Spellbinder

I really enjoyed Spellbinder! It's a good mix of Thriller, Suspense, Horror, Witchcraft with a plot twist at the end that was unexpected the first time I viewed it. Spellbinder has a great cast, including Timothy Daly (Wings), Kelly Preston (Mrs. John Travolta), Rick Rossovich (Top Gun), and Audra Lindley (Mrs. Roper from 3's Company). It's definitely worth the rental price if you like horror and thriller movies. :) As of today (May 7, 2001) it looks like this title is not currently available on VHS or DVD (what a shame!)

Just seeing a 25-year-old Kelly Preston makes this movie worth watching, and, boy, do we get to see her.

Jeff (Tim Daly) apparently finds the girl of his dreams (Preston), and things are going great until her friends show up looking for her. She has a past that she hasn't explained.

Soon, they are battling a coven of witches that want her back. It all builds up to the night of the Winter Solstice.

The twist at the end caught me by surprise, and really made the movie.

You have to give props to writer Tracy Tormé, who really stacked some surprises in this film.

Some of the commentators have ragged on this movie for it being predictable, and some parts of it are, but some parts of the ending really surprised me. Again, I saw this movie originally when I was about 19, so maybe what would be obvious now weren't so obvious to me back then. Anway, given the context of the late 80ies when Spellbinder was made there was all this talk about Satanism, most of which later proved to be just urban legend type of stuff, probably made the movie for me a little more spooky in the 80ies then say if someone just randomly saw it now. Anyways, the movie I thought had a pretty cool plot that had some surprises, the acting was good, Kelly Preston was hot, and the movie freaked me out a little back in the day, so I'm giving the movie 8 out 10 stars. I haven't found it on DVD yet, if I did I would buy it and add it to my collection.

A cool terror movie, that will leave you on your toes on the final moments and make you astonished at the amazing plot twist at the end. Ok, it's not a movie I'd be looking for, but if you can catch it on tube it's pretty entertaining and will give you subject for a few good conversations on plot twists.

If you liked "The Wicker Man", you'll love this tale of attraction, seduction and ultimate deception. By now, the "twist" ending won't even seem new to most horror/suspense fans, having seen something similar so many times before. It is nicely done, however, and there may still be a few people who are knocked off the couch when it happens. The old cliché "be careful what you wish for" has never been more apropos than in this story's case, and SPELLBINDER for its time was a lot better than most DTV movies had a right to be. Solid performances by all definitely help along a better-than-average script, and watch for that truly frightening performance by, of all people, AUDRA LINDLEY, (Mrs. Roper from THREE'S COMPANY and its spin off, THE ROPERS, for those of you too young to know or remember.) This one is long overdue for a nice, crisp DVD release, or even a remake!