Witchboard (1986)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Best movie ever!

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

After having fun with an Ouija board during a party, a group of friends find themselves forced to deal with a girlfriends' growing attachment to a spirit summoned during the even who's sudden increase in violence threatens the whole group.While this wasn't altogether terrible, this one here is a moderate entry with enough good points to make it watchable. One of the biggest pluses here is there's some pretty good moments here-and-there which are quite exciting and enjoyable at managing to make the most out of the plot here with the simple fact that this one has a slight change of pace over most other Quija board-sprung films in that the demonic spirit being raised isn't in human form but remains visible throughout the film. There isn't a manifestation until late in the film, and most of the time is just reserved for the film being much more discreet about showing of the demonic entity which is always around here. The opening séance scene is pretty nice, with the throwing of objects and breaking of furniture to keep it interesting, while there's also the different hauntings that occur with the group in the house which are pretty nice and get a couple freaky moments with the freaky banging noises and startlingly helpful passes. These go great with a later scene where the spirit attacks in a shower, and the searching scene in the graveyard adds some creepiness to the film. While there's some really nice gore scenes in here from the few kills, there is a couple of big flaws in here that do manage to strike this one down. One of the biggest detrimental mistakes is that too many of its scare scenes are staged during broad daylight. There are at least two scenes in this film that squander away so much potential because of this. The construction site accident is the first big indicator of something going on after their game and it really could've used the extra suspense those elements provide to a scene. The other big one is the dock scene near the climax, which is probably hurt the most since the whole thing has a demonic twist to it that only would've been highlighted more through the use of it taking place at night. There isn't a high body count either since The spirit only goes after a couple of outside individuals rather than going after the ones that are there to provide a kill count, as there's plenty in here that could've been bumped off to provide more kills here, and it only uses a couple of those to a rather negative impact. It really could've used a couple more to make this feel even bigger and scarier. The last big flaw is that there's way too much down-time in here, making it feel really dull at times. The haunting incidents really should've been closer together or at the very least shortened the film a tad so that it wouldn't feel like it takes forever to get to the next haunting as it spends so much time with her fiddling with the board that it takes forever to actually get anywhere. This wouldn't have been so had the ridiculous amount of false and jump-scares been trimmed out of here completely, as the reliance of building up to some potential scare or stalking scene only to have it turn out to be one of the friends standing there behind them being something that can get annoying as well. This one here doesn't have too many, but the film is lowered by these problems. Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity.

WITCHBOARD is a 1980s horror movie about a Ouija Board.The 1980s were a decade where horror was dominated by the slasher genre. I love these movies. They were entertaining and usually tense even if rarely scary. Whether it be Freddy, Jason or Michael, or other works such as THE HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW, SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE, SORORITY HOUSE MASSACRE, VISITING HOURS, SLAUGHTER HIGH, MADMAN or MANIAC, I am definitely a fan of 1980s slasher horror.Non-slasher horrors from the 1980s resulted in a mixed set of works. I love movies like THE CHANGELING, SCANNERS, AFTER MIDNIGHT, CREEPSHOW, DEMONS and DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE. But for each one of these there were plenty I consider sub-par. I thought THE ENTITY, SUPERSTITION, PUPPET MASTER, MAUSOLEUM, SKINNED ALIVE, THE BEAST WITHIN, VIDEODROME, American Gothic, CUJO, ZOMBIE NOSH, MIDNIGHT, PUMPKINHEAD, THE UNSEEN amongst many others were dull, uninspiring works.Before seeing WITCHBOARD, I saw the director's other well-known movie, NIGHT OF THE DEMONS. I can understand the appeal of that movie to fans of 1980s movies. It has all the clichés from the era. But I couldn't get into it at all. I didn't find it effective, scary or particularly entertaining either to be honest. I was very hesitant about seeing WITCHBOARD because of this.But I was wrong because WITCHBOARD is absolutely nothing like NIGHT OF THE DEMONS. There are no teenagers, no silly masks and make-up effects, cheesy sex scenes or gallons of fake blood to be found here. It may have the 1980s costumes and hairstyles but it is different in every other way to a typical 1980s movie.The story sees the spirit of a 10-year old boy, David, who died more than 2000 years ago, released via a Ouija board during a party. Linda Brewster uses the board more and more to the point of obsession. The kindly spirit starts to turn nasty and supernatural occurrences begin.But the story takes many twists and turns. Its strength lays within its solid script and excellent characterisation. This is very much a character-driven affair and the story develops effectively because of it. There was never a dull moment here. The story keeps the viewer guessing as the twists and turns take hold.The two leading male characters - Jim and Brandon - are well fleshed out. The conflict between them in the first half of the movie and how they re-kindle their former strong friendship in the second half was truly compelling, emotionally touching and very realistic.Kevin Tenney's direction is first rate and nothing like his work on NIGHT OF THE DEMONS. Superb camera angles, well-timed sound effects and excellent use of high-pitched chords keep the suspense and tension going in WITCHBOARD.The menacing force is rarely seen but is implied so effectively by the script and the direction. Many of the most horrific and suspenseful scenes actually take place in DAYTIME but this does not do anything to undermine their effectiveness. This is how well-made WITCHBOARD is.The acting is first rate as well. Todd Allen, Tawney Kitaen and Stephen Nichols truly bring their characters to life. There is no overacting here. These actors are nothing like the bland, annoying youngsters you find in a typical 1980s movie. There are thankfully no moronic guys or hysterical young girls to be found.And special mention should be given to Kathleen Wilhoite, whose punk spiritual medium character was one of the most interesting eccentric characters to appear in a horror movie.For those interested, there is one scene of full-frontal female nudity to be found. But it is done in a non-sexual context and in a surprisingly non-gratuitous manner. Again, this is very different from the usual manner nudity features in a typical 1980s movie. I am very fussy in this respect. So if the nudity appeals to me, other guys should be delighted! The only complaint I have is the song over the ending credits. I would rather have had a creepy orchestral score. But this is a minor flaw in an otherwise perfect piece of work.Overall, WITCHBOARD is a truly excellent underrated horror gem from a bygone era. It ranks up high with the best 1980s movies like THE EVIL DEAD and EVILSPEAK in its effectiveness. The low rating on IMDb really is a mystery. I wholeheartedly recommend any horror fan to view it at least once.

