Warlock: The Armageddon

It had been years since I had watched this film, but watching it recently, I was reminded of how much I enjoyed this sequel to the original warlock. The characters weren't near as annoying as that girl who lost her bracelet in the original, and the Warlock was actually given some pretty cool lines and parts. I don't know, maybe it was the plot, but the Warlock just seemed so much more evil in the sequel. Is it cheesey? Yes, because the early nineties were a cheesey time, but sometimes it's fun to look back at the past and smile.

If you like cheap, cheesey horror films, this one might make you grin.

This film upon first glance was a one of a string of films i have recently seen, that looks, in the TV guide, like it could be pathetic to the point that it is funny to watch due to the year it was made and by the description. The words used "horror sequel", "son of devil" and made in 1993, simply branded it a must see film between me and my mate Mark.

This film turned into one of the funniest films I have ever seen and to say it is a horror would be a mockery to all horror films. However place it within the genre of comedy, and it is up there challenging with the best of comedy films.

The basic storyline made it easy to understand i.e. did not have to concentrate, which is good because i was crying with laughter too much.

It follows the old theme of the evil being lead back to the main characters at the end, via the collection of 6 stones, randomly placed around the world, from Circuses to museums.

Excellent acting from the son of the devil, made me believe that he actually was the son of the devil and his ways of murdering the stone holders was humorous to say the least, except for the one in the circus where that brought genuine fear to my mind.

A well written script with such instances as rabbits being run over and hair being pulled off makes for an exciting and humorous viewing of one of my favouritist films of all time.

Simply an 8.5/10 due to effective blood ridden moments, great acting and funny moments.

Hail the guy that created this masterpiece

Julian Sands as the warlock (son of Satan) is back at it again, and his suave presence fitting as usual in a rather devilish sequel. This time around he makes much more of a bloody mess as he cruelly and imaginatively toys around with the owners of the scattered magical runestones, Druid Guardians and two meddling small-town teenagers who are the only ones that can stop him from opening the gateway to hell.

When we get Sands making people look foolish, it was a wicked blast - from the sardonic wit to the sexed-up vibes and the graphic shocks heavily reliant on practical make-up effects (like the insane birth sequence?!). However when it was just the cornball love struck teens getting together, or preparing for their epic encounter my interest sort of dipped, and pacing stuttered. Luckily when the two forces come together in the final half-hour there's all kinds of crazy excess, flourishing visuals and magic jousting. Makes the wait well worth it.

Genre journeyman director Anthony Hickok shows ticker and provides few deft, and offbeat touches to how he framed some of the set-pieces. I must admit there were moments when the visual effects are beyond hokey (floating baseball), but the sheer absurdity of it makes up for it. I'm just surprised this follow-up didn't get a theatrical release, as it a solid offering.

Handsome, charismatic Julian Sands reprises his role as the title character in this sequel that's pretty much just adequate all the way down the line. It has very little to do with the first movie, but has a basically similar plot, as The Warlock is reborn, and sets about uniting five precious gems in order to help his father Satan regain access to the world above. He is opposed by an order of druids; one of them is Will Travis (Steve Kahan), whose son Kenny (Chris Young) is destined to be one of two druid warriors that must battle the evildoer.

"Warlock: The Armageddon" has enough entertaining moments to make it passable, whether they're a great visual gag or otherwise amusing bit of business. We get an elevator FULL of blood, a human turned into a twisted Picasso-like statue, and the requisite rebirth of our antagonist. There is some juicy gore, but a lot of the visual effects only succeed in being ropey enough to induce laughter. There's nothing to make the movie particularly memorable, as the music, production design, cinematography, and the like are all competent without possessing any real pizzazz.

Young ("The Great Outdoors") and the lovely Paula Marshall ("Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth") are a likeable hero and heroine, if not all that interesting. Certainly the interest lies with other cast members: Sands ("Arachnophobia") is a standout as the sardonic Warlock, and Kahan (Captain Murphy in the "Lethal Weapon" feature films), Charles Hallahan (John Carpenters' "The Thing"), R.G. Armstrong ("Children of the Corn" '84), Bruce Glover ("Diamonds Are Forever"), and Ferdy Mayne ("The Horror Star") comprise an excellent bunch of character actors. Gorgeous Joanna Pacula ("Gorky Park") is rather wasted as a fashion designer in possession of one of the stones. George "Buck" Flower ("They Live") is seen fleetingly in a crowd. And Zach Galligan, who'd worked with director Anthony Hickox on his earlier film "Waxwork", has a funny cameo.

This shows the viewer a decent time, but is a little over extended at just over 98 minutes.

Six out of 10.

The son of Satan is born and has 5 days to capture 5 sacred stones to open the gateway for Satan to return to earth and rule forever. Only a pair of warriors can stand in his way.

This is a stupid, pointless horrible sequel that is merely an attempt to make more money rather than make an entertaining horror movie. First the plot is dumb. These sacred stones are the only way to open a gateway to hell....so you'd assume that they would be pretty well protected, or at least a group of zealots would be hunting for them? No - the warlock finds them at a fashion show, in a businessman's office and in a circus freak show. No explanation of how they got there or how the warlock finds them so precisely in such a short time. Also the warriors are of course teenagers who die and come back to life. The whole thing is just stupid and without merit.

The horror is also lazy. There's no tension and no suspense - just gory effects. And poor ones at that, all the effects are very cheap and unconvincing. Also the murders are lazy and just gory for the sake of it, each time the warlock collects a stone he kills the owner in a twisted gory way. At one point he picks up at hitchhiker just to scalp her and then kill her 30 seconds later. It's all done with so little ceremony that it just feels tired.

This drags down the whole film. Add to that terrible performances by Sands (has he ever been good?) and the two teenage warriors (Young and Marshall) and the whole thing stinks.

There is no "yeah it's bad, but...." - it's just bad. The most terrifying moment in this "horror" is the final shot that leaves it open for another sequel. God save us.....