Saturday 2 June 2012

Witchboard

Home
Smell the Movies
Smell the TV

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Year:1986
Country of origin:UK / USA
Director:Kevin Tenney
Genre:Dull spook-free zone
Starring:Todd Allen, Tawny Kitaen, Stephen Nichols
Rating:2/5
IMDB link:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090327/
Tagline:This game could be fatal. Don't play it alone.
Favourite line:None worth mentioning

Cult, low budget horror.

The plot:
There’s a party.
There’s an obnoxious tosser with a David Copperfield style wig, only blond, banging on about how he can commune with the spirits.
He waffles about Ouija boards, impressing everyone with his knowledge – it’s from the French and German for ‘yes’ don’t you know.
He persuades someone to commune with him.
She meets a spirit called Dave – I’m not making this up!
Dave takes a shine to her.
She begins talking to Dave on a daily basis.
When she tries to quit the Ouija habit Dave is not pleased.
Dave starts to throw things around.
Dave may not be quite who he seems.
Is Dave Satan himself?

It’s a really tough ask for any director to create a genuinely spooky tale revolving around possession, or séances, or Ouija boards or, as is the case here, Progressive Entrapment.
See, trouble is, The Exorcist has the whole topic covered and nothing can get anywhere near it. Comparisons are inevitable and, sadly, they are always liable to fall short.
Here, we really are comparing apples and oranges.
Extremely low budget, this has the feel of a seventies porno flick, and the acting capabilities to match. I was looking around for neckerchiefs, big hairy bushes and handlebar moustaches to pass the time.
Plot-wise, this is nothing that hadn’t been done previously, way better, even outside the scope of The Exorcist. The Lamp springs to mind, immediately, or Ghoulies, perhaps.
Almost appalling, it’s only really the inadvertent comedy stemming from piss poor acting and production standards that salvages any entertainment factor, as well as a half decent twist towards the end.
A struggle to get through, this one, so horror devotees only need apply.

No comments:

Post a Comment