Warlock: The Armageddon * (1993, Julian Sands, Chris Young, Paula Marshall, Joanna Pacula, R G Armstrong, Nicole Mercurio, Zach Galligan) – Classic Movie Review 4413

Warlock: The Armageddon? Armageddonoutofhere! The good news is that Julian Sands returns as The Warlock, but Anthony Hickox’s 1993 supernatural horror film sequel to the exciting 1989 chiller Warlock is a huge comedown and a big letdown. 

Director Anthony Hickox’s 1993 American supernatural horror film sequel to the exciting 1989 chiller Warlock is a huge comedown and a big letdown. The good news is that Julian Sands returns as The Warlock, Satan’s son reborn to an understandably reluctant New York yuppie mother, but otherwise the film is annoyingly dreary, not very entertaining or competently handled, and a struggle to sit through. There are one or two welcome cast members, but overall the acting is poor and irritating, and the production is extremely feeble.

The Warlock is on a six-day mission to find the five rune stones that will join up and welcome the Devil up on Earth. So a vacuous young couple (Chris Young, Paula Marshall) must be killed and they return to their Druid warrior past and battle Warlock Sands. Though done on an obviously low budget, Bob Keen’s pre-CGI special effects are just about adequate, particularly at the climax.

With the pacing, plotline and dialogue more than a little dodgy, Warlock: The Armageddon is far from great, and a long way from an acceptable and worthy successor to the excellent original. It is a massive pity that Kevin Rock’s screenplay (based on the original characters created by David T Twohy) and some of the acting are not a whole lot better. But Sands’s authoritative presence, the okay premise (though very similar to that of the first film), Hickox’s desperately frantic direction and a wry sense of humour combine to help to at least try to keep it on the rails. It is a shame that there is no sign of original co-star Richard E Grant, this time, though.

The tone is fairly nasty in places. It is more of a horror movie than a supernatural black comedy this time, and is sometimes reminiscent of Seventies Hammer horror.

Also in the cast are Joanna Pacula, R G Armstrong, Steve Kahan, Charles Hallahan, Nicole Mercurio, Craig Hurley, Bruce Glover and Zach Galligan.

It cost little at $3 million and earned enough ($3.9 million at the US box office, plus worldwide takings and video rentals and sales) to have been a moderate success. So more was needed but Julian Sands wisely bowed out. Warlock achieved trilogy status when a second sequel, Warlock III: The End of Innocence, starring Bruce Payne and Ashley Laurence, appeared in 1999, directed by Eric Freiser.

the cast are Julian Sands as The Warlock, Chris Young as Kenny Travis, Paula Marshall as Samantha Ellison, Joanna Pacula as Paula Dare, Steve Kahan as Will Travis, R G Armstrong as Franks, Charles Hallahan as Ethan Larson, Bruce Glover as Ted Ellison, Davis Gaines as Nathan Sinclair, Dawn Ann Billings as Amanda Sloan, Zach Galligan as Douglas, Michu Meszaros as Augusto, Richard Zobel as Barker, Ferdy Mayne as One-Eyed Man, Anthony Hickox as Dark Leader, Shannon Kies as Young Woman, Brent Bolthouse as Druid Leader, George Buck Flower as Man in Crowd and Monika Schnarre as Model.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 4413

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