Warlock: The Armageddon Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.5

Warlock: The Armageddon Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 23, 2017

Note: This film is available as part of the Warlock Collection.

Like many a good American kid raised on endless afternoon reruns seen after getting home from school, I’m pretty sure the first time I heard the term “warlock” was a reference to a male character on Bewitched, where it was shorn of any nefarious (let alone Satanic) subtext. The Warlock franchise posits a titular (and otherwise unnamed) character who is hardly in that “kinder, gentler” context of a mid-sixties sitcom, even if there are manifest differences between the stories revolving around him in the three Warlock films. Like a lot of ostensible horror franchises, Warlock starts out at least relatively winningly, but then offers what some may perceive as an example of the law of diminishing returns. The first film at least presents a time traveling tale that is a kind of odd combo platter of elements from The Terminator, Highlander, Time After Time and Witchfinder General, though the two sequels also included in this set have little if anything to do with that original setup, instead merely porting over the Warlock branding into what are essentially standalone stories.

In the closing comments of the Warlock Blu-ray review, I mentioned how I had a bit of a laugh at the thought of a grimoire being buried in Utah (where I grew up, and where Joseph Smith's iconic "Golden Plates" ostensibly are buried). I had another laugh watching Warlock: The Armageddon, since it features a subplot supposedly concerning Druids, an ancient religion that contributed to a bit of an inside joke in my family. My parents, non-Mormons who spent most of their adult lives in Utah, banded together with other non-Mormons in Salt Lake City to form a social group they jokingly called the Latter Day Druids. I’m assuming these particular Druids never had to deal with a Warlock (Julian Sands), nor the threat of an apocalypse related to mysterious rune stones, but that’s just a guess (and, yes, that’s a joke). This second Warlock film keeps Sands in the title role, but it has little to nothing to do with the first film, and in fact director Anthony Hickox is on record as stating explicitly that this ostensible sequel was a more or less standalone entry.

Warlock: Armageddon opens with what looks like some sort of Druid religious ritual in days of yore, one that involves a collection of magical rune stones. Of course things don’t go as planned, and at least some of the rune stones fall into the hands of the villains (who are never really adequately identified), leading to a dying Druid priest prophesying about the coming of Satan’s son. That prelude simply segues without any further explanation to a contemporary town which looks awfully like a village in a B-movie western (there are a number of elements in Warlock: Armageddon that feel lifted from various western outings). A high school drama practice introduces two youths, Kenny Travis (Chris Young) and Samantha Ellison (Paula Marshall), who will be the focal characters of this “sequel”. (And in the “shades of Bewitched" category, it’s hard not to think that Samantha’s name is not a coincidence.)

Meanwhile, in one of the more effective if completely unexplained sequences in all three Warlock films, a young woman is preparing for a date, adorning herself with some jewelry which looks awfully like one of those old lost rune stones. An impending eclipse (a recurring motif in the film) does something to her, and she’s seemingly hurled by a magical force onto her dining table (which is set for the date), ultimately giving “birth” to a slimy reptilian looking placenta like object which in turn morphs into the Warlock (Julian Sands). Well, alrighty then. (There's a bit of an inside joke in this sequence for fans of another Hickox franchise which won't be spoiled here.)

Needless to say, it turns out that Kenny and Sam come from a long line of Druids, and they are the appointed “warriors” tasked with defeating the Warlock before he can retrieve all of the rune stones and “invite” Satan into our realm in the interim between a lunar and solar eclipse. While this setup is both fairly basic and also ridiculously complex, screenwriter Kevin Rock never really explains or develops any of the inherent ideas, preferring instead to simply offer a vignette laden enterprise detailing the Warlock’s “adventures” in finding the rune stones, while the Druid forces go through various machinations in order to stop him.

Warlock: The Armageddon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warlock: The Armageddon is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films' Vestron Video imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. To my eyes, this is the least effective looking transfer of the bunch in this set, which is not to say it's overly problematic. There are signs of age related wear and tear, as well as what might be an older master, as evidenced by elements like wobble during the credits and repeated hurdles with grain resolution, with many darker moments looking fairly noisy at times. It's the wide variance in grain resolution that may strike some as the most annoying issue with this transfer, and in fact some sequences kind of ping pong back and forth between relatively natural looking grain and chunky, clumpy looking grain, with no apparent reason for the moment by moment changes. As Anthony Hickox kind of jokingly relates in his engaging commentary, this film was made at the dawn of CGI, and some of the "special effects" aren't especially convincing, though some of the practical effects (including that reptilian placenta) are quite effective. There are a number of process shots that literally show their seams, and some brief moments can actually look slightly out of focus (see screenshot 14).

Warlock: The Armageddon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Warlock: The Armageddon features a nice sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track that supports the film's at times pretty turgid dialogue, as well as a glut of sometimes quite effective sound effects. As with the first film, there are no issues with damage, distortion or dropouts.

Warlock: The Armageddon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Anthony Hickox


• Theatrical Trailer (1080i; 1:50)


• TV Spots (1080i; 1:14)


• Vintage Making of Featurette (1080i; 7:43)


• Still Gallery (1080p; 4:10)


• Behind the Scenes Footage (1080i; 4:57)


• Extended Vintage Interview Segments with Actor Julian Sands, Director Anthony Hickox and Actress Paula Marshall (1080i; 5:41)

Warlock: The Armageddon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

With a little more development, Warlock: The Armageddon could have arguably upped its effectiveness, but as it stands, it's an okay follow up that benefits from some excellent practical effects work and which is hobbled by some less than effective nascent CGI. Sands is as suave and sinister as ever, but the whole Druid angle is probably going to evoke some unintended laughter in some viewers. Video is a bit spotty at times, but audio is fine, and the supplements, while not as bounteous as on the first film, are enjoyable.