Witchboard
| Witchboard | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Kevin Tenney |
| Produced by | Gerald Geoffray |
| Written by | Kevin Tenney |
| Starring | Tawny Kitaen Stephen Nichols Todd Allen |
| Music by | Dennis Michael Tenney |
| Cinematography | Roy H. Wagner |
| Editing by | Daniel Duncan Stephen J. Waller |
| Distributed by | Paragon Arts International Cinema Group |
| Release date(s) | December 31, 1986 |
| Running time | 98 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2,000,000 (est.) |
| Box office | $7,369,373[1] |
Witchboard is a 1986 American horror film written and directed by Kevin S. Tenney, and starring Tawny Kitaen and Stephen Nichols. The film focuses on a female college student who is harassed and later possessed by an evil spirit after communicating with it through a friend's Ouija board. The film was released in December 1986 in fifteen theaters, and received a wide release in March 1987.
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[edit] Plot
Brandon Sinclair brings out his ouija board at a party and attempts to contact David, the spirit of a ten-year-old little boy with whom he has communicated numerous times. The spirit responds, but Jim, formerly Brandon's best friend and now nemesis, insults David, making David angry and provoking David to slash the tires of Brandon's car.
The next day, Linda, Jim's live-in girlfriend, sees Brandon's ouija board (which Brandon left behind from the previous night) and tries to contact David. The spirit that appears is actually an evil being (Malfeitor) acting under the guise of David. This malicious spirit starts being nice and helpful—informing Linda where her lost diamond engagement ring is.
Meanwhile, at the construction site where Jim is working, Jim's friend Lloyd gets killed by the murderous spirit. Linda again contacts Malfeitor—whom she still believes to be David—and he lies—responding that he did not cause the "accident." Linda is starting to fall under Progressive Entrapment, in which the spirit changes and starts to terrorize the user, making the person weak and easy to possess.
Brandon and Jim do research on David, and accuse him of terrorizing Linda. They play the Ouija board and discover that another spirit is frightening Linda, the spirit then attacks and kills Brandon. Released from the hospital, Linda plays the board but gets no response; she then takes a shower, but gets attacked by Malfeitor. She initially escapes but soon is possessed by the evil entity. The next morning, Jim arrives back and sees the apartment trashed, with Linda appearing—wearing men's formal wear and holding an axe.
Just then, Dewhurst, the detective investigating the murders committed by Malfeitor (and suspecting Jim as the perpetrator), enters the apartment. He accuses Jim of hurting Linda, but finds out in rapid order that he is wrong, when the detective immediately gets smacked on the face by a rod—which renders him unconscious and causes him to drop his gun. Jim picks up the gun and shoots the board many times right before Linda pushes him out the window.
The next scene is at the church with the couple getting married. Mrs. Moses' granddaughter finds the board, shows it to her and says, "Wonder if it still works?" She then throws it into the box with the planchette. Next, the camera zooms to the "yes" and the planchette moves to it and the credits roll with the theme "bump in the night."
[edit] Cast
- Todd Allen Jim Morar
- Tawny Kitaen Linda Brewster
- Clare Bristol Anchorwoman
- Burke Byrnes Lt. Dewhurst
- Gloria Hayes Wanda
- J.P Luebsen Malfeitor
- Rose Marie Mrs. Moses
- Stephen Nichols Brandon Sinclair
- James W. Quinn Lloyd
- Kenny Rhodes Mike
- Judy Tatum Dr. Gelineau
- Kathleen Wilhoite Zarabeth
[edit] Production
Witchboard was filmed in Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California with and estimated budget of $2,000,000.[2]
[edit] Release
Witchboard had a 15 screen limited release on December 31, 1986 with the film bringing in $95,435 that weekend. The film had a full U.S. release on March 13, 1987 bringing in $2,582,408 that weekend.[3] The film's final box office gross was $7,369,373.[4]
The film was released on DVD in the United States by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 2004.[5] This version is currently out of print.
[edit] Sequels
The film has spawned two sequels, Witchboard 2: The Devil's Doorway, released in 1993, and Witchboard III: The Possession, which had no relationship at all released in 1995.
[edit] References
- ^ "Witchboard (1986)". Box Office Mojo. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=witchboard.htm. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
- ^ Witchboard at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Witchboard at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ "Witchboard". boxofficemojo.com. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=witchboard.htm. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
- ^ "Witchboard". dvdempire.com. http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=611196. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
[edit] External links
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