Sommerleigh Pollonais, Horror Head Writer
Plot: A man crash lands in rural Appalachia and awakens in the attic of a traditional Hoodoo practitioner. He desperately tries to break free from her dark magic and save his family from a sinister ritual before the rise of the blood moon.
Review: This movie turned out a lot better than I expected. It’s not everyday you see these types of horror movies (backwoods evil folks + voodoo + family in danger) with a black cast. Matter of fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before. Omari Hardwick (Power) played the lead role here and is a man trying to escape his past. He’s forced to return to his roots (so to speak) when his father dies and he takes his family into the Appalachian mountains to put him to rest. On the way, their small plane crashes and he’s taken in by a seemingly sweet old couple, only to realise they have heinous plans for him and his family.
The horror here is well executed. Think Misery meets Deliverance (mercifully without the banjo playing and pig squealing). There are moments here that made me super-cringe, the stand out being a very big nail and a foot. The instantly recognisable Loretta Devine as Eloise was also a lot of fun to watch, as she plays against type and you could tell she was having a blast playing this evil character.
Unfortunately, the movie does lose points with me when it tries to be deeper than just a fun horror romp. Race, or should I say class, plays a factor here, as even though the entire cast is black there’s a divide they go for with the whole country vs city people dynamic. They don’t use the word “people” of course and every time the film went in that direction, it lost points with me. It just felt forced, and honestly, they didn’t need it.
All said and done, Spell is better than average “horror movie of the month” and at an hour and half runtime, it’s not a bad way to get your spooky fix.
Sommer’s Score: 6 out of 10
For Alice’s review of Netflix refugee horror His House you can click here. And for more than 150 horror film reviews and lists you can click here.
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
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