Cast a Deadly Spell (1991)

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

If ever there were a textbook definition of lovable weirdness, Martin Campbell's Emmy-winning "Cast a Deadly Spell" is it. This HBO movie casts Fred Ward as a private eye in 1948 LA, where everyone except him uses magic. Humans live among the ghouls and goblins, but the theft of the Necronomicon sets the plot in motion.Much of the movie is a reference to H.P. Lovecraft. Ward's character has that name, the Necronomicon (also used in the Evil Dead franchise) is from his works, and there's even a place called Dunwich.* But more than anything, it's funny to see everyone act so unfazed by the presence of things that are supposed to scare people in movies. Just a fun movie.Martin Campbell went on to direct "Goldeneye", "Casino Royale" and the Zorro movies. Julianne Moore of course went on to renown in the years after this movie."I hate full moons!"*"The Dunwich Horror" got made into a movie starring Sandra Dee, Dean Stockwell and Talia Shire. That's got to be the unlikeliest cast for a horror flick.

I simply can not believe the rating this gem has. Everything below 8 is blasphemy. It's sad that this movie never had theatrical release and was never released on DVD or BR either. It was distributed only as VHS for video stores and because of that it didn't have a chance to reach wider audience and rise to popularity it deserves. Everything in it is between very good and perfect. Considering relatively low budget of about 6 million, HBO did fantastic job with production. Movie is directed by Martin Campbell, man responsible for Golden Eye, Mask of Zorro and Casino Royale, and Joseph Dougherty (Pretty Little Liars) wrote one of the most original scripts I ever had luck to see. Movie combines 40's Film Noir with supernatural horror of 80's and well-measured humour. It is based on Lovecraft mythos, but unlike most of movies based of Lovecraft that rape his stories, this one is not adaptation, but an original story inspired by Lovecraft, which skillfully includes parts of Lovecraft's mythos into noir crime mystery.!!! SPOILER ALERT !!!Fred Ward, in style of Bogart, plays former cop, now private detective, who is, in LA at the end of 40's, hired to find stolen Necronomicon, book that possess power to unlock interdimensional gate and let Great Old Ones back on Earth. Great Old Ones are very powerful demonic beings who once ruled the Earth. Most known are Azathoth, Yog-Sothoth and, of course, Cthulhu. It is interesting that, unlike most movies with supernatural plot, magic here is not secret skill reserved for few and kept in secret from public, but the most common everyday tool used by all. Same applies for supernatural beings, so we have zombies as bodyguards, and in jail we can see some vampires and werewolves. But non of that is shown in usual glamorous and mystical way full of stunning special effects. It's all incorporated in film noir style and shown as common and normal, so you won't have a feeling that you watch fantasy movie, but just usual 40's crime noir.Directing is great, there are some beautiful shots you should not miss, and lines are true masterpiece. Script is so well written that I am sure it would be great literature for reading even without seeing the movie."My name is Lovecraft and I'm the guy who knows. Just about the only guy who knows it all and is still breathing. It started that night and it started with a woman. It always starts with a woman." And the woman is Julianne Moore, charming as always and one more good reason to see this film.9/10

They don't come any more chewy and fun than HBO's made for TV presentation "Cast a Deadly Spell", which sees a gruffly amusing Fred Ward playing Philip Lovecraft… a crusty private eye within the 1940s, which sees everybody using magic in their daily lives but Lovecraft is the only one not to take advantage of it. A job pops up for Lovecraft when he's hired to track down a stolen book; the Necronomicon - Book of the dead.A colourful, rich blend of homage's to H.P Lovecraft's horror work (in-jokes abound), Hollywood monsters and that of 1940s film-noir, hard-boiled crime fills every inch of space. The old-fashion material manages to blend them rather well. Zombies, gargoyles and witches… oh my. That's only a few of the monsters too. But then chuck in the traditional; dames, gangsters and cops. Magic is the key ingredient for all of this to work. Well Fred Ward is picture-perfect for the role, making it hard to resist. He's grounded no-bull approach always remained amusing, while everyone else was dabbling with the supernatural in some way. There's a real goofy charm to it all, as never does it takes itself seriously. For a made to TV production, it's lavished with perfect period details and appealingly crafty visual effects / monster make-up. Some visuals had that deliciously illustrative oil-like painting quality. As for being made for TV, don't let that turn your off. Surprisingly it can get quite violent --- where it's not afraid to be bloody, wicked and nasty. Hey we are talking about Lovecraft here! While I didn't find it to be a laugh out loud experience, yet alone all that much snickering --- it's wonderfully enjoyable with its offbeat tone, witty dialogues and imaginative narration. The cast has strong players in David Warner, Clancy Brown, Julianne Moore (simply looking right home in the part), Alexandra Powers (a peachy delight) and Raymond O'Connor.Later on came a sequel "Witch Hunt" (1994) which starred Dennis Hopper in the title role.Gimmicky, but expertly pulled off.

Just watched this on the recommendation of a friend, and was very pleasantly surprised. It's not High Cinematic Art by any means, but it's entertaining and funny, the acting is very competent indeed, the effects, although not exactly convincing, work well with the overall theme of the piece, and the plot is coherent and credible (unusual both for mainstream comedy and mainstream horror).I particularly like the way that it combines multiple B-movie themes most convincingly; the hard-drinking private detective (with suitably glamorous femmes fatales), the evil wizard/scientist who wants total world domination, and the well-timed slapstick comedy. The none-too-subtle references to several more serious films (Alien, Gremlins, Witness, to name but three) add a suitably post-modern touch of irony to the humour.Just one thing. _Don't_ watch this if you're a Lovecraft fan. You'll have an apoplectic seizure. :)