Warlock III: The End of Innocence

Last updated
Warlock III: The End of Innocence
Warlock III The End of Innocence DVD cover from amazon.JPG
DVD cover
Directed byEric Freiser
Written byBruce David Eisen
Eric Freiser
Produced byBruce David Eisen
Starring Bruce Payne
Ashley Laurence
Boti Bliss
Angel Boris
Paul Francis
Rick Hearst
Jan Schweiterman
CinematographyAndrew Turman
Edited byGreg Finton
Music byDavid Reynolds
Distributed by Trimark Pictures
Release date
  • October 12, 1999 (1999-10-12)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2,000,000

Warlock III: The End of Innocence is a 1999 American direct-to-video fantasy horror film written by Bruce David Eisen and Eric Freiser and also directed by the latter. It is the third and final film in a trilogy that started with the 1989 Warlock . The first two films star Julian Sands as the Warlock, but Bruce Payne replaced him this film.

Contents

The film was shot in Roger Corman's studio in Ireland.

Plot

The story tells of a young girl called Kris who has no knowledge of her family, so when a historian tells her she has inherited a family house, she goes to see it. Also met is her boyfriend Michael, their friends Scott, Lisa, and Jerry, and her best friend Robin, who is a witch. Kris is haunted by visions and dreams of her past life and of a doll from her past life. A warlock, Phillip Covington, wanted her as a sacrifice until her mother used her own magic to trap him in the Catacombs of his home. Kris's night in the house is full of strange and supernatural events, including seeing an apparition of a young child. Jerry attempts to fix the pipes and accidentally breaks them, releasing Covington.

Kris goes to meet the historian the next day. Covington, who is posing as an architect, kills the historian, and destroys the letters from Kris's mother. Covington then toys with Kris and her friends, and convinces Jerry to steal Robin's talisman and a lock of her hair. Robin attempts to fight Covington with magic, but Covington is more experienced and wins, turning Robin into a glass statue and then shattering her. He then captures and tortures Kris's remaining friends to lure her to him.

Covington captures Kris, and he reveals that he plans to exchange her soul with a consort from hell to mother a race of evil. Kris escapes and fights back Covington, who begins to take a more demonic appearance. She takes the sacrificial blade and stabs him, however, Covington is unaffected by the knife. Kris then rips the doll from his hands and opens it, revealing a knife with which she stabs him in the heart, successfully killing him.

Kris leaves with a book of magic, reading the tarot card of strength and walking into a new life.

Cast

Reception

The film has received mixed reviews, although Bruce Payne's performance was praised. Richard Scheib, writing for The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review Database said that "as the Warlock, Bruce Payne, an actor who has magnificently theatrical charisma and presence is actually better in the part than the perpetually overwrought Julian Sands.". [1] The film critic John Fallon stated that Payne gave "a charismatic, subdued scary performance" in the film and that he "couldn't take" his "eyes off him" as he was "all charm". [2] Payne was described as a suave warlock by The Fresno Bee . [3] The director of the film, Eric Freiser, stated that "in the first two movies, Julian was very smooth as the character, but Bruce makes for a scarier villain. You feel he is capable of more evil than Julian". [4] John Fallon gave the film a score of three and a half out of four. [5] A reviewer for Beyond Hollywood stated that the film is "actually quite interesting, if a bit slow and plodding for the first hour". [6] A reviewer for A.V. club stated that "it may be blandly competent, but everything about Warlock III seems painfully arbitrary". [7] In contrast, Richard Scheib stated that "Warlock 3 is a halfway good film, certainly a lot better than the second one. It is rather flatly lit, but director Eric Freiser generates some often quite unusual atmosphere – like scenes where Ashley Laurence turns away from a mirror and unseen by her her reflection starts screaming; one victim being transformed into glass and then shattered; and a scene where Ashley Laurence thinks she has broken through a wall and runs away to freedom, only to become caught in a loop where she is not only running over and over but also watching herself run". [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Miracle on 34th Street</i> 1947 film by George Seaton

Miracle on 34th Street is a 1947 American Christmas comedy-drama film released by 20th Century-Fox, written and directed by George Seaton and based on a story by Valentine Davies. It stars Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood, and Edmund Gwenn. The story takes place between Thanksgiving and Christmas in New York City, and focuses on the effect of a department store Santa Claus who claims to be the real Santa. The film has become a perennial Christmas favorite.

