Witchery (1988)

When a storm strands a group on a Massachusetts island where the only dwelling is an old hotel supposedly haunted by the ghost of a former German actress (Knef), the result is the standard ... See full summary »

Director:

Fabrizio Laurenti (as Martin Newlin)

Writers:

Harry Spalding, Daniele Stroppa

Stars:

David Hasselhoff, Linda Blair, Catherine Hickland

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Hasselhoff	...	Gary
Linda Blair	...	Jane Brooks
Catherine Hickland	...	Linda Sullivan
Annie Ross	...	Rose Brooks
Hildegard Knef	...	Lady In Black
Leslie Cumming	...	Leslie
Robert Champagne	...	Freddie Brooks (as Bob Champagne)
Rick Farnsworth	...	Jerry Giordano
Michael Manchester	...	Tommy Brooks
Frank Cammarata	...	Tony Giordano
Victoria Biggers	...	Secretary
Ely Coughlin	...	Satan
Kara Lynch	...	Cindy
Jamie Hanes	...	Jon (as James Hanes)
Richard Ladenburg	...	Sheriff

Storyline

When a storm strands a group on a Massachusetts island where the only dwelling is an old hotel supposedly haunted by the ghost of a former German actress (Knef), the result is the standard horror film as each of the cast is picked off one-by-one.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | supernatural | hallucination | hypnotism | flare gun | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fabrizio Laurenti originally wanted to cast Bette Davis as the Lady in Black. Incidentally, Davis is said to have dabbled in witchcraft in her spare time.

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Goofs

After the helicopter leaves the island, it is the middle of the night when Leslie and Gary first go into the house, yet it is the middle of the day when they finally get upstairs - all in the space of a few seconds.

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Quotes

Jerry Giordano: They've got a lot of legends about this island. Witches and rainbows and shit.

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Alternate Versions

The original UK video release (as "Ghosthouse II") was cut by 21 secs by the BBFC to remove a shot of blood spurting from a slashed neck, plus heavily editing the nudity during the orgy scene. The 2001 DVD release (as "Witchcraft") restores the violence from the opening sequence but also uses a slow-motion effect to remove the nudity from the orgy. As the BBFC state that they made no cuts to the film it would appear to have been pre-edited before submission.

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Connections

Featured in Joe D'Amato Totally Uncut: The Horror Experience (2001)

User Reviews

JUST about worth it for the gore. Possibly.

An Italian/American co-production co-starring Linda Blair and David 'The Hoff' Hasselhoff: how could any fan of trashy horror resist such a treat?

Well, based on the uneventful, extremely tedious, and utterly nonsensical first forty minutes or so, I would have said 'very easily'; thankfully, however, things do eventually get a tad more entertaining with the introduction of several inventive death scenes, and for those lucky enough to find an uncut copy, a smattering of nudity too (unfortunately, my copy was optically edited to remove such offensive material).

The Hoff stars as Gary, a photographer who accompanies his beautiful girlfriend Leslie (Leslie Cumming) to a run-down hotel on a seemingly deserted island in order to take pictures for her latest project, a book about witches; whilst there, frustrated Gary also hopes to try and cure a bad case of blue balls by relieving Leslie of her virginity.

His plans for nookie are scuppered, however, by the unexpected arrival of property developers Freddie and Rose Brooks (Robert Champagne and Annie Ross), their pregnant daughter Jane (Blair), son Tommy (Michael Manchester), pretty nymphomaniac architect Linda Sullivan (Catherine Hickland), and estate agent Jerry (Rick Farnsworth), who have come to inspect the island's hotel.

After explaining their unexpected presence on the island, Gary and Leslie are welcomed by the property's new owners, and when a violent storm suddenly picks up, making it perilous to return to the mainland, everyone agrees to spend the night in the old building. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to the hotel's new guests, the place is also home to the spirit of an evil witch (Hildegard Knef), who requires human sacrifices in order to bring herself back to life. One by one, victims are pulled into a swirling red vortex (which is guaranteed to provide unintentional laughs), before meeting a terrible fate.

None of this makes much sense, and the acting is atrocious (Manchester as Tommy is particularly bad, whilst Hasselhoff proves to be one of the better performers, which speaks volumes about the others), but those viewers who make it past the dreary first half are rewarded with some pretty decent moments of gore: Rose has her lips sewn together, before being roasted alive in a fireplace; Jerry is crucified and burnt alive; Linda is tortured by hags and impaled on a swordfish(!!); Freddie's veins pulsate and erupt in geysers of blood; and Gary gets stabbed in the back.

Oh, and Leslie is raped by a guy with no lips and Blair gets possessed (again).

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 August 1989 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Witchery

Filming Locations:

1000 Glades Rd, Scituate, Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmirage

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 96 min (uncut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1