Editorials
Exhumed & Exonerated: ‘Wishmaster’ (1997)
Every decade has its ups and downs when it comes to cinema, no matter the genre. Horror fans love to loft on high the output of the ‘30s & ‘40s, the ‘70s & ‘80s, and the more recent decades. More often than not, however, the 1990s are labeled as the worst decade for the genre. Not only that, but ‘90s horror tends to be written off as a whole, beyond a handful of undisputed classics. The purpose of Exhumed & Exonerated: The ‘90s Horror Project, is to refute those accusations by highlighting numerous gems from the decade. Stone cold classics will be tackled in this column from time to time, but its main purpose will be to seek out lesser-known and/or less-loved titles that I think deserve more attention and respect from fans. Let the mayhem begin!
WISHMASTER
Directed by Robert Kurtzman
Screenplay by Peter Atkins
Produced by Pierre David, Wes Craven, Russell D. Markowitz, Clark Peterson, Erik Saltzgaber, David Tripet, and Noël A. Zanitsch
Starring Tammy Lauren, Andrew Divoff, Wendy Benson, Jenny O’Hara, Rico Ross, Chris Lemmon, Tony Crane, and Robert Englund
Released on September 19, 1997
Wishmaster follows the malicious quest of an ancient dark being, the Djinn (Andrew Divoff), who is accidentally freed from his centuries-long confines by an unaware appraiser named Alex (Tammy Lauren). In order to unleash his dark plague upon humanity, the Djinn must convince Alex to make three wishes for him to grant. Along the way, he must also collect the souls of passers-by by offering them single wishes, all of which are made reality in increasingly horrifying ways.
I’m sure some will scoff at the inclusion of this film, but I’ll counter by saying that it is a lot more fun than some of you remember. Wishmaster is far from perfect. The direction is fairly pedestrian and the budget a little low, causing the concept to lack the scale it needs at times to truly sing, but the good outweighs the bad.
Tammy Lauren has an ‘80s Linda Hamilton thing going on and makes for a capable lead. She is well-supported by co-stars Wendy Benson (as Alex’s sister Shannon), Chris Lemmon as her overzealous boss Nick Merritt, Jenny O’Hara as a mythology expert, Aliens’ Ricco Ross as a befuddled cop, and Tony Crane as Alex’s best friend/would-be lover, Josh. And, as always, Robert Englund knocks his role as the somewhat sleazy Raymond Beaumont out of the park.
The star of the show, however, is Andrew Divoff. Generally stuck playing henchman or simply just “third goon from the right”, Divoff fares well as the scenery-chewing villain. His performance is filled with so much ham that you might still find store shelve under-stocked on the pork product this Thanksgiving, but it suits the film. Given the otherworldly and inhuman nature of the Djinn, the hamminess and mugging constantly flooding forth from Divoff helps to create a disconnect whenever he graces the screen.
In his human form as Nathaniel Demerest, he looks normal at the outset, but there’s instantly something of about him due to the malicious grin constantly adorning Divoff’s face. In his true form as the Djinn, Divoff’s over-animated facial tics carry through the prosthetics and make-up wonderfully, giving us one of the few new iconic horror performances of the ‘90s. It’s really no wonder that this film ultimately spawned 3 low budget sequels, although the third and fourth entries sadly were not smart enough to retain Divoff in the role. I suspect that’s probably the exact reason we aren’t still seeing further DTV entries made to this day.
Back to the style and concept, the film’s rather Clive Barker-esque leanings come as no surprise once one realizes that it was penned by Peter Atkins, the screenwriter of the first three Hellraiser sequels. Pair that with a bit of Warlock-style Anthony Hickox flavor in terms of the film’s look and we have a solid supernatural horrorfest that piles on both the dark magic and the gore. KNB clearly had some fun crafting the deaths in this film, most of which are quite gruesome.
