'Warlock III: The End of Innocence' (1999) - Eric Frieser.

With the original 80s 'Warlock' being such an iconic, ardently beloved VHS-era horror classic, the disdain heaped upon the sequels, while entirely predictable, isn't entirely deserved. Granted, the handsome, appealingly aloof, Julian Sands was perfectly cast as the glacial, uncommonly cruel, chaos mongering Warlock, and he is missed in part three, but, come on now!!!! the coolly charismatic, Bruce Payne is a more than credible replacement; sly, sinister, deceiving, devilishly charming, conspicuously masculine, and certainly no less evil, he's every delectable inch a wantonly wicked Warlock, and his Machiavellian charisma does much to enliven this unfairly maligned, diabolically divined DTV death dealer.

While the plot and dialogue are uninspired, it nonetheless delivers some amusingly hokey haunted house shenanigans, but charismatic horror star, Ashley Laurence's performance proves exemplary, she brings great charm, chutzpah, and sizzling sex appeal to the ill-fated, Kris Miller who must fatefully undertake a climactic battle with the deadly duplicitous, demon-summoning wizard! Flawed, far from essential, and excluding, Kris Miller (Ashley Laurence) and luridly luscious, Lisa (Angel Boris) the stock protagonists are eminently snuffable, yet the hectic final act provides ample satanic larks, and compared to the majority of today's derivative, jump-scare junk, 'Warlock III' is pretty money! Aye! It's undeniably clunky, with more chatter than splatter, but what remains is a surprisingly fun B-Horror, and I earnestly do not believe that this is the abomination many sarcastic scriveners frequently claim it to be.