ON THIS DAY IN HORROR - January 11th
"WARLOCK" released in 1991
When an an evil 17th century warlock flees to the 20th century, pursued by a witch-hunter, events are set in motion that will bring about the end of the world, in Steve Miner's Warlock!
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In Boston, Massachusetts in 1691, a particularly vicious Warlock (Julian Sands) is awaiting his execution for "trafficing with the Devil". After the elders leave, the Warock is confronted by his captor, witch-hunter Giles Redferne (Richard E. Grant), although the Warlock seems unafraid at his death sentence. As Redferne leaves, he watches as an unnatural storm quickly approaches and rushes back to the Warlock's cell - just in time to see him disappear into a spirally vortex. Redferne rushes inside the cell to stop him, but he too disappears into the portal.
The Warlock appears again Los Angeles in 1988, at the home of Chas (Kevin O'Brien) and Kassandra (Lori Singer). Injured, Chas and Kassandra take him in. The next day while Kassandra is at work, the Warlock awakens and kills Chas (biting his tongue off!) and goes to a spirtual medium (Mary Woronov) and has her channel the spirit of "Zamiel". Satan appears and tasks the Warlock with combining the three lost parts of his bible, The Grand Grimoire, offering the Warlock a reward of becoming Satan's own son. Meanwhile, Kassandra returns home to find Chas murdered and encounters Redferne, who had tracked the Warlock to her house. Using the Warlock's blood from the broken glass, Redferne uses his Witch Compass to find him. But before he can, the police arrive and arrest Redferne. Alone once more, Kassandra begins to pack her belongings when the Warlock returns (guided by the eyes of the Channeller) and breaks open an antique desk that contain the first pages of the Grand Grimoire. Befoe leaving, the Warlock curses Kassandra with a ageing spell - to age twenty-years over a single day.
The Warlock appears again Los Angeles in 1988, at the home of Chas (Kevin O'Brien) and Kassandra (Lori Singer). Injured, Chas and Kassandra take him in. The next day while Kassandra is at work, the Warlock awakens and kills Chas (biting his tongue off!) and goes to a spirtual medium (Mary Woronov) and has her channel the spirit of "Zamiel". Satan appears and tasks the Warlock with combining the three lost parts of his bible, The Grand Grimoire, offering the Warlock a reward of becoming Satan's own son. Meanwhile, Kassandra returns home to find Chas murdered and encounters Redferne, who had tracked the Warlock to her house. Using the Warlock's blood from the broken glass, Redferne uses his Witch Compass to find him. But before he can, the police arrive and arrest Redferne. Alone once more, Kassandra begins to pack her belongings when the Warlock returns (guided by the eyes of the Channeller) and breaks open an antique desk that contain the first pages of the Grand Grimoire. Befoe leaving, the Warlock curses Kassandra with a ageing spell - to age twenty-years over a single day.
Above: An unnatural storm approaches the tower where the Warlock is kept.
[Redferne confronts the Warlock in his cell]
Redferne: I've hunted you my last, tomorrow shall you die. Never was there a brute more deserving!
The Warlock: Much can happen within a day...
Kassandra bails Redferne out of jail and the two embark on a cross country trek, following the Warlock's path of destruction; in one twon, the Warlock murdered a 10-year old boy to use his unbaptized flesh in a flying potion. As they travel, Redferne confides that the Warlock once killed his wife, Marion, which caused Redferne to relentlessly pursue him. That night, Kassandra is horrified to discover she has become 60 over the course of the night. They go in search again, and quickly come across a farm with a white painted hex sign on the barn. Realizing the Warlock is there, Redferne speaks with the man who painted it, an elderly Mennonite (Richard Kuss). Convincing the Mennonite's son and faimly to leave, Redferne, Kassandra and the Mennonite confront the Warlock, who has been hiding in the attic (and having found the second part of the Grand Grimoire). In the struggle, Redferne manages to briefly subdue the warlock, but the Mennonite is injured by the Warlock. While Redferne stays to help him, an elderly Kassandra pursues the Warlock alone. Crippling the Warlock with a hex told to her by Redferne, Kassandra manages to retrieve her bracelet and lift her curse.
