1988 | Color | 83 min | 1.85.1 | R | Stereo | Horror | Full Moon Features
Director:
Rafal Zielinski
Writers:
Writers:
Ed Naha
Stars:
Stars:
Adam Ant
Richard Blade
Gail O'Grady
Traci Lind
Full Moon's lost gem Spellcaster was only realized on Laser Disc way back in 1992! Does it hold up? Was it really a lost treasure? How about the fact that the name Adam Ant has me excited to watch this bad boy! Well, read on my good followers read on!
Adam Ant, VJ Richard Blade, and A-Ha video starlet Bunty Bailey who also was in Full Moon's Dolls defiantly gives you an MTV generation cult favorite vibe. And with director Rafal Zielinski behind the camera knows how to catch that teen feel in his movies. He has given us fun movies like Screwballs and Vallet Girls! Zielinski uses the area around him to his full advantage from cool cars to the castle where the movie takes place you feel part of the movie from the first frame. Writer, Ed Naha is a Full Moon/ Empire Pictures staple who has written classic's like Doll's, Troll's, and again the 80's teen romp Oddballs. But Naha left at the last minute. It was eventually re-written by Dennis Paoli who is also a Full Moon staple giving us Left Behind and Castle Freak. If you are a fan of Full Moon you can tell who wrote what parts as they both have a different style. None of this really matters the script is strong all the way up to the last few minutes.
Adam Ant, VJ Richard Blade, and A-Ha video starlet Bunty Bailey who also was in Full Moon's Dolls defiantly gives you an MTV generation cult favorite vibe. And with director Rafal Zielinski behind the camera knows how to catch that teen feel in his movies. He has given us fun movies like Screwballs and Vallet Girls! Zielinski uses the area around him to his full advantage from cool cars to the castle where the movie takes place you feel part of the movie from the first frame. Writer, Ed Naha is a Full Moon/ Empire Pictures staple who has written classic's like Doll's, Troll's, and again the 80's teen romp Oddballs. But Naha left at the last minute. It was eventually re-written by Dennis Paoli who is also a Full Moon staple giving us Left Behind and Castle Freak. If you are a fan of Full Moon you can tell who wrote what parts as they both have a different style. None of this really matters the script is strong all the way up to the last few minutes.
We are also treated to a well-rounded cast of charters that are really easy to get into. The main characters are Tom (Harold Pruett from Parker and Lewis can't lose) and Jackie (Gail O’Grady from NYBD Blue), a wholesome brother and sister in their early 20s who won two of the seven spots in this worldwide contest entered by millions of people. They are both very likable along with my favorite charter Yvette played by Fright Night 2 star Traci Lind. She plays a great dick tease not going to lie!
Bulk, of the movie, takes place in a castle that looks great. Sure it's the same one used in Castle Freak and Puppet Master but that never takes you out of the movie. So the seven guest get to wander around this big place looking for a million dollar pay off in the form of a check. The Castle is owned by Signor Diablo, who has graciously lent out the use of his home for this special occasion. Diablo does a good job of not showing up for meals to introduce himself to his guest's and the only way we see him throughout the movie is hands on a crystal ball.
The special effects are nothing too special in Spellcaster you get a pretty cool chair that comes to life and eats its guests but you also get some really bad looking zombies. Not a whole lot of blood or boobs for that matter but it really does not slow down the movie for me. And some of the effects are cool but the one I will laugh at has to be the use of flashlights to show sparks from an electrical current killer. It's bad but really the only bad death in the movie.
The theme of the movie is pretty compelling and even for a slow burn, you find yourself at the finish line all to fast. The dialogue is not bad my favorite line has to be the Only rule is to win! I found myself really getting into Spellcaster its fun to watch with a great cast and the location fits right in. Do I have complaints sure it's a low budget film but it comes with a spoiler from here on out so it is up to you if you want to skip to the last paragraph?
The whole reason for me watching this movie was for Adam Ant and playing the devil should not have been a far stretch for him. But for some reason, we only see him for like 9 minutes of the movie and it's all at the end! And when he is on he is great I never understood why he did not do more movies he has always been a fun charter on his own. Cold Steel, Drop Dead Rock this guy could do it all. Except in this movie he comes on tells us he is stealing souls and a few minutes later he is gone and the movie is over! Ugh! And the ending is not fun at all it just ends without any big climax.
So in the end, Spellcaster is well worth the watch and should have found its way onto DVD by now! (I'm sure Charles Band has plans to do so soon) If you use Full Moon Streaming be sure to check it out and let me know how you felt about it. Full Moon Streaming is the only way to watch the movie at this time unless you own the Laser Disc and rumored VHS tape that I could not find much info on.
I highly recommend Spellcaster for those who grew up in the 80's to check this one out!
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| 3 Bloody Brains out of 5 |
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