Witchboard

A woman (Tawny Kitaen) finds an interest in her friend Brandon's Ouija Board when he brings the occult tool by her party.

This was the beginning for much of the crew. Writer-director Kevin Tenney had never written or directed before, Kenney's college friend Gerald Geoffray had never produced before, nor had executive producer Walter Josten. Indeed, much of this came out of Tenney's film school classes.

Tawny Kitaen was cast because guys in the office were "drooling" during casting when they saw her. Tenney had actually favored another actress, but went with Kitaen because of this perceived charisma. (This casting also was a lucky break, because between filming and release, Kitaen blew up thanks to her infamous Whitesnake videos.) As a side note, O. J. Simpson was dating Kitaen at the time and would visit the set with his red-dyed poodle.

While not the greatest of the 1980s horror films, one has to admit this still holds up well. In some ways, it is more amusing now (2014) than it ever was originally because of all the 1980s hair and clothing. For example, just look at Zarabeth (Kathleen Wilhoite)... that is some weird 1980s style.

But really, this is something of a modern classic because what other horror film really captures the danger of the Ouija? None come to mind for me, and it seems like such an obvious choice... well played Kevin Tenney for going with this.

The Scream Factory disc contains a wealth of bonus features, including two audio commentaries. One of them features Tenney, Gerald Geoffray and Walter Josten, and is excellent, featuring many fine stories, including how much craft services loves doughnuts.