Returning to the farmhouse, Kassandra confirms to Redferne she wants to leave now her curse is lifted, but Redferne convinces her to stay, explaining the devastation the Warlock will unleash if he manages to gather all three parts of the Grand Grimoire together. Realizing she may never be safe until the warlock is stopped, Kassandra agrees to accompany Redferne to Boston in a hope of finding the third and final part of the Grand Grimoire, before the Warlock uses it to destroy all of creation!
Returning to the farmhouse, Kassandra confirms to Redferne she wants to leave now her curse is lifted, but Redferne convinces her to stay, explaining the devastation the Warlock will unleash if he manages to gather all three parts of the Grand Grimoire together. Realizing she may never be safe until the warlock is stopped, Kassandra agrees to accompany Redferne to Boston in a hope of finding the third and final part of the Grand Grimoire, before the Warlock uses it to destroy all of creation!
TRIVIA: In a 1991 interview, Julian Sands revealed that the fate of the boy was intended to be shown. "But that was a little close to the bone -- especially for the little boy," he joked menacingly.
Top and Above: The evil Warlock (Julian Sands) escapes to the 20th century, with witch-hunter Giles Redferne (Richard E. Grant) in pursuit - aided by Kassandra (Lori Singer)
Screenwriter David Twohy's original conception was that the Warlock was a good-natured man forced flee the 17th century to avoid religious persecution only to find himself similarly persecuted in the 20th century. After working on the script for two months, Twohy revised and refined the story to make the main character the villian, but he had to compromise some of his ideas due to limitations of the budget. Twohy also used a common theme of spiritualistic pagan religions that evil spirits were said to have personal names kept from all others, for learning the true name of a spirit would allow an entity to gain control over it. Thus Twohy used this concept for the Warlock's goal to bring together all three parts of a book that will allow him to learn the "true" name of God, and undo all of Creation by speaking the name backward.
Because the film begins in the colonial United States, director Steve Miner insisted that the leads were portrayed by British actors. "They'd been off the boat for five years, ten years at most. They're English," he quipped. Producer Arnold Kopelson suggested Julian Sands, but it was director Miner who decided to cast Sands against type as the evil Warlock instead of goodhearted Redferne. However, when Sands received the script, he assumed it was in the mold of the then-popular slasher movies, so it sat around for a while before he got around to reading it. Once he finally decided to give it a once-over, he was captivated and quickly became excited about the film. And while Miner initially considered Sands for the role of Redferne, he also auditioned Richard E. Grant for the part of the Warlock. In the end, Miner opted to cast each of the actors against type by reversing their roles. Lori Singer was soon added to the cast, having previously starred in the hugely popular and critically acclaimed films, Footloose and The Falcon and the Snowman.
Because the film begins in the colonial United States, director Steve Miner insisted that the leads were portrayed by British actors. "They'd been off the boat for five years, ten years at most. They're English," he quipped. Producer Arnold Kopelson suggested Julian Sands, but it was director Miner who decided to cast Sands against type as the evil Warlock instead of goodhearted Redferne. However, when Sands received the script, he assumed it was in the mold of the then-popular slasher movies, so it sat around for a while before he got around to reading it. Once he finally decided to give it a once-over, he was captivated and quickly became excited about the film. And while Miner initially considered Sands for the role of Redferne, he also auditioned Richard E. Grant for the part of the Warlock. In the end, Miner opted to cast each of the actors against type by reversing their roles. Lori Singer was soon added to the cast, having previously starred in the hugely popular and critically acclaimed films, Footloose and The Falcon and the Snowman.
[upon meeting Redferne in the present day]
Warlock: Of all the curiosities here I've seen, none have surprised me more than this.
