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Cast a Deadly Spell

  • TV Movie
  • 1991
  • R
  • 1h 36m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
5.3K
YOUR RATING
Fred Ward in Cast a Deadly Spell (1991)
Home Video Trailer from Unknown
Play trailer1:31
1 Video
99+ Photos
Hard-boiled DetectiveSupernatural HorrorComedyFantasyHorrorMystery

In a fantastical 40's where magic is used by everyone, a hard-boiled detective investigates the theft of a mystical tome.In a fantastical 40's where magic is used by everyone, a hard-boiled detective investigates the theft of a mystical tome.In a fantastical 40's where magic is used by everyone, a hard-boiled detective investigates the theft of a mystical tome.

  • Director
    • Martin Campbell
  • Writer
    • Joseph Dougherty
  • Stars
    • Fred Ward
    • David Warner
    • Julianne Moore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    5.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Martin Campbell
    • Writer
      • Joseph Dougherty
    • Stars
      • Fred Ward
      • David Warner
      • Julianne Moore
    • 61User reviews
    • 45Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Primetime Emmy
      • 1 win & 3 nominations total

    Videos1

    Cast A Deadly Spell
    Trailer 1:31
    Cast A Deadly Spell

    Photos100

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    Top cast29

    Edit
    Fred Ward
    Fred Ward
    • Det. Harry Philip Lovecraft
    David Warner
    David Warner
    • Amos Hackshaw
    Julianne Moore
    Julianne Moore
    • Connie Stone
    Clancy Brown
    Clancy Brown
    • Harry Bordon
    Alexandra Powers
    Alexandra Powers
    • Olivia Hackshaw
    Charles Hallahan
    Charles Hallahan
    • Det. Morris Bradbury
    Arnetia Walker
    Arnetia Walker
    • Hypolite Kropotkin
    Raymond O'Connor
    Raymond O'Connor
    • Tugwell
    Peter Allas
    Peter Allas
    • Det. Otto Grimaldi
    Lee Tergesen
    Lee Tergesen
    • Larry Willis…
    Ritch Brinkley
    Ritch Brinkley
    • Owl Wagon Manager
    Jaime Cardriche
    Jaime Cardriche
    • Zombie
    John De Bello
    John De Bello
    • Crooner
    David Downing
    David Downing
    • Thadius Pilgrim
    Colin Drake
    • Butler Meadows
    James Eustermann
    James Eustermann
    • Werewolf
    Bradley James
    Bradley James
    • Boy #2
    Scott Lincoln
    Scott Lincoln
    • Bartender
    • Director
      • Martin Campbell
    • Writer
      • Joseph Dougherty
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews61

    6.45.3K
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    Featured reviews

    9Gislef

    The best...?

    Damn near close. The idea of a private eye going it alone in world where magic reigns supreme is probably the ultimate extension of film noir and the hero-as-outsider. This movie captures all the charm of the Bogart 40's detective flicks and 80's type supernatural/horror F/X. It also adroitly mixes humor, horror, hard-boiled detecting, and mystery, with great performances from Fred Ward, David Warner, Clancy Brown, Alexandra Powers, Raymond O'Connor, and Julianne Moore.
    ddukart

    Cthulhu rises again!!

    This movie was excellent! The combination of old gangster, comedy, and horror was a great idea. The acting was excellent (Fred Ward rocks, as usual), and for an 80s film, it was really good (I'm not a big fan of the mall hair, brat pack, and Modonna crap that was hashed out in the big 80s).

    This film, quite the opposite was very entertaining and an absolute MUST HAVE for HPL fans.

    The entire movie was Lovecraft inspired and not a murder of his writings, like most of them are.

    Most definitely, check it out. You won't regret it. it's a great tongue-in-cheeck, campy horror schlock that is actually well done.

    If you like it, there's a sequel called "With Hunt" with Dennis Hopper as the lead. Not as good, but still entertaining.

