In present-day America, Raymond Beaumont supervises workers lowering a box containing an antique statue of Ahura Mazda onto a ship.

The crane operator, Mickey Torelli, is drunk and drops the box, killing Beaumont's assistant Ed Finley and destroying the statue.

Eventually, the jewel reaches Regal Auctioneers, where Nick Merritt instructs appraiser Alexandra "Alex" Amberson to examine it, which wakes the Djinn.

Eventually, the Djinn corners the sisters and attempts to scare Alex into making her third wish by trapping Shannon in a burning painting.

Alex, after calming herself so she can focus, wishes that crane operator Mickey Torelli had not been drunk at work two days ago, which the Djinn is forced to grant.

This, however, undoes the events that followed the statue's destruction and traps the Djinn in the fire opal again, as the now sober Torelli lowers the crate with no problems.

Inside the jewel in the statue of Ahura Mazda, now in Beaumont's private collection, the Djinn sits on a throne, waiting to be released.

Also in the film were Tony Todd from Candyman, Ted Raimi from Candyman, Darkman, Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness, Ricco Ross from Aliens, Joseph Pilato from Day of the Dead, Reggie Bannister and the voice of Angus Scrimm (from the Phantasm films), Jenny O'Hara from the later Devil, actor Jack Lemmon's son Chris Lemmon from Just Before Dawn, and George 'Buck' Flower (who was often used in small parts in various horror movies of the 1980s and early 1990s, often directed by John Carpenter).

A veiled reference to the Cthulhu Mythos can be heard in the incantation used to imprison the Djinn; the words "Nib Shuggurath", a spoonerism of Shub-Niggurath.

[citation needed] Many crew members, including director Robert Kurtzman (man killed by piano), had small cameos in the film.

This Professor does not make an appearance in the film and is not listed in the credits but is a reference to horror, fantasy, science fiction writer Fritz Leiber.

The site's consensus reads: "Wishmaster searches for horror in the exploits of a supernatural being—one whose powers, alas, evidently do not include the ability to summon a compelling script".

[4] Of the few positive reviews, The Times of Northwest Indiana critic Christopher Sheid gave it a B+ and stated that "considering that the djinn itself is essentially a combination of Pinhead and Freddy, it's safe to say "Wishmaster" is a movie respectful of its influences.