WARLOCK

I have to admit, I felt slightly antsy about revisiting Warlock: it was a childhood fave, and sometimes nostalgia can count for a lot - even too much. I didn't want to watch it and see it for a total mess. Thankfully, that didn't happen. Warlock is as much fun now as it was when I was a kid: it holds up brilliantly well. It also doesn't hurt to see Julian Sands with, shall we say, a woman's eyes - but I digress…

Most of you will know the plot, but here it is for the sake of completism: we start off in 17th century Boston. A group of witchfinders are about to pass judgement on a black magician (Sands); they tell him he will be put to death on the following day. Well, as the warlock retorts to the witchfinder Redferne (Richard E. Grant), 'a lot can happen in a day'. Indeed - all hell breaks loose, and the warlock disappears - followed by Redferne. We are then taken around 300 years into the future, and we hear that a mysterious tornado has touched down in the city of Los Angeles…our warlock has arrived.

Here we meet Kassandra (Lori Singer) and her live-in landlord Chas (Kevin O'Brien), who are rudely awoken by a disturbance on the ground floor of the house. They discover what they assume is a drunk, sprawled across their floor after falling through a window. Undaunted, they take care of him, and ungratefully, the warlock later mauls Chas to death. It seems our anti-hero is getting used to his surroundings then, but he has yet to find out why he has been brought to that time and place. A visit to an unwitting medium allows him to discover this: he is to recombine the Grand Grimoire, a powerful book of magic which will provide him with the true name of God and allow him to undo creation. For his part in this, he will become Satan's heir apparent.

He doesn't realise that Redferne has followed him however, and, a few misunderstandings between Kassandra and Redferne later, they are also on the trail of the Grand Grimoire.

This is just a great, fun film that hasn't simply become a joke due to its age. This is because it knew what it was when it was made, so although you might notice some of the fashions are a little, shall we say, 'jarring' and the SFX looks a tad dated, it's really a minor concern. The film has a sense of wickedness, bringing together little visual clues in a clever, knowing way (like Kassandra's encounter with the old lady in the street prior to getting the hex, and the follow-up of the bitten-out tongue with an omelette hitting a plate - not to mention the warlock's 'friendly' encounter with the irreligious little boy!) It doesn't purport to be a serious examination of the occult on film but it certainly isn't clueless either - it just knows its limitations, and enjoys balancing humour with drama, moving from some genuine occult markers (for instance, how the warlock sours milk) to easy dialogue between the 17th century and 20th century characters which provides plenty of light relief.

All of the performances are strong and earnest, but for me it is Sands who steals the show. He has masses of charisma and screen presence, dominating the scenes he is in both through his intense, stagey delivery (which is perfect in tone for this film) and through his striking physical appearance. This film is also has a firm rein on its pace and tone, so the film feels balanced throughout, never lagging or ploughing through the plot.

This release looks good and the Jerry Goldsmith-penned music sounds great, though it's sad that there are no special features on this disc. I would have loved to have seen some interviews from the cast or more information about the making of the film. Oh well, you can't win them all. My fangirl status is still very much intact.

Review by Keri O'Shea