Wishmaster, a film with a strong genre pedigree. Written by Peter Atkins, who penned many of the Hellraiser sequels, and featuring cameos from several horror stars, it was a modest hit upon its original release. Craven’s name is prominently featured in the advertising and promotional materials, but his involvement with the film was very different than his association would suggest.
When Wishmaster was released in the late 90’s, much was made about the involvement of Craven. The cult filmmaker was enjoying a renewed popularity thanks to the success of his movie Scream, which released the previous year. That 1996 film satirizing the teen slasher genre made over $100 million domestically and started a short-lived revival of big budget horror. Riding the coattails of this resurgence, Wishmaster was marketed as a film “presented” by Craven, with poster art that directly recalled the Hellraiser series. Given the emphasis on the filmmaker’s name in the advertising, many moviegoers assumed he had directed the film.
Wishmaster revolved around an ancient, evil djinn (Andrew Divoff) who grants wishes that come with violent consequences. Using elements from Hellraiser and Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, it attempted to create another iconic horror villain ripe for a franchise. The film featured several popular horror veterans including Robert Englund, Kane Hodder and Tony Todd. It was also scored by Friday the 13th composer Harry Manfredini; lending even more weight to its horror credibility. All of these elements managed to create a modicum of interest and the film performed well at the box office, grossing almost 16 million on a budget of $5 million.
Did Wes Craven Direct Wishmaster?
Much of the credit for the success of Wishmaster went to its connection with Craven, who was merely an executive producer on the film. Other than lending his name for brand recognition, his involvement was in the actual production was negligible. At the time the film was in production, the busy filmmaker was already working on Scream 2 and had just brokered a deal with Miramax to make the Meryl Streep drama, Music of the Heart. Though it was glossed over in the advertising, the directing duties went to effects guru Robert Kurtzman. The longtime film industry professional had been a special makeup effects supervisor for nearly a decade before he began directing.
Wishmaster was only Kurtzman’s second time in the director’s chair, but an inspired choice given the amount of special effects involved with the production. His impressive genre portfolio included work on Predator (1987), Army of Darkness (1992) and Lord of Illusions (1995). He would go on to direct a few more features, but his enduring success would remain in the realm of makeup effects. A direct-to-video franchise of Wishmaster would continue with three additional follow-ups, none of which included the participation of either Craven or Kurtzman.
