Newly married couple, Larry and Barbara Andrews(John Saxon & Lynda Day George)move to a reputedly haunted mansion, Casa Fortuna, which yields a vengeful witch's spirit with strong powers. Poor Barbara's body and soul are slowly taken over by the spirit, Alma Martin(Janice Lynde, under various wigs), and those Larry works with during the construction of a major hotel, such as pal Del Giorgio(Michael Dante)and Dr. Frank Albanos(Mario Milano)both men with a lot riding on the job and it's business potential, are in danger of her wrath. A worried Larry, whose own life is threatened when a crane, operated by Alma's spirit, carrying heavy material used for construction which nearly falls on top of him(..killing a co-worker by him), will seek help from a faith healer Doctor Solomon(David Opatoshu). But, as Alma slowly gains control of Barbara her powers emerge, such as green laser blasts from the eyes, superhuman abilities to lift and throw men in the air, pulling a car apart before exploding it down a cliff, etc. Larry and Solomon will have to work together to somehow stop Alma from totally taking control.
From the director of "Graduation Day"(..another Troma release), Herb Freed tries his hand in the demonic thriller genre. I think the cast gives it their best shot, but the budget is just too small and so many scenes show signs of post production tinkering where one scene doesn't transition smoothly to the next and the special effects(..particularly when Alma uses her powers, with green tint often appearing like a halo around Day George's head before she blasts somebody)are rather cheap. I think one often needs an appropriate budget when approaching a film about demonic possession and a lot of the special effects undermine a decent effort from the director. I must also admit that there are some lighting issues, with a lot of scenes so dark you could barely see the actors, especially at night. I'm certainly not against low-budget film-making, and I think setting your film on an island inside a mansion which carries a certain flavor of it's surroundings certainly helps. I think the leads are fine. Saxon is the concerned husband, often playing him as conflicted and confused. Day George shows the battle of personalities raging inside, the sweet innocent Babs, and the evil Alma starting to take over. Lynde as Alma is actually pretty creepy with how she widens her mad eyes, opening her fingers exposing those long nails as she shoots green light. I think if Herb just had some more money, and decidedly remained away from using special effects concerning colors, he'd had a better film. But, it's assured that people will watch this with uncontrollable laughter, certainly at the special effects and perhaps hold a feeling of embarrassment for Saxon and Day George who deserve a better film. There are some make-up effects concerning Solomon's faith healing rituals where he slices open the stomach of "patients" removing the problems plaguing them(..one case goes wrong, to a child no less, when Alma interferes)that work well.
From the director of "Graduation Day"(..another Troma release), Herb Freed tries his hand in the demonic thriller genre. I think the cast gives it their best shot, but the budget is just too small and so many scenes show signs of post production tinkering where one scene doesn't transition smoothly to the next and the special effects(..particularly when Alma uses her powers, with green tint often appearing like a halo around Day George's head before she blasts somebody)are rather cheap. I think one often needs an appropriate budget when approaching a film about demonic possession and a lot of the special effects undermine a decent effort from the director. I must also admit that there are some lighting issues, with a lot of scenes so dark you could barely see the actors, especially at night. I'm certainly not against low-budget film-making, and I think setting your film on an island inside a mansion which carries a certain flavor of it's surroundings certainly helps. I think the leads are fine. Saxon is the concerned husband, often playing him as conflicted and confused. Day George shows the battle of personalities raging inside, the sweet innocent Babs, and the evil Alma starting to take over. Lynde as Alma is actually pretty creepy with how she widens her mad eyes, opening her fingers exposing those long nails as she shoots green light. I think if Herb just had some more money, and decidedly remained away from using special effects concerning colors, he'd had a better film. But, it's assured that people will watch this with uncontrollable laughter, certainly at the special effects and perhaps hold a feeling of embarrassment for Saxon and Day George who deserve a better film. There are some make-up effects concerning Solomon's faith healing rituals where he slices open the stomach of "patients" removing the problems plaguing them(..one case goes wrong, to a child no less, when Alma interferes)that work well.