Wishmaster 3: Beyond The Gates of Hell – otherwise known as Wishmaster 3: Devil Stone in the UK — is the second sequel to the film Wishmaster. This 2001 American film is the second direct-to-video sequel in the franchise. It stars Jason Connery, John Novak, A.J. Cook, Tobias Mehler, Louisette Geiss, Aaron Smolinski, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Sarah Carter, and Daniella Evangelista. Like Wishmaster 4, it was directed by Chris Angel.
The Wishmaster returns with more evil and grotesquery to wreck the life of more innocents. This time, his victim is a beautiful, innocent and studious teenage girl named Diana Collins who accidentally opened up the Djinn’s tomb (a strange box with a jewel inside) and released him. After gaining his freedom, the Djinn is asked by Professor Barash to let him be the one who makes the wishes. The professor wishes for two of the world’s loveliest ladies to be with him, in love.
However, as soon as the Djinn grants this wish, the women (who were dressed in very revealing belly-dancer outfits and being seductive) kill the professor; the Djinn takes the face off of the dead professor and is able to steal his identity. He then kills a secretary by her wishing for “files to burn up” but instead of the files, she burns, along with his needing the student file of Diana as an effort to find her and force her to fulfill her three wishes. While Diana is on the run, she must endeavor to prevent the Djinn from subjecting the entire world to Hell’s wrath.
‘Everyone knows the lame adage “Be careful what you wish for” and this cliché statement is alwaysused in films that involve getting wishes from a magical genie. The wish-giver’s words are twisted and the wish they get is given to them in an ironic way that backfires on the person quickly. TheWishmaster films are built on this but the problem is the screenwriters don’t really understand irony or the vague concept of twisting the words of the wish. Like the films that came before this, the deaths barely register on the ironic scale and feel less like the Djinn is trying to teach a lesson in watching out for what you wish for and more like he just wants to kill people and it doesn’t matter how he does it.’ Rev. Ron’s Movie Reviews
‘The film seems to realise its need to obscure the cast and narrative early on and does so initially with some welcome nudity and plentiful, albeit amateurish, gore.’ Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
‘Wishmaster 3 is workmanlike in its execution — there’s no real originality or distinctiveness separating it from other low-budget creepers. As is often the case with the sort of direct-to-video sequel, the entire enterprise appears to have been crafted with but one thing in mind: $$$. None of the characters are compelling, since the script doesn’t give us a reason to care. These people are merely pawns thrown in front of the Wishmaster, in order to create more chaos and death. And all these complaints would be moot if the various methods of mayhem employed by the Djinn were even the slightest bit interesting – which they’re not. One particularly idiotic character puts up a tough-guy front for the Wishmaster and says to him, “blow me!” which is exactly what the Djinn does; he blows him across the room and impales him onto a moose head. Very creative.’ David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
‘Most important is the story, which (given the film’s low, low budget and small ensemble cast) actually turns out to kick some ass. The last half of the film is inspired by classic schlock ranging from “Terminator” to “Prophecy,” and it works. There’s a magic sword, the Archangel Michael who is “wished” down from heaven, even some nice make-up effects and a few car crashes. Some hate this film, but as direct-to-video stuff goes, it’s pretty entertaining.’ Chris Angel, eSplatter.com
Wikipedia | IMDb | Thanks to Rev. Ron’s Movie Reviews for some images
