Wishmaster 2 – Evil Never Dies DVD – Andrew Divoff, Vyto Ruginis 

Andrew Divoff returns as the evil Djinn bent on world domination in this “too good for cinema” sequel to Wishmaster. Released from his prison gem during a failed museum robbery, Djinn transforms from a gooey blob to a demon in human form after granting his first venom-laced wish and takes the rap for the heist and a couple of murders. Meanwhile Morgana (Holly Fields, looking like a B-movie version of Angelina Jolie, without the lips) is haunted by nightmares of the demon and discovers the meaning behind his command, “Fulfill the prophecy”: he needs to bag 1,000 souls and then he’s Armageddon-bound. Like its predecessor, Wishmaster 2 twists the classic genie-in-the-lamp legend into a sick joke; every wish is granted in the most literal terms, leaving the recipients victims of their own greed and desire in often gory spectacles. The budgetary constraints are evident in the more ambitious effects, notably a calamity of biblical proportions in a Las Vegas casino with computer-animated locusts and unconvincing dismemberments. Divoff makes a low-rent Freddy Krueger, tossing off pale quips with a tight grin and in a raspy, self-important monotone in this Nightmare on Elm Street knockoff. Best to stick with the real thing. –Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com