Chasseur de sorcières

This film was a pleasant surprise. The mixture of historical set design, good plot and political satire was refreshing in an age where everything political is

hammered home in a pedantic monotone. Sheryl Lee Ralph was excellent and

her dynamic presence begs the questions as to why aren't there more black

females playing prominent roles in movies that have nothing to do with gangs

and drugs. Dennis Hopper was actually playing a character instead of playing

himself as he usually does. Julian sands was his slick and sinister self. I don't know why he wasn't chosen for the role of Lestat instead of Tom Cruise. Eric

Bogosian was awesome as the corrupt politician. The special effects were great in that they were not like the CGI crap of recent films. They were old fashioned special effects in that they were not added to make the unreal look real but to make the unreal look...well, unreal. I recommend this film for all fans of

Hollywood nostalgia, costume-period pieces and political commentary.

I have seen this flic a few times and have enjoyed it thoroughly each time. Great supporting performances. I liked Dennis Hopper in this, although I missed Fred Ward from the first one. Penelope Ann Miller was perfectly cast as well. Valerie Mahaffey and Sheryl Lee Ralph were great also. The special effects do not take over the picture, but are imaginative (the mirror effect)and the magical theory is well thought out and consistent. This is just an enjoyable urban fantasy featuring an alternate history (my favorite genre) of the U.S. in which magic is routinely practices and the social reprecussions spur a McCarthy-like reaction. Diverting and enjoyable.

"Witch Hunt" is an ideal TV-movie strengthened by the tiny aspects that make it whole. The humor is offbeat and effective; the attention to color and set design is wonderfully evocative of the 1950s; the musical score (by David Lynch mainstay Angelo Badalamenti) sets an appropriate mood; and the well-shaded, blackly humorous performances are something else. The story combines a film noir attitude with the popularity of magic in Hollywood, and a McCarthyesque politician trying to put a stop to it. Granted, the plot seems to get too complicated near the end, but the commitments of Dennis Hopper, Penelope Ann Miller, Julian Sands, and especially the reptilian Eric Bogosian elevate "Witch Hunt" above your standard rental fare. Worth a look.

6/10

I loved 'Cast A Deadly Spell' but this sequel is a stinker. Same writer so it's difficult to say what went wrong this time around but 'Witch Hunt' has none of the wit or fun of the original, and the parallels with McCarthyism are trite and obvious. As a horror movie it fails, as a film noir it fails and as a comedy it fails. I watched again recently in case I had unfairly dismissed it and I found it so dull and unentertaining I could hardly be bothered watching it til the end. How Paul Schrader of all people ended up directing this is beyond me! Maybe he just needed the money... Anyway, I'm sure he tries to forget it ever happened. It's easily his least interesting movie. I'm a big Dennis Hopper fan but he is miscast and looks very uncomfortable. Maybe Fred Ward might have been able to save this one, I don't know. The supporting cast is below par too - Penelope Anne Miller instead of Julianne Moore and Julian Sands instead of David Warner - there's no contest. I would suggest you forget about watching this and rent 'Cast A Deadly Spell' instead.

This one didn't rate as high as the first one (Cast a Deadly Spell), but it was still a great film. Dennis Hopper is always a great actor and does the lead role, very well in this movie.

A comedy version of the Lovecraftian mythos, this film really delivers what fans of this genre and fans of HPL are looking for.

The guys who have made (cough cough)screen plays of HPL's works should take lessons from this film and the first one (HIRE REAL ACTORS DUMMIES!) If you like horror/comedy, are a HPL fan. or just want to rent something, but all the new releases you wanted to see are already out, get this film and the first one.

It gets 5 tentacles and two pincers up WITH a bit of insane piping on the elder god-o-meter