Stars: Omari Hardwick, Loretta Devine, Lorraine Burroughs, Hannah Gonera, Kalifa Burton, John Beasley, Tumisho Masha, Steve Mululu, Peter Butler | Written by Kurt Wimmer | Directed by Mark Tonderai
If there is one thing that horror films have taught us by now, don’t return to your childhood home that you ran away from in the past. Just don’t, it never ends good, you’ll probably end up dead or held against your will by some murderous local. Spell is yet another film that just confirms this.
When Marquis (Omari Hardwick) flies to rural Appalachia for his father’s funeral, his plane carrying him and his family crashes. When he awakens he finds himself wounded and alone in Ms. Eloise’s (Loretta Devine) attic. With no way to escape and his family missing, he is nursed back to health in preparation for the blood moon celebrations.
I’m a fan of...
If there is one thing that horror films have taught us by now, don’t return to your childhood home that you ran away from in the past. Just don’t, it never ends good, you’ll probably end up dead or held against your will by some murderous local. Spell is yet another film that just confirms this.
When Marquis (Omari Hardwick) flies to rural Appalachia for his father’s funeral, his plane carrying him and his family crashes. When he awakens he finds himself wounded and alone in Ms. Eloise’s (Loretta Devine) attic. With no way to escape and his family missing, he is nursed back to health in preparation for the blood moon celebrations.
I’m a fan of...
- 10/30/2020
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
“Spell” adds to the significant recent growth of African American horror cinema, though really only in casting terms. Otherwise, this reasonably suspenseful if implausible tale is just another variation on the familiar formula of “city folk” making a big mistake going to the country, where every primitive peril awaits them. Here, instead of homicidal hillbillies à la “Texas Chainsaw” and “The Hills Have Eyes,” it’s an Appalachian enclave of Black hoodoo practitioners, with upwardly mobile Omari Hardwick at the “Misery”-esque mercy of witchy Loretta Devine.
Shot in South Africa, British-Zimbabwean director Mark Tonderai and veteran Hollywood scribe Kurt Wimmer’s film isn’t aiming for regional authenticity, though it might have poured on the bad-dream atmospherics a bit thicker to make up for that lack. Nonetheless, this is a decently stylish thriller with occult elements that should satisfy viewers’ genre requirements, though few will demand a second watch...
Shot in South Africa, British-Zimbabwean director Mark Tonderai and veteran Hollywood scribe Kurt Wimmer’s film isn’t aiming for regional authenticity, though it might have poured on the bad-dream atmospherics a bit thicker to make up for that lack. Nonetheless, this is a decently stylish thriller with occult elements that should satisfy viewers’ genre requirements, though few will demand a second watch...
- 10/28/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.