands in a truly menacing manner). He must retrieve an ancient grimoire (a book of spells). The not-very-bright priests of those days broke the book into three pieces so it could be found later by an Evil One.

A young witch hunter, Redferne (Richard E Grant, dressed like a roadkill sheep) hates the warlock for killing his wife. With some help from a rather airheaded woman (Lori Singer) he tracks down the warlock and the fight begins. The woman is cursed by the warlock with a spell that will age her twenty years every day. She now has about three days to live.

The film is fast-moving and has the appropriate comic touches as the witch hunter, under the woman’s guidance, learns the ways of the 20th century. The makeup artists did a magnificent job showing Lori Singer aging each day – it’s not over the top, but quite believable. There are enough well done effects that the film will hopefully avoid the ravages of another remake. These days “remake” seems to mean “add more effects”. This film it is so well done already that a remake would add nothing.

Despite its plot seeming fairly conventional today, I quite enjoyed the film. It is well made, entertaining and just a little spectacular in places. Worth watching.

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