The Spell (1977)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Fantastic!

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Teenager Rita is harassed by her classmates for being withdrawn and overweight. At home, her father and younger sister treat her like utter garbage; her mother seems to understand her to some extent, though not entirely. But Rita is, unbeknownst to them all, honing her own supernatural skills that jeopardizes anyone who comes in her path.This made-for-television romp from the golden age for TV horror films riffs on "Carrie" in multiple ways, even imitating key moments from the 1976 film. Yes, so "The Spell" is a cash-in. But what else is there to say about it? More than one may think. It is not exactly a well-made film: It's choppily-edited and the narrative is a bit heavy-handed. The bulk of the film is really made up of twisted family melodrama, which would be rather boring if it weren't the most utterly bizarre family dynamic ever filmed.I honestly did not realize until about thirty minutes in that the protagonist, Rita, was a blood relative of the family; not only does she look nothing like her on screen parents and sibling, but she is treated by virtually every member of her family like an unwelcome cousin, twice removed—maybe even worse—and for no immediately decipherable reason. They just simply despise her, and her resentment continues to grow (and with frankly good reason). The relationships on which the film is predicated are utterly strange and do leave the audience somewhat adrift, as there is virtually no likable character from beginning to end.The performances here are memorable, with Lee Grant playing the stern but sometimes-empathetic mother; a young Helen Hunt plays Rita's perfect little sister, and Susan Myers (who, for the record, is not at all overweight) is memorable in the lead role, delivering some surprisingly chilling scenes; her performance at times reminded me of Tina Romero's in "Alucarda," mixed with a bit of Linda Blair from "The Exorcist." There are a handful of scare scenes here that are dated by contemporary standards, though one is so bizarre and unexpected it's almost disturbing. The twist ending is mildly clever, though fairly perceptible by the time the film has rolled into its final act, and the whole thing ends rather abruptly (not uncommon for television films of this era).Overall, "The Spell" is an amusing film that I personally found utterly absorbing, largely because its core melodrama was so perplexing. It's a fun, frivolous viewing experience for fans of seventies television horror as it does capture the era effectively, and there is a handful of sideshow attractions to be had. Perhaps the most memorable element of it all though is the fact that most of its runtime consists of an introverted teenage girl being groundlessly flanked by not only her peers, but her entire family. The seventies were a strange time, I guess. 7/10.

I saw this on Netflix streaming movies because I wanted to see Helen Hunt in an early role. Here she is probably 13 during filming, an just a few years before "Quarterback Princess" where she played quarterback on a boys high school team in Oregon.In this movie Lee Grant is the mom, Marilyn Matchett . Her older daughter is slightly chubby Susan Myers as Rita, who gets teased mercilessly by the other girls at school. It upsets her enough that she sees a mystic to do something about it. The main girl falls in gym class and breaks her neck. Helen Hunt is 13-ish younger sister Kristina. She also does not get along with the sister, who finds that she can cast spells also. So one day when Kristina is swimming at a school meet, almost drowns from a spell. Dad has to jump in the water to save her. This is definitely B-movie material, with cheezy background music to match. But it is fun to see a very young Helen Hunt, today on the verge of 50.SPOILERS: The movie ends with a scene where Rita and her mother are having a deep disagreement, and as Rita tries to use her powers on mom, we learn (and see) that mom also has those powers. In the end it is a "draw" and mom and daughter embrace as the movie ends.

Yes, yes, it's a 'Carrie' rip-off, but still enjoyable! Rita has a nice face and is not at all a bad kid. Her weight is the problem - kids tease her for it. She's more introverted but very intelligent. To make matters worse, she has a knock-out sister - played by a very young Helen Hunt - whom she doesn't get along with. It is hinted that the dad, played by James Olson, has been guilty of playing favorites. (One gets the sense that Rita's weight alone is not the only source of trouble between her and her parents, but that possibility is never explored any further, sad to say.) Kristina is his little princess, and Rita....well, she is not easy to love, according to him. Rita is much closer to her mother. I felt that this character was very sympathetic, even when she was exacting revenge. It's the gym teacher at her school that brings attention to and develops her innate ability. But it's Rita's mother who has to pull her troubled daughter back from the brink of abusing her power. There is a scene with a showdown between the gym teacher and Rita when they have a dispute as to how she should use her talents. This was an NBC movie (yes, I did enjoy movies from networks other than ABC!). If you like this sort of stuff, you probably will enjoy 'The Initiation of Sarah' (which was ABC), another 'Carrie'-copycat with a more sophisticated spin. The setting is a university so the characters are much older. However, a similar family dynamic is presented with two sisters, one adopted, trying to iron out family problems and university life. The troubled one with the powers is played by Kay Lenz, and that's all I'll say here so as not to spoil it!

There's one scene in the movie that always stood out in my head. A woman is walking down a flight of stairs, when she is overtaken by one of these spells. Her tongue turns purple and smoke comes out of her head. It was very shocking the way the attack just seemed to come out of nowhere.