Spellcaster (1988).
Spellcaster has a great premise. An MTV-type of show cleverly named ‘Rock TV’ holds a contest in which seven people are selected from around the globe to participate in a scavenger hunt at the Diaboli Castle in Italy for a million dollar check. Unfortunately for the participants, Mr. Diaboli is a…spellcaster.
“Yeah, how ‘bout ten foot flames shootin’ out your asshole, man?”
- Tom
The seven participants are all basic caricatures - the drunk rock-star, the sex crazed rich kid, the fat guy who just likes eating, a Californian tease, a French sex-pot, a British hunter, and a couple of kids from Cleveland. As the seven search for the check, crazy things start happening throughout the castle.
This movie is really goofy. There are some cool visuals (a man who turns into a pig, some kind of troll), but I guess I was expecting…more. This is basically a PG-13 movie and I don’t say this often, but I really think that it would really benefit from an R-rated remake. The deaths are really quite tame with very little blood. There’s also no nudity, if that’s a staple for your horror film consumption.
“Fucking goofy!”
- Teri
For the most part, the actors are fun. Adam Ant plays Mr. Diaboli, but he’s on screen for less than five minutes. It’s a true ensemble cast - the leads (?) played by Harold Pruett and the stunning Gail O’Grady were pretty good. Bunty Bailey (the A-Ha Take on Me girl) stands out as another bright spot playing pop star Cassandra Castle.
I didn’t hate this but I definitely wouldn’t watch it again. The movie takes forever to get going (the contest really doesn’t even start until thirty minutes in), the effects are fine but nothing memorable, the castle has zero personality and it could have been a really great setting, and the characters aren’t good enough to make me come back.
The Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome looks nice (although the picture has quite a bit of grain). The interviews are pretty standard (of which there are two). It’s a well put together package and the slipcover is of the utmost quality as VS releases are known for.