Top and Above: Satan possess a spiritual Channeler (Mary Woronov), and tasks the Warlock to find the three-parts of his "bible", The Grand Grimoire, which gives the Warlock new powers!
However, Singer proved to be difficult on set during filming, especially for makeup designer Carl Fullerton. An elaborate series of makeups to progressively age Singer had been designed, tested and approved. But on the day of her transformation into a 40-year-old, Singer refused to wear any prosthetics, forcing the makeup men to resort to stippling, shadowing and having the actress don a gray wig. For her 60-year-old incarnation, she agreed to wear prosthetics on her cheeks and chin but refused to let them put appliances on her nose or eyes.
The opening 17th century sequence was filmed at Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts, with later modern day scenes filmed in the Boston area. The farmhouse with the iconic red barn is the George Washington Faulkner House, which was open to the public with an annual pumpkin patch attraction for many years. Due to the logistics of the special effects involved, however, a graveyard was erected on a soundstage in Los Angeles for the climactic finale. The optical effects work was to have been supplied by Dreamquest Images but they were replaced by Perpetual Motion for budgetary reasons. When the warlock gains the ability to conjure bolts of ectoplasm which he hurled at unsuspecting foes, this proved problematic and had to be toned down since it could only be achieved through animation. Unfortunately, no one from Perpetual Motion was available to supervise on the set, so the crew had to shoot background plates and plot the effects on their own and hope that the FX team had the proper materials to work with!
Due to a variety of factors, several scenes were cut, reshot or altered in post-production. One scene was of the Warlock squatting down inside a circle with a rooster tied to the center (this was explained in the novelization as a compass that the Warlock uses to track down Redferne and Kassandra). The most radical change was the Channeller scene; in the original version, actress Mary Woronov ripped open her blouse to reveal the "Eyes of Satan" in place of her nipples. After mouthing the words of the devil, the channeler freezes, before The Warlock pushes her body to the ground causing it to shatter and stomps on her chest to retrieve the eyes. This shot was cut after test screenings resulted in laughter at the prosthetic breasts and disapproval over the violent nature of the channeler's death. Woronov returned for the scenes reshoots, although Sands was not available to return. Editor David Finfer managed to cut the two seperate scenes togather as Sands and Woronov never share the same frame and at no time is there a clear shot of his face.
The opening 17th century sequence was filmed at Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts, with later modern day scenes filmed in the Boston area. The farmhouse with the iconic red barn is the George Washington Faulkner House, which was open to the public with an annual pumpkin patch attraction for many years. Due to the logistics of the special effects involved, however, a graveyard was erected on a soundstage in Los Angeles for the climactic finale. The optical effects work was to have been supplied by Dreamquest Images but they were replaced by Perpetual Motion for budgetary reasons. When the warlock gains the ability to conjure bolts of ectoplasm which he hurled at unsuspecting foes, this proved problematic and had to be toned down since it could only be achieved through animation. Unfortunately, no one from Perpetual Motion was available to supervise on the set, so the crew had to shoot background plates and plot the effects on their own and hope that the FX team had the proper materials to work with!
Due to a variety of factors, several scenes were cut, reshot or altered in post-production. One scene was of the Warlock squatting down inside a circle with a rooster tied to the center (this was explained in the novelization as a compass that the Warlock uses to track down Redferne and Kassandra). The most radical change was the Channeller scene; in the original version, actress Mary Woronov ripped open her blouse to reveal the "Eyes of Satan" in place of her nipples. After mouthing the words of the devil, the channeler freezes, before The Warlock pushes her body to the ground causing it to shatter and stomps on her chest to retrieve the eyes. This shot was cut after test screenings resulted in laughter at the prosthetic breasts and disapproval over the violent nature of the channeler's death. Woronov returned for the scenes reshoots, although Sands was not available to return. Editor David Finfer managed to cut the two seperate scenes togather as Sands and Woronov never share the same frame and at no time is there a clear shot of his face.
