Spell

Director - Mark Tonderai (Daybreak, Gotham)

Starring - Omari Hardwick (Kick-Ass, Power), Loretta Devine (Supernatural, Urban Legend), and Lorraine Burroughs (Midsomer Murders, Doctor Who)

Release Date - 2020

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Evil has it's roots"

Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     My October horror binge has seen plenty of ups and downs.  I've watched some movies that really caught me off guard and impressed me while others were movies I wish I could destroy so no one else would have to suffer.  However, I can't recall many films that fully pulled me in and had me hanging in each and every scene.  Spell is one of those few movies.  Honestly, I had little interest in this one but once I started receiving different news blasts about it and and so forth I decided I would go ahead and check it out.  It seemed like the perfect movie to get me ready for Halloween and I was completely floored by how much fun I had with it.  

     The film follows Marquis (Hardwick) who is a wealthy and successful man who grew up in Appalachia but has put that behind him.  He wants to give his kids the life he never had but his childhood comes rushing back to him when he receives word that his father has passed.  He takes his family in his small plane to his father's home in the mountains but a storm hits forcing him to crash the craft.  He awakens in the home of Eloise (Devine) and her family who assures him that he was the only one who survived the crash.  Heartbroken, he tries to leave and finds his foot mangled.  Eloise is nurturing at first but soon her forceful tone reveals that something else is going on and his family may still be alive.

     I was extremely curious about this one when I learned that it was centered around Appalachia.  I've lived in West Virginia my whole life and spent summers with my brother and foster parents in Virginia but I had never heard of Hoodoo or Voodoo this far north.  It's not a common practice in the mountain states so I was very interested in seeing how this movie would approach it.  The acting in this one is absolutely fantastic.  Omari Hardwick is a great lead and does an amazing job carrying the film.  He really pulls the viewer in and you feel for him.  It takes a great deal of talent to pull those kind of emotions out of the viewer and he does an amazing job.  Wit that being said, Loretta Devine steals every scene she is in.  Movie goers are more accustomed to seeing her in a more light-hearted role but seeing her in this light really is something that will make you skin crawl.  Her warm and welcoming voice can easily send chills down your spine knowing she's a hoodoo priestess here.  Brilliant casting and having her in such a relaxed demeanor makes her character even more terrifying.  The story for this one definately had me glued to the screen.  Most of Appalachia, and especially West Virginia, is not known for Hoodoo and Voodoo.  In fact, this movie is the first time I had heard either of those mentioned within the state.  With that being said, it's nice to see a horror movie that mentions the state and it not be about inbred cannibals or drug dependent psychopaths.  It is something a bit different and I really enjoyed.  Finally, the film has some blood and some practical effects but nothing we haven't seen before.  However, the ending does have some pretty bad visual effects.  The flames in the barn start out looking decent but as the scene drags on they start to look worse and worse.  I'm sure there was another way they could have approached this.  Overall, Spell was not what I was expecting and my surprise favorite of the Halloween season.  I highly recommend checking out this well made supernatural horror thriller.  This is one I will be adding to my collection as soon as physical releases are available.