This movie is great I use the vote that is supposed to be used for correct rating towards movies. I bugs the heck out of me when I go through the reviews, people do not vote right and the movies don't get the credit for what it is, so there is a lower rating on the movie. Come on people that review and just put I give it ** 1/2 out of **** is not correct rating. That does nothing to the rating of the movie. Not using the vote feature of this site just leaves it where it is like you never been on this site at all. Well, back to the movie. I seen this so long ago, and when I was a lot younger. I enjoyed it and got freaked out when watching it. It is one of the best 80's horror flicks. It is a classic. I saw the second one too, but not the third.The second one I thought was just as scary as this one. I recommend if anyone that has not seen this to rent it or maybe it is on DVD now to rent it or buy it. Now, for a hint to IMDb. Please make that vote option a mandatory to vote for the movie, because good movies are getting low ratings because of lack of members not using the vote feature.

I Love the 80s! You gotta love productions like Witchboard, if you like the 1980s. It is the ultimate 80s horror flick: bad hair (including punk multi-colors and mullets), microfiche, bad dialogue, smoking in a hospital (?!?), waterbeds, cheap thrills and open-shirted male shirts with hair flowing from masculine chests to the screen. It's actually a guilty pleasure of mine and hard to downgrade since I grew up on it.My sister was the one that loved this movie when I was young and like a lot of late-1980s flicks (i.e. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master and Dirty Dancing) she got me hooked on this one. Now, watching it again, honestly the first time since the late 1980s, it's such an extreme flashback. I mean dialogue like "TTFN – ta ta for now" or "I got a bad feeling about this" should sum it up. Oh, and the foggy graveyard helps too.We have a bizarre love triangle between former best male friends and a female third who is soon-to-be engaged to one of the males at a party and an Ouija Board. They contact (for fun) a dead 10-year-old David…or did they bring about an evil spirit? Either way, ditzy red-headed Linda (Tawny Kitaen) continues to "play" with the board alone when she's not supposed to! Inadvertently, she concurs up this other "evil" spirit and people start dying left/right. Will the two males fighting for her attention solve the problem before she's fully possessed? It's hilarious. Really. If you watched this for the first time, outside of the 1980s, you might laugh your ass off. But, I'm glad this movie was made; this was an extreme homage to that period. It's kinda scary – not really, but if you believe in this hocus-pocus Ouija stuff. It's gory. And it has the most laugh-out-loud outrageous finale, as if they ran out of ideas and had to close it out. This is for die-hard fans, or just someone out for a good laugh.Side Note: I remember reading a wonderful "Ask Marilyn" (by Marilyn vos Savant) article that stated on how to prove the Ouija is a hoax, and I believe her. You get two people to control the Ouija Board, but blindfolded and have a third party watch them. Since they can't subconsciously control the pointer while in the dark, the results should be hilarious. Honestly, I have yet to try that, but I have met very few that believe in such nonsense. I'd love to prove the insanity this board has produced. At least it produced a fantastically fun 1980s horror movie.