Rating: Summary: Witch Way? Review: Warlock III - End of InnocenceI started out on the wrong foot with this film. I made the classic mistake of rushing to get a film for the weekend, not finding what I wanted and grabbing something that I thought was the continuation of another series entirely. Not until the action opened on an entirely different cast of players did I figure out my mistake. Being doubly grumpy does not make me a friendly viewer. The film starts out with college student Kris (Ashley Lawrence) receiving a call about a house she had inherited. Since Kris had never known her original family, she jumps at the opportunity to learn about her past and dashes off, without her friends, to investigate. She arrives and is promptly badly spooked (people who know this series will recognize the house as belonging to Phillip Coventry [Bruce Payne], the warlock). A grand thumping at the door announces the arrival of... Kris's college friends. Among them her boyfriend Michael (Paul Francis), her best friend and apprentice witchlet Robin (Boti Ann Bliss), and her high school buddy Jerry (Jan Schweiterman). "Great!" thinks me, "Yet another college student hack-and-slash film." Well, it is and it isn't. Don't mistake me; 'End of Innocence' has a twenty-five word or less plot, an unknown cast, and the requisite gratuitous nudity and violence. Nevertheless, surprisingly, the film isn't cheesy at all. Director Eric Freiser stays with fairly understated and subdued effects, rather than immense splashes of gore and parts. This makes that acting more prominent, and several of the cast really turn in professional jobs. Coupled with a setting that actually is interesting, and good film work, this makes the story far more believable that many similar efforts. The end result is an enjoyable rendition of a classic grade B horror flick - forgettable, but fun. Definitely an R rating, but not excessively so. I would suggest seeing parts one and two first. Then you won't have to spend the time I did figuring out what is going on.
Rating: Summary: Hell no Review: Why...oh why...did they make ANOTHER sequel? The first movie was an instantaneous classic featuring the EXTREMELY well cast Julian Sands as the Warlock. The second movie, a fresh twist for the '90s fans of the first one, had its only highlights being that it still contained Julian Sands (in his chic look with shorter hair and designer black clothes) and a killer song by Napalm Death in the credits. But the third one, missing out on the Julian Sands action (he could shave his head and dance in a dress like in Mercy, worth renting just to see that part), has nothing going for it except for some kinky S&M (I don't remember the other two needing sex scenes to sell the movie). I could barely make it through it, because it was so boring. The only scares it had were rip offs from other horror movies. Personally, I don't find Bruce Payne at all intimidating. This movie makes me fear for the horror movies of the 21st century. Don't buy it unless you want to complete your trilogy (or if you liked Urban Legends 2 or Scream 3). The End of Innocence, more like The Tragic Failure of a Good Series.
Rating: Summary: Where Is Sandy? Review: Yessiree bud, I was sure looking forward to this movie. Being a huge fan of the Warlock series, and considering Julian Sands one of the sexiest men who ever lived through a heterosexual point of view, I could not wait for this movie. Three years later, I learned they actually DID make a Warlock 3, and I rushed to my local video regurgatation center to snatch it up in all it's clammy goodness. And that's when the trouble started. Upon looking at the cover, I noticed that Julian Sands was NOT on the cover. Puzzled for about 17 minutes, I soon realized that Bruce Payne had REPLACED Julie as the Warlock. Okay...you cannot REPLACE the Sands. The Sands IS the Warlock. No duh. And what exactly is Julian doing that's more important than the role that made him a household name? It's not like he's constantly busy... I knew I was in for a horrible night of horribleness. Needless to say, I liked the movie. It seemed kind of different than the first two films, as in the atmosphere of the movie, the settings, the characters, the plot...oh, yeah...I know why: JULIAN SANDS IS NOT IN THIS MOVIE!!! Apart from that, everything was spiffy. Bruce Payne is good as the Warlock, but nobody can beat Julian Sands. That's the same as trying to replace the Beatles with Wesley Willis, whatever the hell that means. Another thing that bothered me was that all the female characters seemed to become topless at some point except for the only one that was remotely attractive amongst the group of ragtag teenz. The cute little blond wicca was kewl... The DVD is exciting, too. I forget the special features, but I do remember that the trailers for Warlock 1 & 2 are hidden in the Lions Gate logo on the main screen. Mmm...Sandy. Overall, this movie is good, but not as good as number one or number two. Thank you. Luv, Muttz!
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