Ashley Laurence (from the HELLRAISER movies) is Kris Miller, a young college art student who inherits the belongings in a run down house. She travels there with five of her friends (including a blonde girl who knows all about witchcraft) to rummage through vintage family belongings. A historian and Phillip Covington, a British architect, show up to explain the origins of the house. Covington (Bruce Martyn Payne, doing a decent job replacing Julian Sands) turns out to be centuries old warlock who used to sacrifice children in catacombs beneath the house. He's back to get his hands of Kris because she has special blood and he wants to prepare her to be the bride of Satan. In the meantime he tortures her friends with supernatural powers until they turn against her. FX scenes include hooks through skin, a ripped out throat and a girl turned to glass, but despite the good make-up (plus a cool set, good score by David Reynolds and fine production values), there are no scares and the story is thin and uninvolving. Really the best thing here is Laurence, a good and attractive lead actress on her way to becoming the next Jamie Lee Curtis. Playboy bunny fans might be interested to see Playmate Angel Boris (who provides nude scenes) and hey, and isn't that pumped-up BRAIN DAMAGE star Rich Herbst/Hearst playing her boyfriend? It was filmed in Ireland.
Score: 3 out of 10
