"Six months before Arnold Schwarzenegger made good on his "I'll be back" promise, Hollywood whetted audience appetites with a blend of dark comedy, Hammer Horror, and good old-fashioned wizardry, which played out like a medieval inversion of The Terminator. Warlock had actually been released internationally in 1989, but, thanks to New World Pictures' dire financial straits, it got stuck in Stateside distribution hell before finally hitting theaters 35 years ago today (explaining the scene where Mann's Chinese Theater is still showing Harrison Ford thriller Frantic)."
"The unlikely franchise spawner lives and dies upon the swords of Julian Sands and Richard E. Grant, the former as the titular sorcerer determined to bring about the "uncreation of man" and the latter as the witchfinder hellbent on stopping him. Both parties appear to understand the brief, delivering performances that lean into the ridiculousness of the time-traveling plot but without ever veering into nudge-nudge wink-wink parody."
Warlock blends dark comedy, Hammer Horror, and time-traveling wizardry into a medieval-inverted Terminator premise. The film was released internationally in 1989 but faced U.S. distribution delays until Trimark Pictures secured an American release. Julian Sands plays the titular sorcerer aiming for the "uncreation of man," while Richard E. Grant portrays the witchfinder Redferne; both actors deliver intentionally hammy performances that embrace the plot's absurdity without descending into parody. Director Steve Miner opens on a 17th-century denouement before Satan flings Warlock into modern-day Los Angeles, where violent, gory encounters involve waitress Kassandra (Lori Singer) and her roommate.
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