Bruce Martyn Payne is an English actor, producer, screenwriter, film director and theatre director. Payne is best known for portraying villains, such as Charles Rane in Passenger 57, Jacob Kell in Highlander: Endgame, and Damodar in Dungeons & Dragons and Dungeons & Dragons 2: Wrath of the Dragon God.

<i>2001: A Space Travesty</i> 2000 Canadian film

2001: A Space Travesty is a 2000 sci-fi comedy film directed by Allan A. Goldstein and starring Leslie Nielsen, Ophélie Winter, Peter Egan, and Ezio Greggio. The film has a few sequences parodying elements of 2001: A Space Odyssey, but is not focused on parodying that film alone. Filming took place in Canada.

<i>Warlock</i> (1989 film) 1989 film

Warlock is a 1989 American supernatural horror film directed by Steve Miner and written by David Twohy. Julian Sands stars as the title character, a son of Satan who travels from the late 17th century to the modern era with the mission of destroying the world. Lori Singer and Richard E. Grant co-star as a 20th-century woman and a 17th-century witch-hunter attempting to stop him.

<i>Hellraiser: Hellseeker</i> 2002 horror film

Hellraiser: Hellseeker is a 2002 supernatural horror film directed by Rick Bota and written by Carl V. Dupré and Tim Day. The sixth film in the Hellraiser series, it features the return of Kirsty Cotton, the heroine from Hellraiser and its sequel. The film stars Dean Winters, Ashley Laurence, and Doug Bradley.

<i>Subspecies</i> (film series) Romanian-American horror film series

Subspecies is an American direct-to-video horror film series produced by Full Moon Studios and Castel Film Studios. The series ran from 1991 to 2023, and followed the exploits of the undead Radu Vladislas, portrayed by Anders Hove, and his efforts to turn Michelle Morgan into his fledgling. A spin-off film, Vampire Journals, was released in 1997, which featured characters that would go on to appear in the fourth installment. Ted Nicolaou wrote and directed all six films, including the spin-off.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Laurence</span> American actress

Ashley Laurence is an American actress and visual artist. She made her film debut in 1987 as the lead character, Kirsty Cotton, in Clive Barker's horror film Hellraiser (1987), a role she later reprised in Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992), and Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002). The film franchise established her as a prominent actress in horror, and she subsequently starred in Mikey (1992) and Lurking Fear (1994).

<i>Warlock: The Armageddon</i> 1993 film by Anthony Hickox

Warlock: The Armageddon is a 1993 American supernatural horror film directed by Anthony Hickox and produced by Peter Abrams. It is a sequel in title only to the 1989 film Warlock and stars Julian Sands, who returns in the title role as a warlock who attempts to free Satan from Hell.

<i>Ripper</i> (film) 2001 film by John Eyres

Ripper is a 2001 slasher film directed by John E. Eyres, and starring A. J. Cook and Bruce Payne. It was written and produced by John Curtis and Evan Tylor, and by production companies Prophecy Entertainment and Studio Eight Productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. J. Quartermaine</span> Soap opera character

A. J. Quartermaine is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. Born on-screen in 1979 as the only biological child of the iconic Drs. Alan Quartermaine and Monica Quartermaine, and A.J. Thought to be Rick Webber’s son but wasn’t "SORASed" in 1991, revising his birth year to 1973. The role has been most notably portrayed by the actors Sean Kanan from 1993 to 1997 and Billy Warlock from 1997 to 2003, with a brief return in 2005. Kanan made his on-screen return as A.J. on October 26, 2012, after a 15-year absence. Kanan announced in March 2014 that he would once again be leaving the series, voicing his disappointment over the writing for the character.

