Witch Story (1989) Poster

(1989)

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5/10
Who has the last laugh?
lost-in-limbo21 June 2008
Here we go again. The epilogue begins in the past with an accused witch being tortured and burned alive by the locals, and before it happens she curses the townsfolk. Now moving to the present a group of college kids (the descendants of the townsfolk) decide to take their holidays at a rundown mansion, which the witch had occupied. Not knowing anything about the house's past. Soon enough strange things begin to happen, and a young girl in a white gown suddenly appears with something to do with the witch's revenge.

Uninspired, but ludicrously cheesy and gruesome low-budget Italian horror schlock none the same. Obviously it has been influenced by such prominent 80s efforts like 'The Evil Dead (1981)', 'Demons (1985)' and 'Night of the Demons (1988)'. The supernatural elements are hysterically merged with demonic possession, haunted house happenings and slasher traits. It's quite a delusional mixture that writer / director Alessandro Capone lays on thick. Material-wise it doesn't make sense, and is downright uneven. Where they do stretch out a number of endings. The insane nature works in its favour though, because there's no atmosphere and the jolts are telegraphed. The violence is brutally tacky with constant use of tomato sauce leaving some hard to clean stains and with college kids abound… the hot topic of sex and don't forget the booze. Good times… well until the slaughter begins. One scene involving a half dressed girl, swimming pool and a swinging chainsaw was a seductive blast! The performances are forgettably bland from the young cast (with Michelle Vanucchi as a likable heroine), but they do serve their purposes with their clichéd characters. It's a clear-cut stereotypical bunch too. Production is cheap, and make-up effects go on to cement it, but it's sharply photographed with effectively lit visuals.
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4/10
This Is Another One Of Those Movies ...
Steve_Nyland25 July 2005
WITCH STORY is another one of those 80's horror movies where a group of college kids go off on a really bogus idea for a vacation by spending it in the creepy old haunted house one of them inherited, and where back in the 1930's a witch was tortured & burned in the front yard back while screaming "I dedicate my pain to you, Satan!" This is another one of those movies where the college kids are a representative "Ark" of humanity, with the cool guy, the fat guy, the jock guy, his WASPY slut of a girlfriend, the token African American (a she, for an added twist), a nerd, and the all round nice girl who will invariably wake up to find out It Was All Just A Nightmare at two or three or four times during the film, only to see & scream at dead bodies placed out of camera range to save on the effects budget by having her just scream.

This is another one of those movies where the fat guy gets to eat himself to death and then is slaughtered like a hog, literally. This is another one of those movies where during the "getting to know you" party scene (with bizarre product placement by Kentucky Fried Chicken, Lays Potato Chips and Budweiser) the black girl introduces herself by saying "Well first off, I'm black", since being such is her only vital function within the plot. This is another one of those movies where someone replies "Gee, all this time I just thought you had a really nice tan." This is another one of those movies where demon possessed slutty babes throw their victims through car windshields, and stash functioning chain saws -- still running, apparently -- in the old swimming pool so they can surface and swing the chain saw around like Jason on bad meth. This is another one of those movies where the nerd looks a hell of a lot like the dude with the glasses from They Might Be Giants, and even sings a song with his guitar that we never saw before he starts playing it, and is never seen again afterward.

This is another one of those movies where the cool guy has a flirtatiously attractive 3rd or 4th cousin meet them all at the bus station and imply inter familial fornication just standing there looking like a tramp. This is another one of those movies where the trampy Southern cousin also turns out to be interested in the occult, and carries her own tarot card & Ouija board set with her so that she can receive ominous & frightening supernatural vibes when guys are about to score with her. This is another one of those movies with not only a haunted house but a secret passageway -- with lighting effects by Tobe Hooper from POLTERGEIST -- leading to an inner sanctum of evil, where by God there actually awaits a Haunted Suitcase.

On a brighter note, this is another one of those Italian horror movies that seems to have been inspired by Mario Bava's KILL BABY KILL, including a weird demonic kid with a bouncing ball, and made possible by the still inexplicable popular success of Umberto Lenzi's GHOSTHOUSE, which would make an excellent double bill if you have enough beer. This is another one of those mid-later 1980's Italian made horror films that has the visual flair of a Fulci or Lamberto Bava, but more low key and reminiscent of an off-Broadway production of a 3rd rate play starring a bunch of nobodies. This is another one of those movies that has gore, nudity, bad trip lighting effects, an ominous priest gone bad and apparently a kitchen staff. This is another one of those movies that is well made and enjoyable, though about as awful as they come at the same time: A party movie.

