wishmaster – Podcasting Them Softly

Everyone knows the expression ‘go fuck yourself.’ But can anyone think of a film where that actually, physically… happens? Well it happens in Jack Sholder’s Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies, and let me tell you, it ain’t pretty. I’ll get to that in a minute. Robert Kurtzman’s original supernatural splatter-fest is a supremely underrated horror flick with a concept that pretty much begs for sequels, and while there’s a bunch, only this one is really worth checking out. The success of these really hinges on Andrew Divoff’s deliciously sinister performance as the ancient evil Djinn, a being who tricks people into making wishes which he grants on his own terms, before harvesting the unwitting soul of the wisher to fuel his powerful dark magic. Raspy voiced, narrow eyed and dripping with dangerous charisma, Divoff is a scene stealer and whoever decided to recast him for Wishmasters 3 and 4 should be fired, but in any case those two aren’t worth checking out. This one sees the Djinn get inadvertently woken up by a cat burglar (Holly Fields) during a botched robbery. In sneaky human form he calmly takes credit for the crime and deliberately goes to prison where he can reap all those juicy repeat offender souls and take advantage of how dumb they all are. It’s a cool setting and gives actors like Paul Johansson and legendary Tiny Lister (who is in every movie ever, apparently) a chance to play assholes who get in the Djinn’s way, but it’s Divoff’s show all the way. Now, the part you’ll want to hear about. During a meeting with his lawyer, an uncooperative felon (Robert Lasardo) makes the ill conceived wish that the attorney should ‘go fuck himself.’ The Djinn, never one to not put on a good show, works his magic and moments later… well. The lawyer gruesomely bends backwards in a way no human is meant to and quite literally does in fact fuck himself. It’s quite a thing to have suddenly show up in your otherwise run of the mill horror sequel, simultaneously surreal, awkward, outrageous and, if you have a sense of humour as demented as I do, pretty goddam hilarious. The film overall does the trick, I mean it doesn’t have the charm, chutzpah or awesome genre cameos of Kurtzman’s balls out original, but it’s still pretty sweet.

-Nate Hill

Excited to bring you my first interview in some time, with the lovely Tammy Lauren!

Tammy has made vivid impressions in numerous films including Wes Craven’s Wishmaster, Costa Gavras’s Mad City, I Saw What You Did, Chains Of Gold, Tiger Warsaw and more. She has also appeared in quite a few television shows including Little House On The Prairie, Criminal Minds, ER, Two & A Half Men, Home Improvement, Crossing Jordan, MacGyver and more. She’s a great talent and was a pleasure to speak with, enjoy!
Nate: What led you to acting? Was it something you always knew you wanted to do or did you stumble into it unexpectedly?
Tammy: My parents put me in the business when I was 8 years old. My parents put me in a children’s acting class, which then led to me auditioning for a play in San Diego (The Music Man) and the director of the play told my parents I should try and do TV and film. So, I’d say I stumbled into it.
Nate: Wishmaster: incredible, iconic horror film. How was your experience working on it, with all those unbelievable special effects, and starring alongside Andrew Divoff?
Tammy: It was exhausting. All that running and crying and freaking out…I loved Andy and Bob, the director and thought having all the horror icons involved was super cool. I just saw Bob and Andy at a horror convention and they taped the three of us watching the film and commenting for the Blu Ray, which brought back a ton of memories. Andy eating jelly beans to get his voice the way it was as the Djinn, Bob FREAKING out about the special effects and Red Room (the part that was supposed to be inside the Djinn’s mind), me FREAKING out that my performance was probably JUST AWFUL.
Nate: Costa Gravras’s Mad City: How was your experience working on this one?
Tammy: Incredible. I first met John Travolta when I was a kid and he was at Paramount filming Urban Cowboy, I did a film years later that John produced and starred in, Chains of Gold and so at that point, I’d known John for a few decades. I was enamored of Dustin and of course, Costas. And this was the film set I got engaged on! My husband proposed to me in my dressing room and John and Dustin had some cake and stuff brought on stage to throw us an impromptu engagement party.
Nate: Little House On The Prairie: how did you get involved with that, and how was it working on such a legendary show?
Tammy: I auditioned for it. At the time, it was very popular so I was excited. My favorite memory from that is working with Robert Loggia, playing his daughter. He’s an incredibly talented actor. His character was supposed to terrify me, which he did but he was also SO kind to me.

Nate: A few roles over your career that have been your favorite so far?
Tammy: Homefront was a favorite role of mine. When I was young, it was Mork and Mindy because of Robin. I also really liked doing Criminal Minds because my character had rabies and honestly, how many times do you get to do THAT? 🙂

Nate: Who inspired you (actors/filmmakers) growing up and in your work as well?
Tammy: Actors – Robin Williams, Meryl Streep, Jack Nickelson, Carol Burnett. Filmmakers – Francis Ford Coppola, James Brooks

Nate: The tv movie I Saw What You Did: My favourite role of yours alongside Wishmaster. Lisa was quite the character. How was that experience for you?
Tammy: Awesome. Because Carradine brothers. And Shawnee. That was actually the second movie for television we had done together and we both played similar roles in both. I liked that one too.
Nate: Do you have any upcoming projects, film related or otherwise, that you are excited for and would like to mention?
Tammy: I’ve been in tech for a while now, I don’t act a lot anymore. It’s more a thing of someone I know is doing something and for some reason, they call me. I am not as active when it comes to pursuing work. But I do stuff occasionally.
Nate: Thank you so much for sharing, Tammy, and for your time, it’s been an honour!
Tammy: Hope this helps Nate. Hope you and yours have a very happy holidays!