<i>The Tell-Tale Heart</i> (1960 film) 1960 British film by Ernest Morris

The Tell-Tale Heart is a 1960 British second feature ('B') horror film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Laurence Payne, Adrienne Corri and Dermot Walsh. It was produced by the Danzigers. The screenplay by Brian Clemens and Eldon Howard is a loose adaptation of the 1843 short story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe. The film was released in England in December 1960, and in the U.S. in February 1962 as The Hidden Room of 1,000 Horrors.

<i>Sublime</i> (2007 film) 2007 American film

Sublime is a 2007 psychological horror film directed by Tony Krantz and written by Erik Jendresen. It is the second straight-to-DVD "Raw Feed" horror film from Warner Home Video, released on March 13, 2007. The film stars Tom Cavanagh, Kathleen York, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and Katherine Cunningham-Eves.

<i>The Alchemist</i> (film) 1983 American film

The Alchemist is a 1983 American horror film about a man who desires to avenge a curse placed on him by an evil magician. The film was directed by Charles Band, and stars Robert Ginty, Lucinda Dooling, and John Sanderford.

<i>The Witches Hammer</i> 2006 British film

The Witches Hammer is a 2006 low budget English action/horror film written and directed by James Eaves, produced by British production company Amber Pictures, and starring Stephanie Beacham and Claudia Coulter with George Anton as an antagonistic vampire.

<i>Prowl</i> (film) 2010 US horror film by Patrik Syversen

Prowl is a 2010 American horror film directed by Patrik Syversen and written by Tim Tori and starring Courtney Hope, Ruta Gedmintas and Bruce Payne.

<i>Witch Hunt</i> (1994 film) 1994 film by Paul Schrader

Witch Hunt is a 1994 HBO fantasy detective television film directed by Paul Schrader and starring Dennis Hopper, Penelope Ann Miller and Eric Bogosian. The film, written by Joseph Dougherty, is a sequel to the 1991 film Cast a Deadly Spell, with Hopper playing private detective H. Phillip Lovecraft and replacing Fred Ward. Additionally, many characters have different backstories than in Cast a Deadly Spell. For example, Lovecraft refuses to use magic in Cast a Deadly Spell on principle, but in Witch Hunt he refuses because of a bad experience which he has had. The original music score was composed by Angelo Badalamenti.

Melancholia is a 2008 Philippine black and white slow drama film shot, edited, composed, written, produced and directed by Lav Diaz. It won the Horizons prize at the 65th Venice International Film Festival.

<i>Sella Turcica</i> (film) 2010 American film

Sella Turcica is a 2010 horror film written and directed by Fred Vogel, and co-written by Shelby Vogel and Don Moore.

References

  1. ↑ Scheib, Ricard. "WARLOCK: THE END OF INNOCENCE". Moria. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  2. ↑ Fallon, John. "Arrow In The Head's movie review of Warlock 3: The End of Innocence: Bruce Payne/Warlock, Ashley Laurence/Kris, Paul Francis/Michael". Joblo.com . Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  3. ↑ "WARLOCK 3 ACTORS RISE ABOVE TYPICAL GORE". The Fresno Bee . 14 October 1999. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  4. ↑ Ferrante, Anthony C. "Warlock III: The End of Innocence; A New Spell is Cast". Fangoria . Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  5. ↑ Fallon, John. "Arrow In The Head's movie review of Warlock 3: The End of Innocence: Bruce Payne/Warlock, Ashley Laurence/Kris, Paul Francis/Michael". Joblo.com . Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  6. ↑ NIX (22 September 2003). "Warlock III: The End of Innocence (1999) Movie Review". BeyondHollywood.com. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  7. ↑ Rabin, Nathan (29 March 2002). "Warlock III: The End Of Innocence". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  8. ↑ Scheib, Ricard. "WARLOCK: THE END OF INNOCENCE". Moria. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.