SUPERSTITION (1982)
aka THE WITCH
Directed by James W. Roberson
Lightning Video VHS
THE FILM
Sometimes, I want to forget it all.
I want to lie on a riverbank populated
by girls in tube tops. I want the
cool breeze of a spring prairie
to engulf my nostrils. I want a
priest sawed in half. It's not too
much to ask. Superstition
knows what I mean.
Throw up your hands and scream;
this is 1982. Just like Friday
The 13th Part 3, Superstition
grabs the comfort horror baton,
fills it with the juiciest of early
80s elements (extreme violence,
wooded locales, nylon jogging shorts),
and rarely drops the ball. The brass
heavy soundtrack might drive you
nuts and the script is slightly
unglued, but so what? There's still
that wood-paneled station wagon,
filled with coiffed-hair girls and
lines like "Shut your bitchy
mouth!" Still not sold? Buddy
from Just One Of The Guys
(Billy Jacoby) appears in an early
role. What more do you need?
Blame the congregation! A church
has inherited a spot of land next
to Black Pond, which includes a
towering mansion and a caretaker
named Elvira. Is the mansion haunted?
After a flurry of super violent
kill scenes via unseen forces, it
would appear so. Elvira thinks it
all leads back to 1692, when a satanic
witch was drowned by the church's
ancestors in Black Pond. Good theory.
When a dysfunctional family moves
into the mansion (cue that station
wagon), it's up to a young priest,
his oversized cross, and a teed
off cop to slap the shit out of
Satan and make it out alive. Elvira
points out, "You may have doomed
us all, church man." Again,
good theory.
Fast paced, befittingly photographed,
and filled with surprising scares,
Superstition is a sober
obscurity that doesn't let you down.
Unique in both its storyline and
willingness to please, the film
fights for a bleak, creepy aura
and gets it. Granted, that feeling
isn't without baggage (dragging
flashback scenes, erratic character
development), but that's no problem.
The difference with Superstition
is that it never dwells on its own
minor setbacks. The film flashes
by, finishing up with the same harsh
attitude that kicked it all off.
I wish church was like this when
I was a kid.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
The bad: grain, softness, pitch
black basement exploring, and horizontal
video fuzz. The good: pitch-shifted
Satan voice in thrilling mono. I'd
call it a decent balance.
EXTRAS
Lightning strikes twice. The Lightning
Video logo animation cracks your
ass before and after the feature.
No trailers though.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Take a deep breath and smell the
breeze. Superstition gets
you in the mood for early 80s love
and keeps it sizzling 'til the downbeat
climax. Keep an eye out for this
one.
— Joseph A. Ziemba, 04.20.06 |
Microwave massacre
Where's the beach?
Stand by the cross
Glad all over
|
