Warlock: The Armageddon

Director - Anthony Hickox (Waxwork, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat)
Starring - Julian Sands (Warlock, Dexter), Chris Young (Married with Children, The Great Outdoors), and Paula Marshall (Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, The Flash)
Release Date - 1993
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "When he comes...all hell breaks loose"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

      I love movies and my love for horror cannot be bound to a certain type or sub-genre.  I love zombies, slashers, witches, gothic, haunted houses, and so on.  When I find a movie I really like I hope that someday there will be a sequel because I typically like sequels to movies I enjoy.  When I was younger I really enjoyed the film Warlock starring Julian Sands.  It was one of the many horror films in my rotation growing up and when the video store went out of business I quickly rushed in to grab the tape.  I can't count how many times I had watched the film and yet I didn't know Warlock had a sequel until just a mere few months ago when Vestron Video announced the Warlock collection blu release.  I was very excited to see a sequel to a film I love.  Thank you Vestron for sending it this way.

     The film follows an old order of druids that are the keepers of two ancient stones that are part of a set of six stones needed to raise Satan.  The druids have six days, the time between two eclipses, to stop an evil warlock from gathering the stones.  They use their children as their warriors and kill them so they can be resurrected with the powers of the druids in order to fight the powerful warlock.  The two have to work together to channel their powers in order to stop him from gathering the stones and raising his master so he can create hell on earth.

     The first Warlock flick is far from perfect but it has great atmosphere and characters you can really enjoy.  I was curious how the sequel would be handled considering the original production company went under right as the first film was completed.  I was glad to see Julian Sands returned to his role as the warlock.  The acting in this one is not as good as the first film.  Julian Sands once again portrays the warlock but doesn't deliver the charm and witty performance we remember from the first film.  His character has reduced screen time and is portrayed more menacingly here.  Doesn't mean his performance is bad but it does make it feel inconsistent.  The film's lead, Chris Young, was solid but doesn't really hit the mark that you would expect for a film of this caliber.  Though the budget is on the smaller side one would expect the lead to knock it out of the park.  Young doesn't feel genuine.  With that being said, I'm so glad that Paula Marshall is in the film.  She is the lead in my favorite Hellraiser sequel, also directed by Anthony Hickox, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth.  You know the film entertain when the theme song is done by Motorhead! Paula is an absolutely gorgeous actress who can easily play the victim or the hero in any film.  In Warlock: The Armageddon she is able to play both perfectly.  She is the true star of the film and a real babe.  The story for this one doesn't really jive that well with what was established in the first film.  In the first film we followed the warlock who was trying to undo everything God had created.  The story was very influenced by religion and the warlock was vulnerable for the most part.  In this installment he is almost invincible and the religious angle has been substituted with pagan rituals and mythology.  I really liked the pagan take on it but it doesn't really go well with what the first film established.  Also, I didn't really care for how weak the characters were in comparison to the warlock.  I understand what they were going for but it made for a very anticlimactic film where you expect everyone to be crushed.  Finally, this film is fucking gory.  The first film had some fun gags and a solid amount of blood but Armageddon dials up the intensity with some great gore and practical effects.  This mid 90s horror film gives anything from the 80s a run for its money.  Sadly, the film uses way too much CGI that is just horrible.  Some of the worst I have ever seen.  I'm surprised they released the film with these monstrosities scattered throughout.  Overall, Warlock: The Armageddon is not a bad movie.  It does have a different tone than the first and a ton more gore but does fall a little short.  This film is perfect pairing with the first film and would recommend it for any late night double feature.  Check it out.