Wishmaster (1997)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A woman must outsmart a malevolent, wish-granting djinn who seeks to open a portal and enslave the Earth.
The story
In 1997, a malevolent djinn is released from a fire opal and begins a quest to claim human souls. The entity seeks to gather three wishes from a specific woman who released him; if successful, he will open a portal to unleash his kin upon Earth. When the djinn's actions begin to cause chaos and death in the modern world, the woman who discovered the gem must navigate a series of dangerous encounters to stop the entity's plan. As the djinn takes various forms to manipulate those around her, she must find a way to neutralize his power before he can complete his ritual and unleash his fellow djinn.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1127, a djinn is trapped in a fire opal by a sorcerer after a Persian emperor's foolish wish. In modern-day America, the gem is unearthed and eventually reaches appraiser Alexandra "Alex" Amberson. After the gem is released, the djinn—taking the name Nathaniel Demerest—begins granting twisted wishes to others, resulting in their deaths or transformations. He eventually confronts Alex, offering her three wishes. During their confrontation, Alex realizes she is speaking to the djinn disguised as her mentor, Wendy Derleth. She manages to survive his initial attempts to trap her. Later, at a party hosted by Raymond Beaumont, the djinn causes the artwork to come to life, killing the guests. In a final confrontation, the djinn traps Alex's sister, Shannon, in a burning painting. To save her, Alex uses her final wish to undo a past event involving a drunk crane operator. This paradox forces the djinn back into the fire opal, where he remains trapped, while the victims of his actions are restored to their original states.
- First release year
- 1997
- Runtime (minutes)
- 90
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Robert Kurtzman
- Writers
- Peter Atkins · writer
- Cast and characters
- Tammy Lauren · Alexandra Amberson; Andrew Divoff · The Djinn / Nathaniel Demerest; Robert Englund · Raymond Beaumont; Chris Lemmon · Nick Merritt; Wendy Benson · Shannon Amberson; Tony Crane · Josh Aickman; Jenny O'Hara · Wendy Derleth; Ricco Ross · Lieutenant Nathanson
- Genres
- dark fantasy; horror; independent; supernatural
- Themes
- wish fulfillment; consequences of greed
- Tone and mood
- dark; supernatural
- Setting
- Modern-day America and a historical 1127 Persia.
- Premise and plot tags
- evil genie; supernatural horror
- Franchise connections
- Wishmaster
- Reception
- The film was negatively received overall by critics, with a 25% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 3.97 · scale: 10 · review count: 32
- Production trivia
- Executive produced by Wes Craven, the only film in the series with his name attached.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…