    This film rates 7 tentacles and a star shaped protrusion all the way up, on the elder god-o-meter
    7merklekranz

    "Dark comedy" ... unique and entertaining ........

    Fred Ward is excellent as the 1948 private eye hired to find a stolen witchcraft book, the "Necronomicon". It had to be a unique film that blends noir, monsters, virgins, zombies, and magic into a "black comedy", and that film is "Cast a Deadly Spell". There are at least a bunch of surprises along the way, as our hero tries to locate the book. The sharp tongued dialog is perfect, droll, and often hilarious, as Fred Ward, the only one who doesn't use magic, tries to survive witches spells, gangsters, and solve the case. This movie proves that you don't need CGI, if you have a creative mind behind the script, and some excellent makeup for the monsters. - MERK
    7the_tevildo

    A classic B movie

    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. :)
    9timeras

    Fantastic mesh of hard-boiled noir, and Lovecraftian mythos.

    I first saw this when it premiered on HBO in '91. With a Who's Who cast of character-actors, this first-rate production by Gale Anne Hurd (of James Cameron/Terminator fame) and directed by Martin Campbell (soon to direct Goldeneye and Mask of Zorro)is a brilliant mesh tribute to the works of HP Lovecraft. With a firm tongue-in-cheek, the viewer is taken along on the latest case of H. Phil Lovecraft, private detective in a 1948 Los Angeles where "everybody does magic". A relatively new happening, magic is real...everyone uses it, except Lovecraft. Fred Ward turns in one of his best performances to date as the hard-boiled detective, wise-cracking his way through every situation. Julianne Moore is spot-on as Phil's ex-girl, the sultry songbird in his former partner(Clancy Brown)'s club. David Warner is perfect as Lovecraft's effete client, Amos Hackshaw. It's a sharply-written noir tale with more than a few Cthulhu references, and adds some more generalized fantasy for spice. Pay attention to the details, this is where the picture really shines- from the everyday applications of magic, to the snappy banter between Lovecraft and pretty-much everyone, it's an enjoyable escape from reality-TV. The creatures are passable, not the best by today's CGI standards, but certainly not the worst seen in some straight-to-video bombs. The writing is stylish and inventive, with some really ingenious scenes/situations. Martin Cambell's direction takes you right along with Lovecraft, with some brilliant cinematography. The casting is terrific as well. I was never bored. One of my top-20 favorite films. I can't wait for a DVD version, if it ever appears. A terribly disappointing, not-so-great sequel called "Witch Hunt" was done in '94 with a completely different cast & director.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      HBO produced a sequel, entitled Witch Hunt (1994), which takes place in the 1950s during the red scare (magic is substituted for communism). Dennis Hopper played Lovecraft, in place of Fred Ward. Many characters reappear from this film, though some have different backstories.
    • Goofs
      (Possibly intentional?) The handwritten spell (that leads to the creation of the oatmeal monster), written by Tugwell, varies every time it is shown. Even the kind of paper seems to be different in some shots. Most strikingly, it varies in handwriting style, boldness of the ink and the nature of the characters. In some shots, the third character looks like a Greek delta while in other shots it looks like a D. Another letter shifts from a [ to a C to an E and back again. The character named Lovecraft calls them runes, but generously speaking no more than half of the characters could possibly be runes.
    • Quotes

      Olivia: That's quite a tie.

      Lovecraft: Oh, thanks.

      Olivia: Put up much of a fight?

      Lovecraft: No, I snuck up behind it.

    • Crazy credits
      Unicorn Wrangler: Hollywood Animals
    • Connections
      Followed by Witch Hunt (1994)
    • Soundtracks
      Why Do I Lie?
      Music by Curt Sobel

      Words by Dennis Spiegel

      Performed by Darlene Koldenhoven

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 7, 1991 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • 大魔法書
    • Filming locations
      • Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA(night club scene)
    • Production companies
      • Home Box Office (HBO)
      • Pacific Western
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $6,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 36 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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