Director: Anthony Hickox
Cast: Julian Sands, Chris Young, Paula Marshall, Joanna Pacula
Screenplay: Kevin Rock, Sam Bernard
98 mins. Rated R for strong horror violence, and for nudity and language.

The late great Julian Sands (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) is most likely known for his genre work, particularly as the Warlock of the small franchise, which is surprising because he only appeared in two installments; the trilogy capper featured Bruce Payne in the role. While he has other credits to his name, like the cult film Boxing Helena or the Stephen King event miniseries Rose Red, I’ll always remember his as the dastardly Warlock of legend, and his two films are so radically different. The sequel, Warlock: The Armageddon, digs a bit deeper in the horror of the fantasy premise, and the titular being has a far different task with completely different, but for all of its faults, I think the sequel is more entertaining than its predecessor.

Every six hundred years, the Warlock (Sands) has an opportunity to escape into our world in order to bring forth the antichrist and unleash an unholy Armageddon worthy of the Book of Revelations. In opposition, a sacred order of Druids has been awaiting the Warlock’s return. Their task: find five mystical stones before he does, as the stones can be used to free the eternal evil, or banish it for another six hundred years. Kenny (Chris Young, The Great Outdoors) is the latest member to be brought into the Druidic gathering by his father, and now he has been tasked with helping stop the Warlock once more.

While I really appreciate the unique tone of Steve Miner’s original, Warlock: The Armageddon is more in line with what I expected from this franchise, for better and worse. The rules that this sequel have put into place don’t mesh at all with the original, so this is more of a spiritual or in-name-only sequel that just happens to feature Sands in the titular role. The strange thing is how unecessary many of these rules are as seen within the framework of what the first film accomplished. It didn’t have to be six hundred years, but having that time period makes the first film’s events incongruous.

That being said, the interesting lighthearted horror fantasy of the original aside, I really like the darker approach to the sequel. The line of Druids defending the world seems more fun, and director Anthony Hickox (Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth) gives the spotlight to some strong character actors with R.G. Armstrong, Steve Kahan, and Charles Hallahan as the Druids, so they’re a blast to watch. I loved so much of the mythology behind their order and the training scenes with Kenny, even if the CGI has aged very poorly in the decades since.

Sands is still the standout here, and it’s a shame the franchise was never able to be at his level, as he puts his heart into playing this devilish character, so much so that I’m said we only got to see him play the role twice. While he has the gravitas and passion of a Robert Englund/Freddy Krueger performance, his franchise leans a bit more toward the Children of the Corn and Howling sequels of cheesy occasional fun than any of the major players. He certainly uplifts his two Warlock films, and Hickox gives him plenty of iconic play time.

I’ve always admired Anthony Hickox’s ability to breathe new life into familiar tropes. His franchise work in Hellraiser III makes for Pinhead’s most entertaining work, and the way he played with vampires and westerns in Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat made me wish that film had spawned a franchise just to spend more time with the characters. He was a clever genre filmmaker that deserved more opportunities than he got, and his way of blending the horror and fantasy elements of this film make up for a weaker script.

Though the screenplay gives little to work with, director Anthony Hickox and star Julian Sands breathe a lot of life into this sequel, and the film’s all the better for it. Steve Miner’s original film is probably an overall better-made film, but Hickox’s sequel is more entertaining. Why did this franchise have difficulty in finding a stronger audience? Likely weak scripts, as both of these films suffered from it. All the same, I wish we had more of them, as Sands only gets more comfortable and more villainous this time around.

3/5
-Kyle A. Goethe

• For my review of Steve Miner’s Warlock, click here.
• For my review of Anthony Hickox’s Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, click here.