My review was written in December 1990 after watching the film on Academy video cassette.
"Voodoo Dawn" (a/k/a "Strange Turf") is an atmospheric supernatural thriller for genre video fans, The late Raymond St. Jacques has a relatively small role as a kindly fellow who's taken migrant worker Gina Gershon under his wing. Unfortunately, her preppie boyfriend J. Grant Albrecht (at the southern plantation to get material for his thesis) is killed by voodoo chieftain Tony Todd in the opening reel.
Albrecht's college buddies Kirk Baily and Billy Williams coincidentally are traveling to visit him during spring break and they give Gershon a lift. All three become victimized by the forces of evil, though good manages to triumph several special effects later.
Debuting director Steven Fierberg, well-known for his cinematography credits, handles this familiar material briskly. The effects aren't too good, notably a dumb-looking root-devil that bursts out of Albrecht's back during the climax scene. Open-ended tag scene doesn' work well.
Gershon holds the audience's sympathy throughout. Script's emphasis on a class consciousness theme helps differentiate this pic from the usual horror fodder.
"Voodoo Dawn" (a/k/a "Strange Turf") is an atmospheric supernatural thriller for genre video fans, The late Raymond St. Jacques has a relatively small role as a kindly fellow who's taken migrant worker Gina Gershon under his wing. Unfortunately, her preppie boyfriend J. Grant Albrecht (at the southern plantation to get material for his thesis) is killed by voodoo chieftain Tony Todd in the opening reel.
Albrecht's college buddies Kirk Baily and Billy Williams coincidentally are traveling to visit him during spring break and they give Gershon a lift. All three become victimized by the forces of evil, though good manages to triumph several special effects later.
Debuting director Steven Fierberg, well-known for his cinematography credits, handles this familiar material briskly. The effects aren't too good, notably a dumb-looking root-devil that bursts out of Albrecht's back during the climax scene. Open-ended tag scene doesn' work well.
Gershon holds the audience's sympathy throughout. Script's emphasis on a class consciousness theme helps differentiate this pic from the usual horror fodder.