The ‘80s and ‘90s were a magical time where lower-budget horror fare often still found its way into theaters and sometimes even drew an audience. Thanks to the thriving home video market, there was less pressure on smaller films released by indie distributors to perform at a high level during their theatrical exhibition. Steve Miner’s Warlock is a classic example. It’s a film that delivered moderate returns when it played theaters but really took off when it landed on VHS.
The success of the first film opened the door for a sequel, helmed by director Anthony Hickox. Warlock: The Armageddon doesn’t quite match the efficacy of its predecessor, but it’s a welcome return to form that features the second and final appearance of the great Julian Sands as the Warlock. This second installment in what would ultimately become a trilogy is a gory good time that’s campy and darkly comical. It bowed in theaters on today’s date in 1993, making this a great time to reflect on the picture’s legacy. Though it’s a slight step down from the first, Warlock: The Armageddon is still a solid offering that’s considerably better than you might have heard.
While this sequel isn’t wildly different from its predecessor, the storyline varies just enough to avoid feeling like a needless retread. Where the original features a time-displaced witch hunter (Richard E. Grant) tracking down a time-traveling warlock (Julian Sands) in an effort to prevent the apocalypse, the sequel swaps out the witch hunter for a group of Druids who must pull out all the stops in service of preventing the end of the world.
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More specifically, the sequel introduces us to Will Travis (Steve Kahan), the descendant of a long line of Druids tasked by God with protecting the Earth against evil forces. Will is understandably troubled to learn that the Warlock has been reborn from a human host for the purpose of summoning Satan to Earth. Before the Warlock can complete his mission, however, he must first collect six rune stones. Knowing that the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, Will sacrifices his only son, Kenny (Chris Young), and resurrects him as a Druid warrior. Though initially reluctant, Kenny rises to the occasion and joins forces with his father and several other Druids in a valiant attempt to thwart the Warlock before he completes his satanic mission.
Despite a core outline that bears undeniable similarities to the original, Warlock: The Armageddon makes its mark thanks in part to a likable cast of characters who inject humanity into the picture. The father and son Druid team makes for a much-needed counterbalance to the Warlock’s violent, ruthless tendencies. Kenny’s status as a reluctant hero who would rather blow town than stick around and fight the forces of evil leads to a memorable arc that eventually sees him coming into his own.
His trajectory isn’t revolutionary. We’ve seen the reluctant hero archetype many times before, but it’s still enjoyable enough to follow along as he ultimately rises to the occasion and lives up to the awesome responsibility bestowed upon him. It’s satisfying to watch as he straddles the line between everyman and hero. As a good hero should, Kenny overcomes his inner conflict, growing into the man foretold in the prophecy.
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Screenwriter Kevin Rock (who also wrote Philadelphia Experiment II) dreams up some imaginative scenarios that allow the Warlock to show off his sinister side, serving as a proper foil to Kenny’s heroic showing. The antagonist perpetrates violence at every turn as he sets out to collect the remaining rune stones on a brutal cross-country road trip. Like in the previous film before it, the Warlock leaves carnage in his wake as he rattles off cringe-inducing one-liners. It’s campy as hell, and I love it to death. Despite the over-the-top scenarios, Sands delivers his lines with complete conviction. His stoicism helps ground Warlock: The Armageddon ever so slightly, ensuring the antagonist still reads as menacing rather than devolving into a complete caricature.
Not surprisingly, the kill scenes are one of the best aspects of this sequel. They are inventive, gruesome, and often quirky and peculiar. In one of my favorite exchanges, the Warlock stops by a carnival to collect a stone. As he does, he tangles with a couple of carnies, turning the tables and trapping one inside a hellish nightmare within the house of mirrors. The effect looks a little dated after more than 30 years, but one cannot deny that the setup demonstrates imagination and ingenuity despite the picture’s somewhat modest budget.
Even more memorable is the scene where the Warlock meets with an art dealer in possession of one of the stones (Charles Hallahan) and turns him into a work of human art in utterly grotesque fashion. We watch in horror as the dealer contorts and writhes, transforming into a rainbow-colored statue. This scene holds up surprisingly well, all things considered. In fact, it remains one of my favorite kills in the franchise at large. It’s as icky as it is inventive.
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I’m equally partial to the surreal scene where the Warlock scalps a sex worker (using only one hand) to feed the blood map that he took from his birth mother’s stomach to help track down the remaining stones. All of this is utterly ridiculous, but it’s impossible to deny just how imaginative it is. The idea of a map made of human flesh that requires a blood sacrifice to function exists at the border of utter nonsense and pure genius. Actually, many aspects of this film fit under that umbrella, and that’s precisely what I love about it.
All things considered, Warlock: The Armageddon is a nonsensical camp fest that won’t win any awards for originality, but the central antagonist and the brutal trail of carnage he leaves behind are more than worth the price of admission. If you are keen on the idea of taking the film in on its release date anniversary, you can find it streaming on Tubi as of publication.
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