GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

pointyfilippa The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Scarecrow-88 Hokey Charles Band production(Empire pictures before starting Full Moon)about various characters participating in a million dollar treasure hunt in a mysterious castle whose owner doesn't show his face. Dr. Diablo remains in his little lair often caressing his crystal ball casting spells on those characters who represent the loathsome types that normally die in horror films. The french snob/slut eaten by a lion chair(!), a aristocrat(who likes wild game hunting)who winds up a feast for some sort of leaping monstrous leopard, a crook who finds himself chasing after the check and falling to his doom, an American bitch who teases the males of the group who treats everyone rudely and winds up in the clutches of a demon on a painting(!), and so on. Our protagonists are Jackie & Tom(Gail O'Grady & Harold Pruett), a sister and brother from Cleveland. If anyone will survive, they seem to be singled out. You have a VJ, Rex(Richard Blade)for a replica of MTV, who excitingly points out that this treasure hunt is sponsored by the rock star Cassandra Castle(Bunt Bailey), an alcoholic wench who wishes she was elsewhere rather than in this castle with these people she deems inferior and annoying(clearly, she's the annoyance, surprisingly Cassandra is normally the first to go in a horror flick like this, but is kept alive..hmm..).Good monster effects by John Carl Buechler's company redeem this otherwise silly waste of time. I think monster movie fans will like this best because the creatures present are quite well made. But, the premise isn't really taken advantage of to full effect. The castle is a perfect tool for a horror flick, but isn't ominous at all..and when you can not utilize the castle as a horror set-piece, you're in trouble. Adam Ant appears briefly(and effectively)as Dr. Diablo, the mysterious proprietor of the castle who practices black magic..or could very well be ole Beelzebub himself. Best sequence:An overeater literally turns into a pig!

Christopher T. Chase Remember all the old Roger Corman flicks, where he had some money, props, locations and actors left over from a recently wrapped movie, and he or someone working with him dashed off a quick script to take advantage of the opportunity? Well, SPELLCASTER plays just like one of those...except that producer Charles Band forgot one important ingredient...a storyline that would actually make it entertaining and watchable! You would think that by having a script co-written by Ed Naha (DOLLS) and Dennis Paoli (RE-ANIMATOR, FROM BEYOND), it would've turned out better than it actually did, and maybe the script WAS good. But what's on the page doesn't necessarily make it to the screen, and boy, does it really show here. This was one of those few Empire Pictures movies I didn't catch up to back in the Eighties, and now I can see why. Subconsciously, I must've known it was better to stay away.Former NYPD BLUE cast member Gail O'Grady was getting her start here, as one of a group of "lucky winners" of a contest sponsored by a rock music channel (think a really low-budget MTV). The prize is getting flown to an ancient castle in Italy, (actually Empire's chief location back then, where many of the films were made), to meet top pop star Cassandra Castle (DOLLS' Bunty Bailey), and participate in a scavenger hunt for a check worth $1 million. The castle, of course, belongs to the mysterious and elusive "Signor Diablo" (Adam Ant), which automatically should tell you that Really Bad Things are about to happen.Yep. Bad acting, bad direction and ridiculously bad editing. O'Grady and Bailey are probably the two most watchable performers in this whole mess. I'd make it three including Adam Ant, but he doesn't even show up till near the end of the third reel.The most interesting and fun things about SPELLCASTER are the title and the opening sequence, when Bailey does a music video as Castle that's every bit as engagingly cheesy as the vids you used to see on MTV back in its infancy. After that, folks, it's all downhill from there, as you watch the usual horror stereotypes, (tarty French girl, slutty American floozy, sleazy Italian gigolo punk, fat, greasy, junk-food-eating loser, etc.) fall victim to the best special effects work that John Carl Buechler's MMI could come up with on a non-existent budget.Fans of Empire's Eighties catalog may actually have fond memories of this movie. Personally, I do have the same sentiments about some of their flicks...but this definitely wasn't one of them.

BKinzeys Most everything wrong in the '80s had an influence on this movie. Including the fact it was made in '91. An all around bad horror movie with bad acting and a trite, simplistic script.Richard Blade is given top billing in this mess and is the reason I watched this movie. Currently, in 2007, Mr Blade is an oldies DJ on a radio station in Los Angeles. That was enough to get me to watch this stinker. In the '80s Mr Blade was a popular "Video Jockey" and hence his casting as a "Popular Video Jockey" hosting a contest being held in a castle.Nothing against Mr. Blade personally. I'm sure he was offered money and a chance to broaden his professional resume. If nothing else he proves being a good DJ and a good VJ does not translate into being a good actor.Possibly the movie is bad enough that in a few years this movie can be seen as a true howler for it's script, acting and true datedness.Currently is should only be viewed after checking it's listing here on IMDb to note several of those connected to this horror-ible dud went on to have actual careers! The only true horror I see here is a nail in the coffin of the '80s being dead.That's all Folks!

FieCrier A brother and sister working as dishwashers win a Rock TV channel contest to participate in a reality TV show. They will be two of seven people joining a pop music video star and a VJ in an Italian castle, to search for a million dollar check. (Finding a check in a house, or even a room might be pretty challenging, but in a castle...?)When they arrive, the camerawoman sends the only two other people from her crew to Rome to get an HD camera. After they've left on their journey, an unseen man in front of a crystal ball causes their car to stop and explode in flames.The video star is stuck up and an alcoholic, and she makes some kind of deal with the VJ whereby he doesn't even hide the check, but gives it to her. Besides the aforementioned team of siblings, there's also a sex-mad stiletto-wielding Italian car thief, a snooty upper- class English huntress, a vain blonde vegetarian cocktease, a sexy French girl, and a fat food-obsessed New Jersey guy.The camera-work is pretty unimaginative, and the lighting uniform throughout, so every scene looks pretty much the same. The exteriors of the castle are nice, and the props within are pretty good, particularly a chair that comes to life, but it really is let down by the direction.Adam Ant eventually shows up towards the end (it's no secret that he's Diabolo, the man behind the crystal ball). Unfortunately, he did not do any of the soundtrack work.I'm surprised this was rated R! The most skin on display were a couple of bare backs, and the worst word "bitch." There's very little violence, and it's pretty brief and cartoonish. I'd have rated it PG.Definitely not one of Full Moon/Empire Pictures/Charles Band's better ones. Pretty mediocre and unimaginative.