Above: Director Steve Miner (in 2003).
Warlock was originally completed in late 1988 and was one of the last films completed by distributor New World Pictures before they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Instead of going direct to video, newly-founded Trimark Pictures bought the distribution rights from the bankrupt New World Pictures and also purchased the rights for any potential sequels, releasing the film in 1991.
At the time of it's release, Warlock was heavily compared to The Terminator, with critic Fred Tople writing, "Disappointing reverse Terminator clone. Could have had more action.", and "A Medieval 'Terminator'....[although] Sands is freakishly good", from critic Clint Morris from Moviehole. Despite a variety of issues with the projection during his viewing, The New York Times critic Vincent Canby praised the movie as "unexpectedly entertaining, having been concocted with comic imagination." People Magazine said it was "modestly entertaining low-budget fantasy adventure — distraction enough if you're not in too demanding a mood." On the other hand, L.A. Times critic Michael Wilmington claimed there was "No wit or humanity, or even any genuine horror.", while Entertainment Weekly denounced the special effects for being "so low-budget they might have come out of a joke shop," and TV Guide declared that the "aging make-up used to show the effects of Kassandra's curse is not at all effective--a particular problem in that she's a major character and is on screen much of the time."
Despite the mixed reviews, Warlock's success at the box office lead to a sequel, Warlock: The Armageddon in which Trimark also released theatrically in 1993, with Sands returning as the menacing Warlock. A direct-to-video third film called Warlock III: The End of Innocence came in 1999, again with no direct ties to the films which preceded it, and starring Bruce Payne in the title role. As part of deal with Lions Gate Entertainment, Bluewater Productions released a 4-issue Warlock comic book series in 2009, featuring an original storyline with the Warlock on a mission to destroy a book which had imprisoned a coven of witches. The series contained a few references to the original film and one of the two covers of the first issue was derived from the movie's poster art, but the company was unable to attain the rights to use Julian Sands' likeness. "The Warlock character in the comic series definitely has similar character traits to Sands' Warlock, but I decided to make him a different character," remarked writer Nick Lyons.
At the time of it's release, Warlock was heavily compared to The Terminator, with critic Fred Tople writing, "Disappointing reverse Terminator clone. Could have had more action.", and "A Medieval 'Terminator'....[although] Sands is freakishly good", from critic Clint Morris from Moviehole. Despite a variety of issues with the projection during his viewing, The New York Times critic Vincent Canby praised the movie as "unexpectedly entertaining, having been concocted with comic imagination." People Magazine said it was "modestly entertaining low-budget fantasy adventure — distraction enough if you're not in too demanding a mood." On the other hand, L.A. Times critic Michael Wilmington claimed there was "No wit or humanity, or even any genuine horror.", while Entertainment Weekly denounced the special effects for being "so low-budget they might have come out of a joke shop," and TV Guide declared that the "aging make-up used to show the effects of Kassandra's curse is not at all effective--a particular problem in that she's a major character and is on screen much of the time."
Despite the mixed reviews, Warlock's success at the box office lead to a sequel, Warlock: The Armageddon in which Trimark also released theatrically in 1993, with Sands returning as the menacing Warlock. A direct-to-video third film called Warlock III: The End of Innocence came in 1999, again with no direct ties to the films which preceded it, and starring Bruce Payne in the title role. As part of deal with Lions Gate Entertainment, Bluewater Productions released a 4-issue Warlock comic book series in 2009, featuring an original storyline with the Warlock on a mission to destroy a book which had imprisoned a coven of witches. The series contained a few references to the original film and one of the two covers of the first issue was derived from the movie's poster art, but the company was unable to attain the rights to use Julian Sands' likeness. "The Warlock character in the comic series definitely has similar character traits to Sands' Warlock, but I decided to make him a different character," remarked writer Nick Lyons.
ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE: 53%
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