SpellbinderYear: 1988 Director: Janet Greek Written by: Tracy Tormé Threat: Devil Worshippers Weapon of Choice: Dagger |
Rish Outfield's reviews
First of all, I can recommend Spellbinder with only two words: Kelly
Preston. If she is not the most beautiful woman in the whole wide world, then
my name isn't Rish Outfield. Apart from her, there is still a lot to endorse
this non-slasher horror film. It is well-told (by Star Trek scribe Tracy
Tormé), with interesting characters, and some really creepy moments. Timothy
Daly (later of "Wings" fame)(does the word fame apply to "Wings"?) plays the
Everyman, the nice guy (even if he is a lawyer) who gets swept up in something
bigger than he understands. Mrs. John Travolta is the maiden fair, speaking
enigmatically, and on the run from a coven of witchcraft-happy yuppies. The
ending is not what I expected, but made sense in an awful way. My only
complaint is that it doesn't hold up as well with repeated viewings.
Best Scare: A group of spectres appears in Tim Daly's windows, staring in with pale, blank faces. Eerie.
I'd Recommend It To: Fans of occult horror. And you-know-who.
The tyranist's thoughts
This is a very well made little movie. It is genuinely creepy and keeps you guessing for a long time. The ending is
horribly evil. It is hard to watch more than once simply because all of the tension is gone from the movie, but
seeing it once is more than worth it. This is probably the finest "the Devil Worshippers are after me" movie I have
ever seen.
Sequel | ||
Owes everything to/rips off earlier film | ||
Sequel setup | ||
Bad title | ||
Bad premise | ||
Bad acting | ||
Bad dialogue | ||
MTV Editing | ||
OTS | ||
Girl unnecessarily gets naked | ||
Wanton sex | ||
Death associated with sex | ||
Characters forget about threat | ||
Secluded location | ||
Power is cut | ||
Phone lines are cut | ||
Someone investigates a strange noise | ||
Someone runs up stairs instead of going out front door | ||
Camera is the killer | ||
Victims cower in front of a window/door | ||
Toilet stall scene | ||
Victim locks self in with killer | ||
Killer is in car with victim | ||
Cat jumps out | ||
Fake scare | ||
Laughable scare | ||
Blood hits camera | ||
Beheading | ||
Killer doesn't stay dead | ||
Stupid discovery of corpse | ||
Dream sequence | ||
Victim running from killer inexplicably falls | ||
No one believes only witness | ||
Blood fountain | ||
Poor death effect | ||
Excessive gore | ||
Music detracts from scene | ||
Horror film showing on TV/in theater in movie | ||
Future celebrity appears | ||
No one dies at all | ||
Death in first five minutes | ||
Virgin survives | ||
Geek/Nerd survives | ||
Little kid lamely survives | ||
Dog/Pet miraculously survives | ||
Villain is more sympathetic than heroes | ||
Unresolved subplots | ||
"It was all a dream" ending | ||
Unbelievably happy ending | ||
What the hell? |
Total Skulls: 10
Other movies in this series:
None