Witchboard
Fooling around with a Ouija board proves to be a dangerous decision for a carpenter, his girlfriend, and former friend, all of whom encounter the harsh realities of dealing with spirits from the beyond...
**½
A memory returned to mind when I was about to watch Witchboard (1986) for the first time in quite a while (2006). When I was a kid in the 80s, this film was on the lips of my friends and cousins. My cousin, living with my grandmother and uncle, had a Ouija board and we snuck it into another room and commissioned a spirit to cut on a vacuum cleaner! We sure thought for a minute there it made a sound, when unplugged in the closet. Alas, it was kids goofing around on a holiday family gathering.
Oh, don't worry...its perfectly safe.
Supposedly a child spirit named David talks to Brandon Sinclair (Stephen Nichols), and he shares this with a former girlfriend, Linda (Tawny Kitaen) and former childhood friend, Jim (Tod Allen) at a party held by them at their house. Linda and Jim are an item which perturbs Brandon to say the least. A Ouija board is brought to the party by Brandon, and a conversation about atheism and evidentiary spirits leads to him convincing Linda to participate in a "calling". Jim's dismissal of it all pisses " David" off and anyone close to him is bumped off! Soon Linda is possessed...and pregnant! Or she believes due to the morning sickness and nausea. But the swearing is an indication something is bad wrong because she doesn't typically use foul language. The strained relationship between Jim and Brandon endures some hardships but the common ground of Linda's welfare reinforces the need to get along. Brandon talks of Linda's secret addiction to the board, mentioning that obsessive use of the Ouija typically indicates entrapment by whatever spirit exploits her attraction to it. It is soon believed that someone is being used as a portal for the evil spirit to gain access to the living realm. But is it actually David or perhaps another homicidal spirit entirely?
Calling in an eccentric medium with her own brand of "psychic humor", Brandon hoped to get rid of the obnoxious spirit, but what if Linda is a target...not the portal?
Kathleen Wilhoite as the medium could have been a minor footnote in the film, but her approach to the character, giving her a bubbly energy, applying a peculiar sense of humor and unique delivery really leaves an impression. Ultimately this is just another victim of the hatchet spirit serial killer, but to lend the film a distinct personality and not be immediately forgotten, Wilhoite deserves credit. She also loses herself in the punkish, pop new wave look, and the character with it gives the film more than kooky murder victim... she is defined and fun.
Those of my generation might have mothers who watched soaps, and Days of Our Lives has remained a lasting legacy that was threatened a few years ago of being cancelled. Stephen Nichols has Patch, a rugged, flawed, edgy character whose heart was softened by a woman he met in the city of Salem. I think he left the show and popular character for the movies, and Witchboard was one of them. In fact I remember this reputation the film has with those familiar with Nichols due to his Days character gasping when a hatchet hits him in the face. As Brandon, Nichols presented him at the beginning as this intellectual snob, but there is more to him, so at least he gets to expound on that. The jealousy towards Jim because of his love for Linda drives him. So reluctantly he joins forces with Jim, a product of alcoholic parents, and the two decide to learn of David's history by going to his place of origin. This trip has the two addressing their rift and trying to adjust to the woman that comes between them.
Jim's unbelief and Brandon's sincere concern in regards to the Ouija is at the heart of the film's chiefest conflict. Jim having issues expressing anything is called into question by Brandon. He is emotionally malfunctional. Malfeitor, the villain of the film, focuses intently on tormenting Jim, and in doing so, ironically, causes a revaluation of what is important.
Funnily enough, I had a lot more to say about this than I initially thought. In its time, Witchboard was a cult film desirable by kids like me who scraped together some cash just to rent it or negotiate a borrow with a friend who might have it on VHS. I watched this on STARZENCORE Suspense so it is getting rub on premium channels which is a good sign it will not exist on the periphery as an obscure piece of cable nostalgia. Tenney, director of Night of the Demons and Witchtrap, left his mark on the memory of 80s horror fans, with Witchboard perhaps his most famous film. Quigley fans might disagree, though. Tenney would return to direct the sequel in the early 90s.
Kitaen is known as the babe getting all worked up near the hood of a car in a Whitesnake video. Her possessed Linda trying to kill Jim at the end is perhaps unintentionally funny instead of its intent to bring a gulp to the throat. She's still very easy on the eyes, with all the Red hair, a mane I respond to, most definitely.
TTFN [ta-ta, for now]
Calling in an eccentric medium with her own brand of "psychic humor", Brandon hoped to get rid of the obnoxious spirit, but what if Linda is a target...not the portal?
Kathleen Wilhoite as the medium could have been a minor footnote in the film, but her approach to the character, giving her a bubbly energy, applying a peculiar sense of humor and unique delivery really leaves an impression. Ultimately this is just another victim of the hatchet spirit serial killer, but to lend the film a distinct personality and not be immediately forgotten, Wilhoite deserves credit. She also loses herself in the punkish, pop new wave look, and the character with it gives the film more than kooky murder victim... she is defined and fun.
Those of my generation might have mothers who watched soaps, and Days of Our Lives has remained a lasting legacy that was threatened a few years ago of being cancelled. Stephen Nichols has Patch, a rugged, flawed, edgy character whose heart was softened by a woman he met in the city of Salem. I think he left the show and popular character for the movies, and Witchboard was one of them. In fact I remember this reputation the film has with those familiar with Nichols due to his Days character gasping when a hatchet hits him in the face. As Brandon, Nichols presented him at the beginning as this intellectual snob, but there is more to him, so at least he gets to expound on that. The jealousy towards Jim because of his love for Linda drives him. So reluctantly he joins forces with Jim, a product of alcoholic parents, and the two decide to learn of David's history by going to his place of origin. This trip has the two addressing their rift and trying to adjust to the woman that comes between them.
Jim's unbelief and Brandon's sincere concern in regards to the Ouija is at the heart of the film's chiefest conflict. Jim having issues expressing anything is called into question by Brandon. He is emotionally malfunctional. Malfeitor, the villain of the film, focuses intently on tormenting Jim, and in doing so, ironically, causes a revaluation of what is important.
Funnily enough, I had a lot more to say about this than I initially thought. In its time, Witchboard was a cult film desirable by kids like me who scraped together some cash just to rent it or negotiate a borrow with a friend who might have it on VHS. I watched this on STARZENCORE Suspense so it is getting rub on premium channels which is a good sign it will not exist on the periphery as an obscure piece of cable nostalgia. Tenney, director of Night of the Demons and Witchtrap, left his mark on the memory of 80s horror fans, with Witchboard perhaps his most famous film. Quigley fans might disagree, though. Tenney would return to direct the sequel in the early 90s.
Kitaen is known as the babe getting all worked up near the hood of a car in a Whitesnake video. Her possessed Linda trying to kill Jim at the end is perhaps unintentionally funny instead of its intent to bring a gulp to the throat. She's still very easy on the eyes, with all the Red hair, a mane I respond to, most definitely.
TTFN [ta-ta, for now]
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