Wishcraft

It's yet another teen slasher movie!

Geeky Brett (Michael Weston) lusts after wholesome blonde Samantha (Alexandra Holden), who's dating sporty jock Cody (Huntley Ritter). Brett hangs out with stoner Howie (AJ Buckley) and admires his history teacher Mr Turner (Austin Pendleton). One day, he gets sent a strange parcel, containing a mystical totem - actually, a bull's dick - which grants him three wishes, but is warned to "be careful what you wish for". In a fit of originality, he wishes that Sam would choose him to go to the dance and then becomes slightly disillusioned as his classmates are picked off one by one by a mysterious hooded killer.

There isn't much to write about this film. In the light of more populist "ironic" horror, such as the Scream series and The Faculty, Wishcraft decides to play it straight and fails miserably. The acting by the two leads is fair, but Holden had a much better, if smaller, role as an anorexic beauty queen in Drop Dead Gorgeous and Weston has graduated from Cherry Falls.

Unfortunately the plot doesn't know where it's going and Brett doesn't appear to want to find out why the mystical item arrived in his hands in the first place and doesn't even seem particularly concerned that people are being slaughtered, using samurai swords, bowling balls and Viking throwing axes. As a result we, the audience, don't care either.

However, there is some amusement to be gained from cameos from Meat Loaf, as a bumbling detective, and Zelda (Poltergeist) Rubenstein, as a coroner.

Perhaps dedicated fans of the genre might find some solace in the films use of the old horror clichés, but I don't think anyone else will. Still, at least there's plenty of suspects for you to play Guess The Psycho...