back in the day: Warlock ‘89
We make some jokes about an accident during last week’s live stream before discussing this week’s Home Video Headlines:
Godzilla Versus King, our issues with Godzilla being the villain again
a non-spoiler mini-review of PG: Psycho Goreman
Alien Nation reboot potentially becoming a Disney Plus mini-series
and whether or not we think you should be able to buy and sell video on demand codes.
Tonight’s movie is a hidden gem among horror movie rentals. I think people know of it, but are still questioning whether or not to watch it. This movie has a great director, great actors, and a great premise. The script survived many changes but still has enough life-blood to beat through the different cuts and the score is also well-done. Somehow, this movie attracted a handful of talented filmmakers, and then got shelved for 2 years, bought by another studio and released on video as their biggest hit.
In 17th-century New England, witch hunter Giles Redferne (Richard E. Grant) captures an evil warlock (Julian Sands), but the conjurer eludes death with supernatural help. Flung into the future, the warlock winds up in the 1980s and plans to bring about the end of the world. Redferne follows the enchanter into the modern era and continues his mission, but runs into trouble in such unfamiliar surroundings. With the help of a young woman (Lori Singer), can Redferne finally defeat the warlock?
Directed by Steve Miner. He did Friday the 13th Part 2, Part 3, House, Forever Young, My Father The Hero, he was second unit on Night Of The Creeps, Halloween H20, Lake Placid, later emmy nominated TV and worked into the 2000s. He looked at the script and reconigsed the main characters being the warlock and the witch hunterwere fresh off the boat from England in colonial America, so he had the good sense to get some amazing British actors.
Julian Sands sat on the script for a while assuming it was run of the mill slasher material, and then he understood there was a dark sense of humor running through the tone of the story.
Richard Grant supposedly comes in for the Warlock part and then gets the chance to play the hero named Giles Redferne.
The one thing, if true, that bums me out is how Lori Singer, the supporting lead supposedly fought with the make up artists and ditched the prosthetics to make her old because in the movie she gets hit with a slow killing aging curse and she didn’t want to wear it because it was going to be hideous or whatever … one of the criticisms of the movie is her makeup.
Let’s back up to the screenwriting for a minute. David Twohy, a really good writer, lots of genre credits Pitch Black, Critters 2, The Fugitive, GI Jane, etc … He spends 6-8 weeks writing the warlock as a persecuted protagonist during the Salem witch trial era...Then flipped it, it still had time travel but the warlock was the doomed hero and not the villain…
They shot the movie in at least 3 historic locations.
Plimoth Plantations in MA.
George Washington Faulkner House.
Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
And Jerry Goldsmith turns in a score almost as long as the movie and it has to be trimmed to fit.
Legacy? 2 sequels, one with original writer and original warlock. A novelization. Comic mini-series that crosses two horror movie franchises with LEPRECHAUN VS. WARLOCK
And some ass hole defense attorney in Canada blamed the movie to get his guilty client a lesser sentence.
Highlights from our first impressions include:
“Julian Sands steals the show.”
“Not as good as I remember.”
“This movie is alive. Big kick out of it.”
“Scary, if you believe in good and evil.”
Dylan O'Brien stars in LOVE AND MONSTERS, out now on Blu-ray™ & 4K Ultra HD™. Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, this fun-filled adventure delivers epic action and laughs, as a young man makes a dangerous journey in a monster-infested world to be with the girl of his dreams. Own LOVE AND MONSTERS now on Blu-ray™, 4K & Digital! Rated PG-13. From Paramount Pictures.
WE ALSO HAVE A CONTEST GOING RIGHT NOW AND YOU CAN WIN A COPY OF THIS MOVIE, GET THE DETAILS ON THE WEBSITE, BUT ESSENTIALLY TELL US WHAT YOU LOVE ABOUT OUR SHOW IN A 30 SECOND VIDEO FOR OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES...RUNS TIL VALENTINE’S DAY...
Our favorite bits from Warlock include the tongue biting scene, the action with the weather vane, and the methodology of how the black magic and its deterrents work in this film.
Don’t forget to visit us on social, drop us an email, or reach out with a movie review request, but tune in next week as we talk about THE BAD ROMANCES IN WARLOCK 2. We’re switching gears and going into a month filled with bad romances, bromances, and bad friendships. Lates!!!
Music: Schoolyard Swing by Cast of Characters