Then we have the cameos, of which there are PLENTY. When horror icons and recognizable genre actors are given bit roles in films such as this, more often than not there is a temptation to fill their scenes with winks and bad references. Wishmaster thankfully eschews this pitfall, instead simply trusting its audience to recognize some (if not all) of these actors. If you aren’t aware of who they are, their appearances still play out organically, instead of jarring the viewer. Chances are I’ve missed a few, but let’s take a look at the full tally…
- Angus Scrimm (Phantasm 1-5) as the narrator.
- Ted Raimi (Evil Dead 2, Darkman) as Beaumont’s douchey assistant.
- Joe Pilato (Day of the Dead) as the drunken dock worker.
- Verne Troyer (Austin Powers trilogy) as the newly-reborn Djinn.
- George “Buck” Flower (The Fog, They Live) as the angry homeless man.
- Reggie Bannister (Phantasm 1-5) as the asshole pharmacist.
- Peter Liapis (Ghoulies) as a pharmacy customer.
- Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th 7-10) as Merritt’s security guard.
- Tony Todd (Candyman trilogy) as Beaumont’s security guard.
- The Pazuzu status (The Exorcist 1-4) as itself!
The nods don’t stop there. The majority of the characters have horror –centric last names, although instead of the usual “name them after horror directors” routine (which grows more stale with each passing year), Atkins was sly enough to adorn them with the surnames of horror authors. Derleth, Leiber, Beaumont, Finney, Etchison, etc. Once again, these are names that will ring a bell with some fans, but not in a way that should take them out of the film itself.
It may not be Hellraiser, A Nightmare on Elm Street, or Candyman, but Wishmaster remains a fun horror romp that manages to offer up an interesting concept, an enjoyable cast, buckets of blood, and an intriguing new horror icon, something that we rarely get anymore. Unlike his more well-known brethren from the ‘80s, the Djinn will likely never see his franchise resurrected in theaters in a big way. That said, this does little to diminish the entertainment he offered up for a short time in his debut decade.
Up Next: Alien 3 (1992)
Previously On…
Species | Mute Witness | Popcorn | Wishmaster | Alien 3 | Cast A Deadly Spell
Disturbing Behavior | The Sect | The Addams Family
A new month means a new guide as titles are added (and dropped) from streaming services. Let’s unpack the most exciting titles that are available to watch on Tubi in July 2026.
New to Tubi July Horror Films
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
- Premise: Searching for a cure to Alzheimer’s disease, a group of scientists on an isolated research facility become the prey as a trio of intelligent sharks fight back.
- Why Watch It? Let’s be frank: Director Renny Harlin has made some absolute dogs in the last few years (the less said about The Strangers trilogy the better, though this year’s Deep Water was actually ok). Deep Blue Sea remains one of the Finnish director’s best contemporary efforts, though. Between the great cast (Samuel L. Jackson, Saffron Burrows, Stellan Skarsgård, Michael Rapaport, LL Cool J, Thomas Jane, and Jane’s sleeveless wetsuit), the ridiculous premise, and that damn/dumb song (“My hat is like a shark’s fin”), you basically can’t go wrong with Deep Blue Sea. It’s one of two great shark films gliding onto Tubi this month, so why not stay out of the water and watch this instead?
- Streaming: July 1
Exorcist II: Heretic (1977)
- Premise: Reagan (Linda Blair), a girl once possessed by a demon, finds that it still lurks within her. Meanwhile, Father Lamont (Richard Burton) investigates the death of the priest who performed her exorcism.
- Why Watch It? August sees the release of documentary Boorman and the Devil, which is about the troubled production of this sequel. The notoriety surrounding Heretic has undoubtedly kept plenty of horror fans away from the sequel, but this truly is a “seeing is believing” kind of film. Real talk: it’s undeniably a disaster, but the John Boorman film has also become a minor cult film. Don’t you want to see it to make up your own mind?
- Streaming: July 1
Hostel: Part III (2011)
- Premise: Four men attending a bachelor party in Las Vegas fall prey to the Elite Hunting Club, who are hosting a gruesome game show of torture.
