''Spell'' is a 2020 American

supernatural horror Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J. A ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Mark Tonderai Mark Tonderai (born 1974) is a British-ZimbabweanPress Book House at the End of the Street, 2012 entrepreneur, director, writer, actor and former disc jockey. He is co-founder of the London-based production company Shona Productions with his wif ...

and starring

Omari Hardwick Omari Latif Hardwick (born January 9, 1974) is an American actor known for his starring role as James "Ghost" St. Patrick, the protagonist of Starz's ''Power'' and his role as Vanderohe in Zack Snyder's ''Army of the Dead'' (2021). He is also kn ...

and

Loretta Devine Loretta Devine (born August 21, 1949) is an American actress, singer and voice actor. She is known for numerous roles across stage and screen. Her most high profile roles include Lorrell Robinson in the original Broadway production of ''Dreamgir ...

. It was released in the United States through

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...

on October 30, 2020 by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

via

Paramount Players Paramount Players is an American film production label of Paramount Pictures, focusing on "contemporary properties" while working with other Paramount Global brands. The name alludes to the company's earliest origins as Famous Players Film Compan ...

Plot

While flying to his father's funeral in rural Appalachia Kentucky, an intense storm causes Marquis to lose control of the plane carrying himself and his family. He soon awakens wounded, alone and trapped in Ms. Eloise's attic. Eloise claims she can nurse him back to health with a hoodoo figure she's made from his blood and skin. Unable to call for help, Marquis desperately tries to break free from her dark magic and save his family from a sinister ritual before the rise of the blood moon.

Cast

as Marquis T. Woods *

as Ms. Eloise * John Beasley as Earl *

Lorraine Burroughs Lorraine Burroughs (born 22 January 1981) is a British actress of stage and screen. She was born in Birmingham and attended Bishop Challoner RC School there. She later trained at RADA. Burroughs is best known for her role in the play ''The Mounta ...

as Veora Woods *Hannah Gonera as Samsara Woods *Kalifa Burton as Tydon Woods *Tumisho Masha as Sheriff *Steve Mululu as Lewis

Production

The film was shot in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

around the outskirts of Cape Town and

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronounc ...

Release

The film was released on digital platforms on October 30, 2020. It was originally scheduled to be released theatrically on August 28, 2020 before it was pulled from the schedule due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. It was later rescheduled to be released on home media on October 30, 2020. It was distributed by

via the studio's parent company

Reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of based on critic reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads, "Despite a promising beginning, this repetitive and predictable thriller lacks enough of an identity to cast much of a ''Spell''."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

reports a score of 38 out of 100 based on six critic reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Tomris Laffly of RogerEbert.com awarded the film one and a half stars. Meagan Navarro of

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news site/website specializing in information services that covered various horror medias, including: film, television, video games, comics, and music. ...

awarded the film one and a half skulls out of five. Peter Debruge of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' gave the film a positive review and wrote, "this is a decently stylish thriller with occult elements that should satisfy viewers’ genre requirements, though few will demand a second watch (or sequel)."

Frank Scheck Frank Scheck is an American film critic. He is best known for his reviews in the ''New York Post'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter''. He formerly edited ''STAGES Magazine'' and worked as a theater critic for the ''Christian Science Monitor Ch ...

of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' gave the film a negative review and wrote, "Unfortunately, the filmmaker's stylistic efforts aren't enough to compensate for the predictable, cliché-ridden aspects of the screenplay..."

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, spell_2020 2020 direct-to-video films 2020 films American thriller films Films about aviation accidents or incidents Films about Voodoo Films directed by Mark Tonderai Films not released in theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic Films shot in the Western Cape Films with screenplays by Kurt Wimmer Paramount Pictures films Paramount Players films 2020 horror thriller films 2020s supernatural horror films 2020s English-language films 2020s American films