Warlock III : The End of Innocence (1999)

   
Directed by: Eric Frieser

Written by: Bruce David Eisen

Starring:

Bruce Payne .... Warlock / Phillip Covington
Ashley Laurence .... Kris Miller
Paul Francis .... Michael
Jan Schweiterman .... Jerry
Angel Boris Reed .... Lisa
Rick Hearst .... Scott
Boti Bliss .... Robin

Release Date: Direct-to-Video: October 12, 1999

 

Rating:

 

A sorority student named Kris Miller (Ashley Laurence) unexpectadly finds out that she inherited a derelict house and goes there to save it from being demolished along with her classmate friends but the place seems to be haunted as a Warlock (Bruce Payne) is interested in her bloodline and also tempts her friends as they become his victims as well.

 

A nice prologue with a woman holding a doll and camera shots circling around her in a forestry area pitted against the Warlock as the moments here seemed well done and very different compared to the first two which makes you wonder if this was a sequel to them or not.
There's cheesy moments when we spot a ghostly presence on a camera spying on some people at a dorm especially when we see a lustful couple going at it.
We also spot a moment with someone climbing up a ladder which looked suspenseful to watch on how high he is going up to check on a window at the estate which things look still and a good shocking and suspenseful moment when a window breaks open and we spot him losing his balance about to fall to the ground which for sure looked a little terrorising.
A perfect moment with the character Kris Miller driving and trying being distracted and a nice near jumping moment when we spot an old lady on the road and she breaks to a halt which was almost heart pounding as well some cheesy moments on the warnings the old lady tells her which seemed a bit too obvious but yet can be fun if you're in the mood for it all.
A nice shot on Kris with a distant shot on a figure holding a doll behind some curtains with her slwoly going towards this object which was nicely set and done in a good haunting like fashion.
Also some perfect moments with Kris trying to sleep and then some thumping and banging sounds start to occur with her getting spooked and running towards a doorway from where the noise is coming from as this keeps you in suspense as well to find out on what happens next here. Seemed to seem good and dark with these moments happening.
A perfect moment with one of the character's named Jerry about to fix a pipe as this draws your attention a great deal as to how things are gonna unravel since the moment looks strong as well as good effects on some colours rising up from a sink with some dry humor on him thinking that he's spotting hallucinations.
There's a good flashback sequence involving the Warlock with some feffective moments as to what he is doing with him sharpening a blade which looked good and artsy while we spot the shots and settings for all of this and then a nice presence with him entering the home as you get a feeling something creepy will happen later on in the story.
A nice moment with him having a firm and serious conversation with the attorney Mr. Butterfield and a good creepy feel to all of what unravels here especially on what he does to him which is gruesomely shocking and should please the gorehounds who love horror violence. This moment was for sure a little unexpected.
We have some great camera shots and cold discussions with the Warlock towards Jerry with him getting into a spell here as this psychs you out a bit by what's going on here and this moment was very well focused by what is said and done adding a nice touch to the story while we continue to watdch here. Plus he does this with the other character's which seemed to look in an okay fashion too.
An interesting moment when Robin tries to talk to Kris about her guest telling her that he's a witch which seems to draw your attention a good deal here.
Also some good effective moments when the Warlock uses his powers to trap Robin in a room and she tries to use some secretive powers to fight back as this looked fun to watch as well as a good special effects moment when he uses stronger magic to freeze her and then what he does while touching her when this spell is put on her as this looked dazzling.
Then there's some shocking moments done in a Hellraiser type of fashion with a lustful gothic couple being hung be some hooks and chains with looked nicely shot and done in a bizarre fashion prevented by the Warlock here.
Then the story here starts to slope big time which we have Kris being pitted against the Warlock as well as her boyfriend Michael trying to rescue her but yet his body is not the same and things look shocking by what is going on here and the story goes on forever when she is about to be tortured and pitted against the Warlock and her struggling against him to find a way on escaping which seemed to get tiresome and pointless.
Bottom line is that this film doesn't seem to be a true sequel to the first two and at times it can look entertaining but the rest of the time it's boring and stale hoping that the film will finally end. Some good effects and nice dark settings but it looks quite low budget too which isn't always a bad thing but there's some cheesy scene's in it which doesn't make matters better at all.

The acting seems quite fitting here as the lead actor Bruce Payne (Warlock / Phillip Covington) shows off a perfect coldness to his part in the story as he shows a perfect tempting type of devilish attitude towards others coming across as perfectly mellow and soft spoken with his words and then lunges when you least expect it and does this moment incredibly well here. He also shows great energy when he goes into his battling situation and brings a perfect evil presence with all that he did here.
Ashley Laurence (Kris Miller) added a perfect mellow type of attitude into her role and shows a nice calmness to her speaking as well as acting perfectly timid too. Plus shows some nice aggressions whenever she had to be this way after acting scared in a situation which she shows a nice brief tense attitude within this. Also shows off perfect energy when freaking out especially while she's tied up and about to be tortured as she gets into this a great deal. She does a good job in her performance here.
Paul Francis (Michael) drew in nicely as the nice fellow next door showing a convincing inteeligence and decency into his part as well as the nice clean cut looks too. Plus does well with his tense behavior while nearly acting like he's trying not to give in to a temptation along with having a good weakness to his personality and behaving unstable which shows off perfectly. Also does nicely while acting out of it too in other situations and believeable while acting like he's tortured and not himself too.
Jan Schweiterman
(Jerry) stood out quite well in his role as a pot head in which he comes across convincing as one of those flakes but sometimes he's low on energy and his characteristic's are a bit stale. Yet he seems to pick it up on and off when he acts disturbed about a situation as he gets into this big time and doing a nice job acting like he's getting brainwashed. He brings some interesting aspects into all of this a nice deal here.
Angel Boris Reed (Lisa) showed a perfect sharp type of behavior in her role always acting alert on stuff and showing some nice spunk into it all. Certainly draws in well when she tries to stress something which she studied doing this nicely. Also had the right sharp looks for this role too which was another nice plus to her performance here. Also shows off some good energy and concentration while trying to use up some witchcraft powers to defend herself as she was impressive in this performance too.
Rick Hearst
(Scott) was another one who came across perfectly sharp with his masculine presence as well as his witty and macho type of attitude into all of this. He also shows a good sarcastic and cocky type of personality too bringing this to life and looking powerful while doing this as well as showing athe odd aggressions as this reflected off wonderfully too. He was a total ball of energy here and came across the camera nicely while doing all of this.

There's a woman who takes off her top and is bare breasted fornicating in her dorm.
A topless woman is lying down barebreasted and stabbed.
A woman pulls down her leather top revealing her breasts.

Person's neck is torn off.
A couple are impaled by a hook and chains.
Someone;s face is metled and his hand is cut off.

We hear alot of razor type synthesizer playing which really fits in for the darkness of the story here and sounds good and clear adding a perfect sharpness with everything. Also there's alot of ghostly type wind sounds giving the moments a perfect spooky feel. Plus some perfect clear chanting sounds as this sounded mainstream along with many gloomy synthesizer music which sometimes sounds good and at times slightly off. Plus we hear some good rhythm drumbeats too adding some nice action sounds especially during the opening credits. The music was put together by David Reynolds.

Robin: I think he's a witch, Kris, a warlock.
Kris: Okay, I thought that you said that you were a witch.
Robin: I am. But it's different. True followers of the craft practice their powers for the good, for the Earth, for the occasional love potion, of course, but anyone can learn to use those powers.