Wishmaster 4 is a poor relation to the original. I have not seen 2 or 3, and just happened to see this on the Sci-Fi Channel. It was an entertaining movie, mostly because the star, James Trucco (Verdel) has such an uncanny similarity to SCOTT PETERSON, the accused killer of his wife and baby fetus. Seeing that guy play a Demonic role in W4 made it seem more weird than it really was. The make-up on the main Djinn (John Novak) was almost comical. He looks like HERMAN MUNSTERs long-lost son. He also does not look very horrifying. Under the make-up, Novak looks like he got his acting lessons watching CREATURE FEATURE. W4 is relatively fast-paced, but it has very few scares and not much that is scary. In the original, all of the horrible actions of the Djinn came to the attention of the female lead, Tara Spencer-Nairn, and she suffered a lot at the hands of the Djinn. In this move, the Djinn is trapped by the 3rd wish, and he must seduce Tara so she will accept him as he is. Sadly, the best scene, where the Djinn is making love to Tara, is where he should have transformed into Djinn and it would have been very terrifying. However, that scene took place with Verdel as Djinn, and Tara did not even register much shock or disgust later when she discovered that she had made lover to a demon. Part of the subplot has to do with her handicapped boyfriend, and that entiresubplot is not very positive, since the boyfriend is given the use of his legs. Overall, W4 is not very complicated, it is kind-of a silly movie, and while there is some gore, it is not very gory. W4 is a good time-killer, but it is not a classic Horror movie unless you are a fan of the Mystery Science Theatre.
