IMDb-BEWERTUNG
6,4/10
5421
IHRE BEWERTUNG
Füge eine Handlung in deiner Sprache hinzuIn a fantastical 40's where magic is used by everyone, a hard-boiled detective investigates the theft of a mystical tome.In a fantastical 40's where magic is used by everyone, a hard-boiled detective investigates the theft of a mystical tome.In a fantastical 40's where magic is used by everyone, a hard-boiled detective investigates the theft of a mystical tome.
- 1 Primetime Emmy gewonnen
- 1 Gewinn & 3 Nominierungen insgesamt
Empfohlene Bewertungen
Fred Ward is excellent as the 1948 private eye hired to find a stolen witchcraft book, the "Necronomicon". It had to be a unique film that blends noir, monsters, virgins, zombies, and magic into a "black comedy", and that film is "Cast a Deadly Spell". There are at least a bunch of surprises along the way, as our hero tries to locate the book. The sharp tongued dialog is perfect, droll, and often hilarious, as Fred Ward, the only one who doesn't use magic, tries to survive witches spells, gangsters, and solve the case. This movie proves that you don't need CGI, if you have a creative mind behind the script, and some excellent makeup for the monsters. - MERK
10Hokum-2
This is such a fun movie, everyone I've shown it to has tried to swipe my rather beat up copy... If you're a fan of hardboiled detectives, the works of H.P. Lovecraft, horror mixed with comedy, Fred Ward, or watching movies in slow motion to find all sorts of cool stuff going on in the background, then this film is for you...
Sadly, you CAN NOT PURCHASE this film, unless you find it used. HBO only released it to video rental stores, even though it's lesser sequel is available just about anywhere. To make matters worse, all tapes come with a Macrovision copy block. Bummer...
So, if you can find it, grab it quick, before someone else does!
Sadly, you CAN NOT PURCHASE this film, unless you find it used. HBO only released it to video rental stores, even though it's lesser sequel is available just about anywhere. To make matters worse, all tapes come with a Macrovision copy block. Bummer...
So, if you can find it, grab it quick, before someone else does!
I first saw this when it premiered on HBO in '91. With a Who's Who cast of character-actors, this first-rate production by Gale Anne Hurd (of James Cameron/Terminator fame) and directed by Martin Campbell (soon to direct Goldeneye and Mask of Zorro)is a brilliant mesh tribute to the works of HP Lovecraft. With a firm tongue-in-cheek, the viewer is taken along on the latest case of H. Phil Lovecraft, private detective in a 1948 Los Angeles where "everybody does magic". A relatively new happening, magic is real...everyone uses it, except Lovecraft. Fred Ward turns in one of his best performances to date as the hard-boiled detective, wise-cracking his way through every situation. Julianne Moore is spot-on as Phil's ex-girl, the sultry songbird in his former partner(Clancy Brown)'s club. David Warner is perfect as Lovecraft's effete client, Amos Hackshaw. It's a sharply-written noir tale with more than a few Cthulhu references, and adds some more generalized fantasy for spice. Pay attention to the details, this is where the picture really shines- from the everyday applications of magic, to the snappy banter between Lovecraft and pretty-much everyone, it's an enjoyable escape from reality-TV. The creatures are passable, not the best by today's CGI standards, but certainly not the worst seen in some straight-to-video bombs. The writing is stylish and inventive, with some really ingenious scenes/situations. Martin Cambell's direction takes you right along with Lovecraft, with some brilliant cinematography. The casting is terrific as well. I was never bored. One of my top-20 favorite films. I can't wait for a DVD version, if it ever appears. A terribly disappointing, not-so-great sequel called "Witch Hunt" was done in '94 with a completely different cast & director.
Damn near close. The idea of a private eye going it alone in world where magic reigns supreme is probably the ultimate extension of film noir and the hero-as-outsider. This movie captures all the charm of the Bogart 40's detective flicks and 80's type supernatural/horror F/X. It also adroitly mixes humor, horror, hard-boiled detecting, and mystery, with great performances from Fred Ward, David Warner, Clancy Brown, Alexandra Powers, Raymond O'Connor, and Julianne Moore.
Just watched this on the recommendation of a friend, and was very pleasantly surprised. It's not High Cinematic Art by any means, but it's entertaining and funny, the acting is very competent indeed, the effects, although not exactly convincing, work well with the overall theme of the piece, and the plot is coherent and credible (unusual both for mainstream comedy and mainstream horror).
I particularly like the way that it combines multiple B-movie themes most convincingly; the hard-drinking private detective (with suitably glamorous femmes fatales), the evil wizard/scientist who wants total world domination, and the well-timed slapstick comedy. The none-too-subtle references to several more serious films (Alien, Gremlins, Witness, to name but three) add a suitably post-modern touch of irony to the humour.
Just one thing. _Don't_ watch this if you're a Lovecraft fan. You'll have an apoplectic seizure. :)
I particularly like the way that it combines multiple B-movie themes most convincingly; the hard-drinking private detective (with suitably glamorous femmes fatales), the evil wizard/scientist who wants total world domination, and the well-timed slapstick comedy. The none-too-subtle references to several more serious films (Alien, Gremlins, Witness, to name but three) add a suitably post-modern touch of irony to the humour.
Just one thing. _Don't_ watch this if you're a Lovecraft fan. You'll have an apoplectic seizure. :)
Wusstest du schon
- WissenswertesHBO produced a sequel, entitled Magic Murder (1994), which takes place in the 1950s during the red scare (magic is substituted for communism). Dennis Hopper played Lovecraft, in place of Fred Ward. Many characters reappear from this film, though some have different backstories.
- Patzer(Possibly intentional?) The handwritten spell (that leads to the creation of the oatmeal monster), written by Tugwell, varies every time it is shown. Even the kind of paper seems to be different in some shots. Most strikingly, it varies in handwriting style, boldness of the ink and the nature of the characters. In some shots, the third character looks like a Greek delta while in other shots it looks like a D. Another letter shifts from a [ to a C to an E and back again. The character named Lovecraft calls them runes, but generously speaking no more than half of the characters could possibly be runes.
- Crazy CreditsUnicorn Wrangler: Hollywood Animals
- VerbindungenFollowed by Magic Murder (1994)
Top-Auswahl
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Details
- Erscheinungsdatum
- Herkunftsland
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- Budget
- 6.000.000 $ (geschätzt)
- Laufzeit1 Stunde 36 Minuten
- Farbe
- Seitenverhältnis
- 1.33 : 1
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