THE WITCHING (1993), review by Mike Hunchback
- with special thanks to Horror Boobs -
The glut of movies made for the SOV market is staggering, comparable to the teenage garage band phenomenon of the mid-sixties wherein kids from all over the world banged out privately pressed two song 45s in droves so vast that we still regularly uncover new material 50-plus years later. One of many films coming out from prevalent '90s SOV companies at the time, THE WITCHING is a surprisingly fun entry into the world of shot/released on video Horror and is notable slightly for its behind-the-camera involvement of prolific video-meister Todd Sheets. This one stood out to me foremost because of the rather well-written screenplay, which packs in tons of wildly over-the-top expressions and tongue-in-cheek troop-rallying one-liners; all delivered from the actors of THE WITCHING with surprisingly studied bravado.
There's a few sublime moments in THE WITCHING. While most of the Horror elements are very simple (Halloween masks and bubble-gum-machine green slime) there's still a couple shots that have that infinitely cool, Horror-hearted, home-made, no-budget SOV magic - the french call it "je ne sais quoi". Most memorable being the appearance of a white-faced Demoness in the family TV room, smoke swirling around her ethereally as she cackles at our verbose heroes. There's some exceedingly creative cursing:
"You called me dickweed for no reason!"
"I ALWAYS call you dickweed for no reason."
"Yeah, but this time you sounded like you meant it!"
But apart from that, THE WITCHING is pretty clean and largely stays within the bounds of juvenile goofiness (Grandma is so senile she thinks the long-dead family dog is alive and well, and talks cute to it as she drags it around by its leash!). It's also not a gore-fest - but the light-hearted momentum created by the obsessive campy writing will compel most from beginning to end.
The glut of movies made for the SOV market is staggering, comparable to the teenage garage band phenomenon of the mid-sixties wherein kids from all over the world banged out privately pressed two song 45s in droves so vast that we still regularly uncover new material 50-plus years later. One of many films coming out from prevalent '90s SOV companies at the time, THE WITCHING is a surprisingly fun entry into the world of shot/released on video Horror and is notable slightly for its behind-the-camera involvement of prolific video-meister Todd Sheets. This one stood out to me foremost because of the rather well-written screenplay, which packs in tons of wildly over-the-top expressions and tongue-in-cheek troop-rallying one-liners; all delivered from the actors of THE WITCHING with surprisingly studied bravado.
There's a few sublime moments in THE WITCHING. While most of the Horror elements are very simple (Halloween masks and bubble-gum-machine green slime) there's still a couple shots that have that infinitely cool, Horror-hearted, home-made, no-budget SOV magic - the french call it "je ne sais quoi". Most memorable being the appearance of a white-faced Demoness in the family TV room, smoke swirling around her ethereally as she cackles at our verbose heroes. There's some exceedingly creative cursing:
"You called me dickweed for no reason!"
"I ALWAYS call you dickweed for no reason."
"Yeah, but this time you sounded like you meant it!"
But apart from that, THE WITCHING is pretty clean and largely stays within the bounds of juvenile goofiness (Grandma is so senile she thinks the long-dead family dog is alive and well, and talks cute to it as she drags it around by its leash!). It's also not a gore-fest - but the light-hearted momentum created by the obsessive campy writing will compel most from beginning to end.
THE WITCHING (1993)
Directed and Written by: Eric Black Matthew Jason Walsh
Starring: Auggi Alvarez, Mike Hellman, Frank Dunlay,
Dianne O'Connell, Carol Barta, Dana Pace, Veronica Orr
Directed and Written by: Eric Black Matthew Jason Walsh
Starring: Auggi Alvarez, Mike Hellman, Frank Dunlay,
Dianne O'Connell, Carol Barta, Dana Pace, Veronica Orr
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