Julian Sands returns as the titular warlock, who is reborn to try and gather together six runestones that will enable Satan to walk the Earth. Standing in his way are a group of ageing druids, two of whom have teenage kids, Kenny and Samantha (Chris Young and Paula Marshall), who must become druid warriors to do battle and save the planet from evil.
Anthony Hickox hit the ground running with gory tableau horror Waxwork (1988) and Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989), but his subsequent sequel to his directorial debut (Waxwork II: Lost in Time) and his third in the Hellraiser series (Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth) were less impressive, the director ill-advisedly aiming for a more mainstream, teen-friendly approach (possibly inspired by the success of numerous cheesy Nightmare on Elm Street sequels).
The malaise continued with this follow up to 1989 supernatural hit Warlock. Hickox's film is too silly to be scary, but not funny enough to be a comedy; it sits awkwardly in the middle ground, never getting the balance right. There is some fun to be had from the ridiculous death scenes, as Sands' character creatively kills those who possess the runestones, and the gore is handled well enough, but the pacing is off and the less said about the sloppy visual effects (including early CGI that looks awful) the better.
Highlights include a woman giving birth to a fleshy sac that eats her Pomeranian, a dwarf impaled in an iron maiden, a fashion designer dropped from a height through a skylight, and a gloopy meltdown for the warlock at the end. Dumbest moments include a victim turned into a Picasso-style statue, the warlock shooting a druid with his fingers (blowing smoke from the deadly digits afterwards), and the scalping of a hitch-hiker (an effect achieved with a wig, a bald cap, and some ketchup).
5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.
Anthony Hickox hit the ground running with gory tableau horror Waxwork (1988) and Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989), but his subsequent sequel to his directorial debut (Waxwork II: Lost in Time) and his third in the Hellraiser series (Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth) were less impressive, the director ill-advisedly aiming for a more mainstream, teen-friendly approach (possibly inspired by the success of numerous cheesy Nightmare on Elm Street sequels).
The malaise continued with this follow up to 1989 supernatural hit Warlock. Hickox's film is too silly to be scary, but not funny enough to be a comedy; it sits awkwardly in the middle ground, never getting the balance right. There is some fun to be had from the ridiculous death scenes, as Sands' character creatively kills those who possess the runestones, and the gore is handled well enough, but the pacing is off and the less said about the sloppy visual effects (including early CGI that looks awful) the better.
Highlights include a woman giving birth to a fleshy sac that eats her Pomeranian, a dwarf impaled in an iron maiden, a fashion designer dropped from a height through a skylight, and a gloopy meltdown for the warlock at the end. Dumbest moments include a victim turned into a Picasso-style statue, the warlock shooting a druid with his fingers (blowing smoke from the deadly digits afterwards), and the scalping of a hitch-hiker (an effect achieved with a wig, a bald cap, and some ketchup).
5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.