I was worried that this film might be just an eighties version of the crappy nineties horror 'Wishmaster', but as it happens; it would have been a better film if it were. The problem with this film, ironically considering it's a trashy eighties horror film, is simply that it's boring. It starts out slow, and even when the rudimentary bunch of dumb teens start to get picked off, the film never really picks up. It's a shame really as the idea of an evil genie wreaking havoc is actually quite a good one, but this film just doesn't do it justice. The plot focuses on a magic lamp which is stolen from an old woman's house. The lamp ends up in a museum when the thieves are killed. When the museum curator's daughter is possessed, she invites a bunch of friends for fun and games in the museum basement, and everyone ends up coming a cropper. I can live with bad acting and nauseating dialogue, even crappy special effects...but the story needs to be good to compensate, and this film is far too simple. The genie itself looks about as scary as your average lump of plasticine, and while the film features a few moments of gory horror; overall, it's not good enough. The Lamp certainly doesn't come recommended.
Review of The Outing
