Chuck Russell became known as the only man capable of directing a Freddy Krueger movie as well as creator Wes Craven thanks toA Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, and delivered plenty of blood and latex gore in his 80’s remake ofThe Blob. Now, his revival of theWitchboardfranchise has proven to be a divisive one according to its Rotten Tomatoes scores. His glossy reimagining ofWitchboardopened this weekend with an only-just “fresh” critics Tomatometer score of 64%, which is better than the original run of the franchise, but still not on par with some of the many incredible horror movies that have been released in the last couple of years.
Russell obviously knows what he is doing, and he certainlyhasn’t just created a like-for-like remake of the 1986 moviethat focused on the use of a standard Ouija board, which was used by the film’s leads to contact a childish spirit called David, but inadvertently puts them in the direct line of a more malevolent specter. The synopsis for Russell’s new take reads:
“In New Orleans, Emily (Madison Iseman) and her fiancé Christian (Aaron Dominguez) are opening their new dream café. But their dreams are dashed when Emily finds an ancient, cursed Witchboard, an ancient artifact that once served as a gateway to the spirit world. As Emily becomes increasingly captivated by the board’s ability to summon spirits, Christian seeks the expertise of Alexander Babtiste (Jamie Campbell Bower), an enigmatic occult scholar. As Emily’s grip on reality weakens, Babtiste’s true intentions come to light–to use the Witchboard’s dark power for his own twisted purposes. Emily and Christian must race against time to break the board’s curse before they succumb to its deadly power!”
‘Stranger Things’ Star Helps Boost ‘Witchboard,’ but Not By Much
Along with the case of Madison Iseman, Aaron Dominguez, Melanie Jarnson, and Charlie Tahan,Witchboardbenefits from the inclusion of Jamie Campbell Bower, whofollows up his villainous turn asStranger Things’ Vecnawith another creepy turn as Babtiste. In fact, for Randy Myers of theSan Jose Mercury News, “the alluring but slithery presence of occult expert Alexander Babtiste adds more spice to a guilty pleasure to savor.”
However, with a 64% approval rating, there are obviously many people who don’t quite see it as a “must-see” movie of the year. Several critics note that the film is very much in keeping with Russell’s usual “old-school, effects-laden genre thrill ride” style, but others don’t feel that this makes up for the “lack of a coherent story.”
For general audiences, things are even more mixed – just like the film’s predecessors.Witchboardhas never been a franchise that managed to please everyone, and the original film was a very ‘80s movie that played to the hokum spirit of horror offerings of the decade. While that film became a cult classic, the same is probably not going to be said ofWitchboard2025.
Some early reviews call it “occasionally fun,” and others added that it “offers plenty of nightmarish images” among the less thrilling responses, such as one from Dough Doe whose one-star review reads:
“Worst horror movie of the year, maybe a nominee for worst movie of the year. How this movie got a theatrical release is beyond me. Yikes.”
Of course,Witchboardwill find an audience, as many movies do, and regardless of its cinematic performance this weekend, the film will likely get a decent amount of attention when it shows up on streaming several weeks down the line.
Witchboard