But this is also another one of those movies that you'll have a hard time tracking down because of soundtrack rights to the movie's abusively awful late 1980's rock score, always a dumb idea, and does indeed end with a scene that commences with a title card reading "October 31th", further indication that the folks who made this epic were not the brightest bulbs in the lighthouse but knew how to have a good time, which may be more important. And as such, this is another one of those movies that if you DO manage to score a prior rental tape, DON'T TELL ANYONE YOU HAVE IT!! or certain people will never let you alone until you let them see it, which is a more frightening prospect than anything depicted in the movie itself. Trust me.

4/10
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5/10
What a weird movie
BandSAboutMovies20 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Witch Story may have been sold as a sequel to Superstition in many parts of the world. In Germany, it was retitled Tanz der Hexen Teil 2 and claimed to be the sequel to Larry Cohen's Wicked Stepmother, if you can believe that.

It's also the directorial debut of Alessandro Capone, who wrote the 1987 slasher Body Count for Ruggero Deodato. It was shot between Rome and Florida, which probably lends it the strange disassociated feel that it enjoys.

If you enjoyed Ghosthouse, good news. This movie could equally be a sequel to that film.

If you can hang on until the last part - getting past the product placement that isn't product placement but is there to let you know that this was shot in America, as well as the farting and burping guy who lends an unnecessary air of frat humor - Witch Story will reward you with people getting possessed and killing one another with all manner of implements, as well as a small girl being killed by a tractor. And isn't that what we all showed up for?
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5/10
Spirit of a vengeful Witch possess teens and turns them into cackling Menaces
robertandrews-4455629 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Witch Story is one of those films I remembered watching during my childhood but soon forgot about as I got older. The title of the film evaded me for years, until one day I happened to come across it again on a late night horror marathon on TV. The only thing I always remembered about this film before watching it again recently, was the little girl ghost dressed in white and holding the white ball. Something that a little film called "FearDotCom" would obviously be inspired by thirteen years later....

The story in "Witch Story" (also known as "Streghe" and Superstition 2) revolves around a woman named Helena (Deanna Lund) who is burnt at the stake by a mob of villagers in 1932 due to the belief that she is a witch. In present day 1989, a brother and sister and their friends take a weekend vacation to the old house where Helena and her daughter, Rachel, used to live. Pretty soon, the spirit of Helena is possessing the female members of the group and turning them into Deadite-like entities. All of this goes on until only two remain to deal with the evil.

Being a big sucker for 70's and 80's horror films, I must say, Witch Story is another title I have come to really enjoy. Yes, the acting and dubbing can be weak....but lets face it, that is what makes these movies entertaining to begin with!

Most of the characters don't have that much development, save for the witch Helena. The teens are there just to be killed. The only teen really worth mentioning is the chubby Paul (Jason M. Lefkowitz). I loved this guy! He is somewhat similar to classic chubby horror characters like Shelly from Friday the 13th Part III, and perhaps a little like John Belushi's John Blutarsky from Animal House. He was by far my favourite character. Everything is hilarious with this guy ("Eating is the best fun you can have without taking your pants off"), and the actor really got into the role. Even the way he meets his end by a meat cleaver is pretty funny......and gross at the same time. But it also sucked a little, because I think he died way too early. He was the only one I was rooting for! And come on.....the Mickey Mouse pyjamas he wore were COOL! ;)

The film is pretty gory, as stated. You have stabbings, bludgeoning, a guy being cut up by a possessed girl with a chainsaw, everything a violent B movie needs to make it fun.

I recommend this film to any fan of cheesy 80's horror. It's just a shame this one is a bit hard to find, so I doubt I will be able to add it to my collection any time soon.
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Terrible
Warlock-510 July 1999
Witch Story is the chilling and frightning story of a mother's revenge and a girl who *loves* to play....

Sorry to disappoint, but the above statement is false.

Witch Story is crap. Wow, what a bad movie. It is not even on a "so bad it's good" level. It's just bad. Avoid it for the sake of your sanity.

Who exactly was the idiot who created the title near the end of the movie that reads, "October 31th"?
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3/10
Witch Story
ryan-100753 May 2021
An Italian horror flick that was shot in Florida. A group of friends visit a home that has been inherited by siblings Carol (Michele Peacock) and Ed Hayes (Gary Kerr). The house has stood silent for 50 years, but it has a history where a witch was burned right in the front yard after tossing a curse to all those present. Unfortunately there is not fruition to that curse, but those who have entered the house for a little vacation are going to feel the wraith of the evil spirit who as it ends up may just be related to the siblings.

