An evil and powerful warlock (superbly played to the deliciously wicked hilt by Julian Sands) manages to escape from the 17th century into Los Angeles in the 20th century. He's pursued by determined witch hunter Giles Redferne (a fine and intense performance by Richard E. Grant). It's up to Redferne and brash waitress Kassandra (an appealingly spunky portrayal by Lori Singer) to stop the warlock before he gathers up all the pages of the witches' bible the Grand Grimoire, learns God's true name, and undoes all creation. Director Steve Miner, working from a witty, compelling, and imaginative script by David Twothy, relates the involving story at a constant snappy pace, spices up the horrific action with a neat line in pitch-black macabre humor, and stages the exciting climax in an old cemetery with real rip-snorting gusto. While Miner basically downplays the graphic gore, he still tosses in a few pleasingly nasty touches: the warlock cuts a man's finger off, bites the same guy's tongue out, and spits it in a frying pan and acquires the ability to fly by cooking the fat of an unbaptized boy. Moreover, the casting of the smoothly handsome Sands as one very fearsome villain and the scruffy Grant as a decidedly rough around the edges protagonist is quite fresh and inspired. The film further benefits from bang-up acting from a tip-top cast: Sands, Grant, and Singer are all excellent in the leads, Richard Kuss does well as a devout Mennonite, and Mary Woronov has an amusing cameo as a phony spiritualist. David Eggby's slick cinematography gives the film an impressively glossy look. Jerry Goldsmith's typically robust and moody score likewise hits the stirring spot. The special effects are a bit dodgy, but overall acceptable. A highly entertaining fright feature.

A witch hunter (Richard. E. Grant) is chasing an evil warlock (Julian Sands) that got transported from the 17th century to 1980's Los Angeles. With help from a young woman (Lori Singer) who's received a hex from the warlock, they team up and rush against the clock to stop him from getting his hands on the pages of the Grand Grimoire (satanic bible) and in doing so he could undo all creation.

Director Steve Miner (Friday the 13th Part 2 & 3, House) achieves probably his best film in "Warlock". Some people might say his best is "Lake Placid", but I couldn't stand that annoying film myself. Anyhow, the fact is the plot of "Warlock" might be very formulaic and lack depth in the religious lingo, but he delivers a pleasurable supernatural chase thriller here. Involving some enterprising performances that go in hand-to-hand with the well-paced story, witty humour and energetic action scenes. All of these elements seem to gel perfectly for an incredibly fun ride that hardly has a dull moment to be had.

There are some nice effects are on show (warlock flying through the sky) and good makeup is provided. The violence is hardly graphic, but there's some mild graphic scenes and implied violence too. Miner adds in some nice added touches with extremely solid direction that keeps a solid pace and well-orchestrated camera-work that captures the rather exquisite scenery when the film takes a detour in the countryside. Not particularly suspenseful or uneasy viewing, but well organised action set pieces, some horrific sequences and humorous moments (ingenious ending) makes up for it. There are some well-organised scenes of excitement and thrills, especially the sequences involving a farmhouse and a terrific climax in the eerie graveyard. It's layered with a potent score by Jerry Goldsmith that builds on some rare tense scenes, but more on the rapid mood of the film.

What truly make the film standout are riveting performances even though they feel hammy. There is such an excellent blend of chemistry between the leads. With each of them throwing back and forth to each other smart and witty dialogue. Julian Sands central performance leaps out as a powerful warlock out to destroy mankind. He fit's the role perfectly with this deviously venomous presence about him. Richard. E. Grant is charming as the very determined warlock hunter Giles Redferne. When these two characters meet, the confrontations between them always spices up the film. Lori Singer is enjoyable as the unknowingly Kassandra who adds to the humour and zest of the film.

The film might be nothing out of the ordinary, but you can't deny the upbeat tempo of a thrilling adventure that leads you on a whirlwind trip from Los Angeles to Boston.

WARLOCK is a cheesy and derivative horror movie from director Steve Miner, the man who brought us the similar-in-style HOUSE. The story is of a 17th century warlock who is captured by irate locals but manages to escape to the then-present day, pursued by a vengeful witch hunter. The warlock's plan is to gather together three parts of an ancient grimoire which will allow him to destroy the world.

The first thought upon watching this movie? Derivative. There are bits of THE TERMINATOR, HIGHLANDER, and THE ICEMAN COMETH in this one, and it's not as good as any of those movies. In fact, it's completely cheesy, with Julian Sands going into complete ham mode as the baddie of the piece and Richard E. Grant struggling throughout with his Scottish accent. The film's budgetary constraints are also more than apparent as this looks and feels more like a B-movie than an A-list picture.

My biggest complaint, however, is with the casting of non-actress Lori Singer, whose attempts at humour fall flat time and time again. She's awful, it has to be said, and really drags the film down so much that I was laughing at it rather than with it. That's a pity, because WARLOCK remains an oddly enjoyable outing. It's not as gory as you'd expect but there are some imaginative death scenes. The special effects have dated badly but are pretty fun to watch, particularly the ones involving the warlock flying around. I liked the mythology in the film including the witch-finding apparatus and the seeing eyes. Cult actress Mary Woronov has a good cameo. WARLOCK remains predictable from beginning to end, but as a bit of cult fun it remains enjoyable.