“Magic is the way of the future, wouldn’t want to buck the future, would you?”
Phillip Lovecraft-Cast A Deadly Spell
Last year, I watched a film that HBO made (it’s available on Max right now) called Cast A Deadly Spell. Doing my research for Halloweenfest this year, I realized they made a sequel. The original was fantastic and was directed by Martin Campbell. The sequel Witch Hunt was directed by Paul Schrader what could go wrong?
Witch Hunt is set in a world where magic and witches are real. Some use the magic for good, and some use it for evil. Private detective Philip Lovecraft, played by Dennis Hopper, is hired to tail Penelope Anne Miller’s husband, the head of a movie studio. Soon after, the husband is killed by magic. An ambitious Senator Larson Crockett, played by Eric Bogosian, is hell-bent on ending the use of magic and uses this death as a catalyst for his agenda. Lovecraft is unique because he refuses to use magic in his work. He does use the talents of a local witch, Kropotkin, to explain what is happening, only to see her accused of the murder and sentenced to be burnt at the stake.
I’m a sucker for good noir and loved the original film. With the additions of Hopper and Schrader, I was more than excited to see this. Hopper’s performance left me puzzled. He’s not particularly charismatic, and he’s not funny. The film tries but fails miserably when it attempts humor. Bogosian’s performance is excellent, and his character is perhaps the most interesting. Julian Sands plays another private detective who embraces witchcraft and has it out for Hopper’s character. Sands’s performance is also excellent and very menacing at times.
Schrader’s direction is also confusing. This film has been compared to Roger Rabbit because of its adult themes coupled with a silly tone. Schrader doesn’t present himself as a silly individual, so the paring is awkward. If someone else had directed this, we might have seen a more entertaining film. Instead, the film always feels at odds with itself. In one scene we have a zombie whose eye cartoonishly pops out and the next a topless girl is being drowned in a bathtub.
Despite a terrific ending and third act, Witch Hunt spends much of its runtime being mundane. Paul Schrader probably wasn’t the best choice for directing a wacky adult-themed fantasy film about witches. The themes of McCarthyism, political corruption, and religious hypocrisy are oddly relevant today, but the film’s tone is too chaotic. Dennis Hopper’s performance is stagnant, and he feels miscast as well. I find this premise fun and would love to see this series revived, but Witch Hunt was a misfire.
Rating: 5/10