I didn't really find it that enjoyable though as it steals story elements from much greater horror flicks like EVIL DEAD for example. In addition a few of the males characters just seemed to meld together as they were not particularly well written. I would suggest EVIL DEAD instead.
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3/10
No pane of glass left unbroken.
BA_Harrison21 July 2021
Was there a writers strike in Italy in the late-'80s?* That's the only way I can explain the virtually non-existent plots of many an Italian horror film from that era. The script for Streghe (AKA Witch Story) could be written on the back of a stamp, and summed up in just three words: witch, curse, deaths.

The film starts with the burning of a witch, who places a curse on her persecutor's descendants. As she dies, her young daughter throws herself out of a window (the first of many people to be launched through glass in this film). Cut to the present, and a brother and sister invite a group of friends to the house that they have just inherited, unaware that the place used to be home to the witch and is now haunted. The group's partying (which includes one of the girls performing a sexy tabletop striptease for her friends!) comes to an end when they start to die in inexplicable and gruesome ways.

Any semblance of a rational story is soon forgotten, as director Alessandro Capone focusses on delivering titillation from the pretty girls and a handful of death scenes; however, director Capone repeatedly wimps out, the young ladies only stripping as far as their underwear, and his kills bloody but lacking in imagination. Almost everyone crashes through a pane of glass at some point, and, in the film's dumbest moment, a possessed girl emerges from under the surface of a swimming pool brandishing a revving chainsaw.

3/10

*It's hard to believe, but, according to IMDb, there were actually three writers responsible for this mess.
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7/10
Witch Story ... Not Bad.............
horror8519 January 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Witch story is about a group of teenagers going out to an abandon house where one of there ancestors once lived . The group decides to fix up the house but soon realize that there is something wrong ' some of them start having nightmares and others become possessed by a supernatural force and go on a killing spree ' Someone that review'd this movie said it was a rip of of NIGHT OF THE DEMONS (1988) but its nothing like it . In my opinion this was a decent b grade horror movie. It is high on the gore and has some very violent deaths like a chainsaw in a swimming pool ' head slammed against a car door numerous times ' i wont give to much away but all i can say is if you like a good b grade horror movie with lots of GORE and violence then watch this one . Im not sure what this movie is called in other countries but in Australia it was released as WITCH STORY ' I rate this movie a 8/10 .
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1/10
Solid Stool Poop
saint_brett29 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The movie starts out in 1932 with what looks like Olivia Newton John cursing her daughter with blasphemy and Nostradamus powers. She starts with a bible-thumping, pious spiel like Ed Gein's mother used to preach. Little Rachel sits there, taking it all in word for word, and is under the impression that one day she'll be Satan's bride.

Meanwhile, townsfolk from Nilbog chant themselves into an uproar and march down Dust and Street like a lynch mob, no doubt in pursuit of Olivia Newton John and Rachel.

She's pitchforked by Ezra Cobb and branded with a hot poker to remind her that she's the hot property of hell.

An undercover priest is exposed as an agent of evil and clobbered, while Olivia Newton John is set ablaze and mouths off curses to all involved. I think I've only seen this one hundred other times.

A comical 'Tales From the Crypt' cartoon intro sees little Rachel jump to her death out the Sawyer's farmhouse second story window just like Sally did, then the title blazes the screen.

We abruptly jump to 1989 and are on a coach heading south with a mixed bag of New Yorkers.

They interchange in Orlando and head out to the fen 40 miles west, and after only 15 minutes, it's already established that Paul has no business whatsoever being part of this group.

Oh, I just found out this is actually 'Superstition 2.' I have part one. The only good part in the original was the creepy demon making its long-awaited appearance with wind, steam, and neon lights to illuminate its entry. I believe it appeared out of a toilet booth stall. And even then, it was a rip-off of 'The Slayer.'

If legend has it correct, then one of these entitled New Yorkers is the heir to the Sawyer farm, and this kid reminds me of David from 'Grandmother's House.'

Apparitions start to appear in the form of the little dead girl. At times, it's almost a rip-off to Elm Street in some parts with the little girl. (It's a wonder she didn't have a skipping rope.)