- Why Watch It? What does Hostel look like without Eli Roth? Part III kinda answers the question. Technically Roth is still a writer, but he hands over the directorial reins to Scott Spiegel (best known for acting in Evil Dead films). The result is a film with a terrible pedigree; it’s also the first (and last) entry to skip theatres before the franchise was permanently shelved (until that TV show with Paul Giamatti shows up?). For some horror fans, however, there’s something exciting about a bad low-budget sequel. Just bear in mind that the Hostel: Part III‘s biggest star is Kip Pardue…so adjust your expectations accordingly before hitting play.
- Streaming: July 1
Insidious 1-3 (2010/2013/2015)
- Premise: A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.
- Why Watch It? It’s hard to believe that the sixth (!) Insidious movie is coming out in a month and a half, but James Wan and Leigh Whannell‘s other horror franchise has been steadily chugging along for sixteen years. It’s a shame that Tubi doesn’t have all five films available to watch, but in terms of quality, you can do far worse than the original trio. The first film is iconic, and the second is basically an extended coda (with some admittedly problematic stuff going on). I’ll go to bat for Whannell’s 2015 directorial debut, though: there’s a few banger sequences in that film that people slept on.
- Streaming: July 1
Man Finds Tape (2025)
- Premise: After finding mysterious video clips, siblings investigate the strange recordings and uncover a disturbing secret spreading through their Texas town.
- Why Watch It? Writer/directors Paul Gandersman and Peter S. Hall‘s well-received found footage film did an extensive tour of the festival circuit, so now is a great time to check out one of the most contemporary titles debuting on Tubi this month. Surely a title that hails from producers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Spring and The Endless) is worth a free look?
- Streaming: July 2
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
- Premise: A depressed musician Adam (Tom Hiddleston) reunites with his lover Eve (Tilda Swinton). However, their romance, which has already endured several centuries, is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska).
- Why Watch It? This beautiful, melancholy vampire film is courtesy of writer/director Jim Jarmusch, who doesn’t often dabble in genre fare. As always, some will quibble if this artsy drama qualifies as horror, but the existential ennui of an eternal life certainly qualifies (bonus: there’s also something inherently sexy about watching Hiddleston and Swinton just lay about). Plus: if Leviticus has you hankering for more Wasikowska, this is an under the radar pick.
- Streaming: July 1
The Shallows (2016)
- Premise:A mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy (Blake Lively) is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.
- Why Watch It? What better time to watch a shark movie than July? The temperatures are soaring and the idea of escaping into the water is so tantalizing. This tight, contained thriller features a great performance by Lively (and that damn seagull!), but it’s the direction from genre fave Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan; the House of Wax remake) that keeps the movie clicking along like clockwork. At 86 minutes, this is a perfect summer flick.
- Streaming: July 1
Vacancy (2007)
- Premise: Stranded in an isolated motel, a couple (Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale) become the unsuspecting subjects of a snuff film.
- Why Watch It? I’m not going to pretend that this Nimród Antal-directed home invasion film is high art, but it is a good time. You’ll likely wish there were deeper characterizations for Wilson and Beckinsale’s David and Amy in Mark L. Smith‘s screenplay, but this mid-aughts thriller is tense, exciting, and just the right amount of grimy. Plus: another short runtime, clocking in at an expeditious 85 minutes!
- Streaming: July 1
July Tubi Originals
The One Next Door (2026)
- Premise: When a mysterious stranger moves in next door to Robert and Tabitha, boundaries are tested, loyalty is questioned, and danger comes for all.
- Streaming: July 10
I Know Where You Live (2026)
- Premise: Sarah thinks she’s found “the one” until his flaws emerge. When she pulls away, chilling threats suggest he’s watching her from inside her own home.
- Streaming: July 24
What’s your favorite from the list above? Will you check out the new Original? Sound off in the comments below
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