Tanz der Hexen

One of the most troubled productions in cinema history, resulted in Bette Davis walking off the set after just one week! The film has a young couple shocked to learn that their ailing father has just gotten married to an evil witch (Davis). Lame humor, poor scripting, and cheap production design are just a few of its problems. Feels like more of a TV movie then an actual theatrical release, and a very bad one at that. Sadly Davis' final film.

Rated PG-13; Mild Violence, Sexual Situations and Profanity.

As you probably know, Bette Davis walked off of "Wicked Stepmother" after just a week of filming, leaving writer/director Larry Cohen scrambling to rewrite his script and get the movie completed. While the end results make sense (sort of), what is really amazing is that Cohen not only managed to sell the completed movie to a major Hollywood studio, he made enough on the sale to make a profit. The movie simply isn't good, which is probably why the Hollywood studio barely released it to theaters. In her footage, Bette Davis not only looks and sounds extremely ill, she doesn't seem to give a darn about this project. The other actors come across somewhat better, but even they aren't able to generate laughs at any point in the movie. The screenplay they are stuck with simply isn't funny at all. The heavily rewritted screenplay also (perhaps inevitably) feels like Cohen is making things up as he goes along. It also doesn't help that the special effects are mostly pretty cheesy, even for an 1980s film. In short, the movie is a low point for Davis, Cohen, studio Metro Goldwyn Mayer, and everybody else involved with it.

Wicked Stepmother (1989)

* (out of 4)

Bette Davis, like so many other great actors and actresses, ended her career with a really embarrassing film. Depend on who you believe, Davis walked off the film after a week due to her not liking the screenplay, or, according to director Cohen, she was in such bad health that she had to walk off. Either way the film centers on a witch (Davis) who moves in with a family (Colleen Camp, David Rasche) and soon starts to take over the house. Her daughter (Barbara Carrera) then comes to stay and more trouble follows. The truth behind why Davis left this production will never be known but I seriously doubt the film would have turned out very good either way. Cohen, best known for various horror movies, doesn't have too much to work with his as his screenplay undoubtedly had to be rewritten with the daughter aspect added in. Some would say Davis walking off the film would ruin it all around but even the stuff she's in doesn't appear to be written overly well. We get a few campy moments because it's rather strange seeing someone like Davis doing a movie like this. She is over acting quite a lot but if she was really unhappy with the screenplay, I kept wondering if she was giving a bad performance on purpose. The comedy falls flat on its face but I must admit that there's some weird charm with the way Davis is delivering her lines. The supporting cast are all pretty bland and doesn't bring any energy to the film. Tom Bosley is pretty bad as a detective. Even with Davis walking off the film there's no excuse for all the other issues with the movie. This includes it not really knowing what it's trying to do because on one hand it tries to come off as a kids movie but then we'll have another scene, like the sex scene between the witch and the married father, which seems out of place. I find it shocking that the movie got a theatrical release because it looks like a TV movie at best and that might be an insult to TV movies. Fans of Davis might want to check this out just to see her final film but others should stay far, far away unless you're a fan of bad movies.

Of course this film will never be a classic film, but it does have some catchy and campy scenes and lines and it will keep you wondering "what's next?" Bette Davis looks like she has just risen from the dead both figuratively and literally speaking. In 1981, Kim Carnes sang the hit song Bette Davis Eyes but in this film the then 81 year old Bette Davis could be better associated with the 1980 song Welcome to THE MONSTER CLUB - theme by The Pretty Things.

The film is very fractured with scenes jumping all over the place as the witch Priscilla, (Barbara Carrera) places magical spells on anyone she seems to come in contact with, but eh, that's camp comedy for you.

I wouldn't call it a memorable camp film, but I wouldn't call it one of the worse in the camp/horror genre that I have seen in the past either.

I give it a bare passable 5 out of 10 IMDB rating. It will not be on my purchase list either.

For starters, I am not familiar with Bete Davis. But I would prefer her to stick with the shootings, because she suited the role she was intended for and acts really good.

"Wicked stepmother" is funnier than most of silly comedy/horror, is quite fast and has funny but effective special effects.

This bad-review-bombing isn't deserved by this little flick that doesn't even for one minute take itself seriously! But I suppose this is because of Bete Davis fame who finally didn't get on with the production people - which resulted in the silly plot change.

I would sure like it most with Bete Davis (Miranda) starring (I also love the cat!), having no Priscilla in it - but then again: it's good as is.

B-movie/stupid horror/thriller-comedy fans, sit down and GIVE IT A WATCH because it is worth it. And don't forget the beer!