Deadly Night At the Museum (The Outing, 1987)

Well before the Wishmaster series, films were trying to mine horror the concepts of genies.  The Outing (originally released as the Lamp) was one of the attempts of the 80’s.

It begins with a break in of an old woman’s house.  She is some sort of hoarder of ancient artifacts.  The three thugs discover a magical lamp and are promptly dispatched by an unseen force.  But not before the female thug strips.

Anyways, a bunch of artifacts, including the lamp are sent to a local museum.  There we meet Alex Wallace and her father Dr. Wallace, the curator.  They have a decent but stressed relationship due to the death of Alex’s mother.

But the real problems start when Alex finds a bracelet among the old woman’s things.  Soon the lamp is opened, on the very night she in her friends hide out in the museum to party overnight.

The film is pretty mediocre, never rising to the level of “So Awful it is good”.  The acting is pedestrian, giving little life to the characters.  There are a variety of supernatural deaths using zombie snakes, ceiling fans and masks.

The genie monster looks decent enough when we see it by the end, but as monsters go, it lacks personality.  It does not appear on screen or say a word until the end of the film.  Which makes the genie rather underwhelming.

Ultimately, this is a rather underwhelming film as a whole.  It has a decent core concept