What looks like Rod Stewart kisses an ancient Dracula symbol, but the scene's cut poorly, and I can't make out his dial.

Is it any wonder this movie didn't have an official DVD release? My copy lacks color and has all this Japanese writing on the bottom in big, bold symbols.

40 miles out in the middle of nowhere, it must be asked, where'd they get the Kentucky Fried Feast fit for a King from on the first night?

Is it spring break? I have that movie, so I can review it, like the boss that I am.

I haven't a clue who any of the cast members are, so I'm unable to pinpoint any players. They're all young, and for no reason just in the movie to be killed off.

If there's a parallel, it's similar to 'The Mutilator' and they're just here to renovate a rundown dump in need of a facelift. I have that movie at home as well and can review it in my award-winning ways.

Not that I care, but already two are stabbed violently, and it's one of those movies where you don't know if it's real or a dream sequence. Case in point: here's the stab victim at the breakfast table the next morning, chowing down Cheerios.

A cringey scene sees a Sunday school weirdo sing his best religious song while strumming a guitar, so it's established that they aren't genuine New Yorkers but more from Georgia.

Is it safe to say that one would be better off watching 'Troll 2' instead?

Around the 44-minute mark, the movie does something right and kills off annoying actor Paul. He's labeled a pig but not made to squeal like Ned Beatty. I'd say good riddance, but he appears later laughing from hell.

Apparently Olivia Newton John is possessing some of the party by using their bodies to do her dirty work.

To prove how directionless this garbage is, what looks like Rick Moranis drives around in the dark on a tractor for no reason, as they can't think of any other useful purpose for his character.

Then Simone, an alien-looking chick with high cheekbones, is startled by an Elm Street dream due to a cellar door bursting open in the attic! Yes, you read correctly. This tunnel to hell storyline leads nowhere and isn't revisited. Was that an 'Evil Dead' reference? But up in the attic?

The kid who was stabbed at the beginning and died, David from 'Grandmother's House,' was just chainsawed to death in a giant septic tank, but no worries, as he'll probably turn up the next morning again.

Rick Moranis grazes over the little dead girl and dices her to shreds, but she'll survive as well, considering she survived the two-story window jump at the start.

And there you go; she's in the next scene, killing the alien-faced one with an oversized Castlevania weapon. Surely she must have activated the GameGenie cheat code for invincibility?

Um, believe it or not, but the alien faced one and David, both of whom have died already, just appeared in a car screaming at each other, and I couldn't care less what happens from here on out as I've had my fill after an hour.

I wish I could take this movie to court, have a judge find it guilty, and recompense my time.

The garbage has completely 360°ed and turned into some vampire hunter tripe with the assistance of resistant priest freedom fighters. One succumbs to an earthquake and falls 10 stories.

Elements of Elm Street 4 surface, and judging by the size of my toenails, I believe they're in need of a pedicure.

Elements of 'Evil Dead' surface as well, and has anyone ever smelled toenail when freshly cut? How would one describe it? Rotton cheese meets tepid pond water with a touch of dry cow manure.

I'll tell you what smells even worse - dead, dry baby calf with its fur matted out in the sun.

Klaus Kinski, not Rod Stewart, shows up at the end, as does an oversized hard-boiled egg. Don't ask.

Olivia Newton John appears as the big boss as well, and a verbal democracy breaks out where they shout over each other, and I believe I heard the word salami thrown in there somewhere.

Klaus Kinski uses the force that sees a Simon Belmont X weapon impale Olivia Newton John, and this crap should be indicted.
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7/10
Italian "Night of the Demons".
HumanoidOfFlesh12 April 2010
The spirit of a witch,who was tortured and burned at the stake during 1930's haunts a house where some obnoxious teenagers live.The evil spirit is also capable of possessing their souls and turns its victims into bloodthirsty demons.Carol and her brother Ed are heading to a house they recently inherited from their parents.It's supposed to be a vacation,so they bring a bunch of friends along.It turns out that the house they are staying in was once owned by a witch who was tortured and burned at the stake a long time ago.The young daughter of the witch committed suicide shortly after that incident.Many of the women are soon possessed by an evil force causing them to sexually torment and then butcher the males one by one.Cheesy and gory Italian horror flick obviously inspired by "The Evil Dead","The Beyond" and "Night of the Demons".It also resembles US witch slasher "The Superstition".The acting is pretty bad and there is no suspense,but the killings are quite bloody for example one fatso is slaughtered with a meat-cleaver.7 out of 10.
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