When I first saw 'Witchboard', back when I was about ten, I really found it to be quite scary. Having seen it recently I realize now that it is not scary but rather hokey, and kind of funny(intentionally). It stars Linda Blair, oh, wait, I mean Linda Brewster(Kitaen), a fiery redhead who believes she is pregnant and has an emotionally inept boyfriend, Jim(Allen), who, I assume, doesn't give her the attention she needs. This drives her to use the Ouija Board, which was accidentally left at her apartment by former-boyfriend Brandon(Nichols). She contacts David, the spirit of a ten-year old boy who supposedly died in a boating accident. David is helpful and friendly at first, but eventually starts to terrorize Linda so he can break down her resistance and ultimately possess her. He is only able to do this since Linda has been using the Ouija alone. She mistakenly tells Brandon about this, and he goes and confronts Jim with the news. Fearing that his woman has fallen into "progressive entrapment"(as suggested by Brandon)Jim recruits a medium, Zarabeth(Wilhoite, from Drowning Mona)to rid their apartment of this evil spirit once and for all...
Unfortunately for them, and since Linda used the Ouija alone and made herself vulnerable, it turns out that she was never really talking to a little boy at all. She was actually conversing with an ax-murderer who used to live in their apartment building, and she ultimately gave him the power to use the Ouija as a portal into the living world. Hmm...Malfator is the ax-murderer's name, and he is pretty freaky looking to say the least. Actually, this guy is the epitome of what a serial killer should look like.
Overall, this entire film is a little silly, but it still manages to be fairly entertaining. Brandon's acting is so bad that it's hilarious. Almost everything that comes out of his mouth is side-splitting-funny, and I don't believe his lines were meant to be funny, either. He's the more serious one. Jim provides the real comedy with lines like, "If Barbie's had been around that long then I guess you would be talking to them, too," and "Hey, man, I don't talk to cardboard." Tawny Kitaen is a beast, and displays some of her "domestic" qualities in a few scenes...hehehe. Watch for the scene at the lake...it provides a couple of genuinely scary moments.
In summary,'Witchboard' is nothing more than an entertaining and average horror film, and albeit better than its competition(Witchtrap, Witchcraft, etc.)it still remains an underrated little eighties movie...and maybe that says it all. I even presented it to one of my friends and after it was over he said, and I quote, "That is probably the dumbest movie I have ever seen." But I disagree. It's a good horror movie/guilty pleasure, and that's about it. Really, what more can be expected out of a film like this? It's already been done a million times before, so just watch it with an open mind and take it for what its worth.
6/10. Since it is sort of a trilogy, I do recommend watching this title before viewing the sequels, 'Witchboard 2:The Devil's Doorway' and 'Witchboard III:Possession'.
Unfortunately for them, and since Linda used the Ouija alone and made herself vulnerable, it turns out that she was never really talking to a little boy at all. She was actually conversing with an ax-murderer who used to live in their apartment building, and she ultimately gave him the power to use the Ouija as a portal into the living world. Hmm...Malfator is the ax-murderer's name, and he is pretty freaky looking to say the least. Actually, this guy is the epitome of what a serial killer should look like.
Overall, this entire film is a little silly, but it still manages to be fairly entertaining. Brandon's acting is so bad that it's hilarious. Almost everything that comes out of his mouth is side-splitting-funny, and I don't believe his lines were meant to be funny, either. He's the more serious one. Jim provides the real comedy with lines like, "If Barbie's had been around that long then I guess you would be talking to them, too," and "Hey, man, I don't talk to cardboard." Tawny Kitaen is a beast, and displays some of her "domestic" qualities in a few scenes...hehehe. Watch for the scene at the lake...it provides a couple of genuinely scary moments.
In summary,'Witchboard' is nothing more than an entertaining and average horror film, and albeit better than its competition(Witchtrap, Witchcraft, etc.)it still remains an underrated little eighties movie...and maybe that says it all. I even presented it to one of my friends and after it was over he said, and I quote, "That is probably the dumbest movie I have ever seen." But I disagree. It's a good horror movie/guilty pleasure, and that's about it. Really, what more can be expected out of a film like this? It's already been done a million times before, so just watch it with an open mind and take it for what its worth.
6/10. Since it is sort of a trilogy, I do recommend watching this title before viewing the sequels, 'Witchboard 2:The Devil's Doorway' and 'Witchboard III:Possession'.