Wishmaster

"Be careful what you wish for; you just may get it." Such is the ominous theme underlying this extremely gruesome horror outing. Though horrormeister Wes Craven's name appears prominently in the film's promotional bits, Craven served as the executive producer while former special effects wizard Robert Kurtzman did the directing. The premise is that a hideous Persian djinn (pronounced "jin" and meaning "genie") from the 12th century is trapped in a beautiful opal that is hidden in a statue and ends up in the hands of 20th-century Los Angeles gemologist Alexandra Amberson (Tammy Lauren). While examining the rare stone, Alexandra inadvertently releases the malevolent djin (Andrew Divoff) who wants to take over the world but cannot until his awakener makes three wishes. As soon as he is released, the djin abandons his natural form as a disgusting cockroach monster in favor of the handsome Nick (Chris Lemmon), another gemologist. Unfortunately for the djin, she is not the wishful sort. While trying to convince her to wish, Nick amuses himself by granting the wishes of others in horrible ways.