Witchboard

This is one of those movies that proves that you don't need a huge budget to make a quality horror film, or any film for that matter, but we are talking horror here. I had read many years ago that this film was made for less than a million dollars and even in 1985 that is chump change. But this film is so pure with it's suspence that you would think it was done by a major Hollywood studio with a ten million dollar budget.

When a witchboard is discovered it is at first played for fun. But then it becomes an obsession and it takes over the life of the woman that talks to it. A spirit named David is a little boy that may or may not be the spirit that is possessing the Witchboard and sometimes he is nice and other times he is down right nasty. There is also a great horror villains name in this film, Mal Veder, almost sounds like Darth Vader's distant cousin doesn't it?

What Witchboard does so well is it pays attention to detail and it pays attention to what made some of the great horror movies did. And what this manages to do is treat the camera like it is his best friend. The camera lurks mysteriously behind it's actors and beside them and above them and everywhere else. And what this does is it gives you the illusion that there is someone or something there, and that is the beauty of this film, you don't know if it really is someone or something there. This is great homage to some of the greats like Carpenter and Hitchcock.

Witchboard is a great 80's horror film and I like it for the fact that it is much more concerned with atmosphere than stupid blood and guts and unneccesary gore. 90's horror should watch films like this and use the same techniques to scare us. Blair Witch may have watched this but films like the Haunting and I Know.... and Idle Hands sure didn't.

Linda Brewster (Tawny Kitaen) makes two mistakes when she throws her big party. MISTAKE #1- she invites her morose, ex-boyfriend, Brandon (Stephen "Patch" Nichols) to the bash. MISTAKE #2- When someone breaks out the novelty device of the title, Linda allows it, rather than tossing it in the fireplace and praying for forgiveness. Worse yet, she delves deeper into deviltry, consulting the WITCHBOARD for advice.

Soon, Linda is plagued by nightmares, and begins yelling obscenities like nobody's business! Supernatural shenanigans quickly unfold, resulting in grisly, "accidental" deaths. Not surprisingly, Linda's current boyfriend, Jim (Todd Allen) thinks she's losing her mind. When the world's goofiest medium (Kathleen Wilhoite) is called in, all bets are off!

One of the more memorable mid-to-late 1980's horror films, it was Ms. Kitaen's big star vehicle. Fairly good at being overwrought, she screams and panics her way through most of her scenes, while her boyfriends worry about her. Their ensuing bromance will be tested to its core.

Almost a character in itself, Linda's pile of red hair soars whenever she's tossed around by the peevish ghost! No, this movie isn't overly frightening, but it is still enjoyable after all these years. Especially, the hair-flailing finale!

P.S.- Indeed, there is a shower scene, and yes, Ms. Kitaen does don her birthday suit... while screaming a lot!...

After her ex-lover shows off a ouija board at a party, Tawny Kitaen finds it at the apartment and tries it out herself. She thinks she is contacting the same shy spirit, but it soon becomes obvious to the audience that some other, malevolent spirit is speaking with her.

I freely admit I am not fond of straight-up horror movies, with their jump-scares and characters who can't see the obvious dangers that beset them. This one, however, has a good story arc, decent actors (Kathleen Wilhoite as a funky spiritualist is very amusing, until she gets killed by the evil spirit). I suppose I could have done without the moving shots that show clearly there's a mild fish-eyed lens in operation, but it's a pretty good genre piece.

WITCHBOARD is a fun film that is scary depending on when you watch it. If you watch it at around ten or eleven o'clock at night, you will feel the full scary effects that Kevin S. Tenney wants you to feel. I own a ouiji board and after seeing this film, I don't think I'll ever touch it again. Some users say what this COULD'VE BEEN and all that crap. Truthfully, this film is as good as it could've been and deserves to be re-released so that a new generation of horror fans can appreciate this film for what it's worth and not for what it could've been. **1/2out of****For an enjoyable late-night horror fare.

80s horror films are remembered fondly for being fun and over-the-top, but most were fairly unoriginal, gratuitous and campy. Witchboard is special because its not a sequel or a ripoff of anything, isn't made for horny teens or punk rock sadists and it has a genuine interest in the scary subject matter - the occult. Director/writer Kevin S. Tenney would explore demonic possession with more fun and splatter with "Night of the Demons" years later on a bigger budget, but Witchboard is a good preface as its more believable, emotional and mature. I wish it was more exciting at parts but this is an independent horror film with limited means. Anyway its a good contribution to the horror genre for its time and it holds up better than many others.