Normally, a remake of the 1986 cult horror film Witchboard wouldn’t be something I’d take a lot of interest in. But if you tell me it’s directed by genre veteran Chuck Russell, I’m going to show up. Russell’s gift of mixing comedy with over-the-top gore was seen in his take on The Blob and A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, and after decades he hasn’t missed a beat. While the film can be a bit of a mess, the ropey special effects and questionable acting fit like a glove with the twisted sense of humor.
Moving the action from California to the voodoo capital of the world, New Orleans, Witchboard follows young lovers Emily (Madison Iseman) and superstar chef Christian (Aaron Dominguez) as they prep to open a new restaurant in the French Quarter. While in the woods foraging for ingredients, Emily is drawn to a mystical spirit board, laying feet away from the decomposing body of the man who stole it. Taking the board home, Emily slowly becomes possessed by the evil spirit Naga Soth (Antonia Desplat), the 17th-century Queen of the Witches, who is trapped within it.
But first, all sorts of crazy shit starts happening. Naga Soth has a thing about chopping people’s hands off, as seen in a flashback to one of her early rituals. In one epically funny scene, a series of Final Destination-esque machinations lead to Christian’s buddy Richie (Charlie Tahan) getting his hand sawed off, only for a stray cat to begin gnawing on it like it was covered in catnip.
Stuff like this harkens back to the comical nature of Russell’s other notable films, such as The Mask. He’s clearly loving this chance to indulge in an old school, effects-laden horror, complete with over-the-top period set pieces and gruesome violence captured with loads of CGI blood. But the characters are too bland to make much of an impression. The rare example is Jamie Campbell Bower, the Stranger Things actor bringing some B-movie hamminess to his role as mysterious occultist Alexander Babtiste. Iseman, a genre veteran herself with Goosebumps 2, Annabelle Comes Home, and Nocturne, does a solid job portraying Emily’s descent into madness, but she’s not given much to work with beyond that. In fact, you’d be forgiven for cheering on the grisly demise of these boring kids because that’s when Witchboard is at its nasty best.
Witchboard is in theaters now via The Avenue and Atlas Distribution.
