Chuck
Russell, director of revered cult classics such as A Nightmare on Elm Street
3: Dream Warriors, The Blob remake, and Dreamscape returns
with an update of the 1986 horror film Witchboard. This modern
retelling moves the location to New Orleans, yet remains faithful to many of
the tropes of late 80's and early 90's horror films. Featuring a handful
of interesting performances, a fun, if recycled premise, and unexpected twists
and turns, this is a solid streaming option.
Emily is a heroin addict in recovery who is helping her fiancé' Christian open a creole restaurant in the French Quarter of New Orleans. While foraging for mushrooms, Emily finds an ancient spirit board that opens doors to the realm of the supernatural, bringing evil from across time into the present. Russell co-wrote the script with Greg McCay, taking inspiration from the original series while blending it with modern sensibilities. Madison Iseman stars as Emily. Her chemistry with Aaron Dominguez (Christian) is decent, but the script moves so rapidly that most of the characters are more archetypes than fleshed out personas. The two most interesting characters come in the form of Melanie Jarnson's Brooke and Jaime Campbell Bower's Alexander. Brooke is an old flame of Christian's with a penchant for occult artifacts while Alexander is a strange and mysterious practitioner of the dark arts. Rounding out the cast is Antonia Desplat as Naga Soth, a cursed witch from the past whose story and fate are bound to the present.
Yaron Levy's cinematography has a compact aspect that pervades
throughout. Whether shooting the New Orleans forests or the city itself,
the visuals are laced with sepia and yellows that present the locales as
gaseous fever dreams, roiling pots of viscous nightmares in close quarter
confinement. If there is a weakness it is in how thin the main plotline
is, but this is also part of Russell's charm. His films are fun, popcorn
affairs in which the things that lurk the shadows get to play within the mind's
eye for a short while, and Witchboard is no exception. Comparisons
to Warlock will be unavoidable, but Russell's carefree devotion to the material
and the 80's cult predecessor make this its own animal, and the absolutely
insane finale most certainly sets it apart.
Now available
for digital rental, Witchboard is nothing new, but it is impeccably made
and gorgeously shot, birthing both an homage and a reboot of one of the most
classic horror series in cinematic history. Small imperfections and
ludicrous developments only sweeten the pot, conjuring a fun, spooky, and sexy
Friday night thriller.
--Kyle
Jonathan