''Spellbinder'' is a 1988 American witchcraft-themed

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

Janet Greek Janet Greek (born 1949 in Timmins, Ohio) is an American director and writer of film and television. She is best known for her directorial work on the science fiction series ''Babylon 5''. Career As a television director, Greek's credits include ...

, starring

Timothy Daly Timothy is a masculine name. It comes from the Greek name ( Timόtheos) meaning "honouring God", "in God's honour", or "honoured by God". Timothy (and its variations) is a common name in several countries. People Given name * Timothy (given name) ...

and

Kelly Preston Kelly Kamalelehua Smith (October 13, 1962 – July 12, 2020), known professionally as Kelly Preston, was an American actress. She appeared in more than 60 television and film productions, including ''Mischief'' (1985), ''Twins'' (1988), '' ...

. The screenplay was written by

Tracy Tormé Tracy Tormé (born April 12, 1959) is an American screenwriter and television producer, known for his work on the science fiction series ''Sliders'' and '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', and the film '' Fire in the Sky''. Early life Tormé ...

. The original music score was written by

Basil Poledouris Basil Konstantine Poledouris (; August 21, 1945 – November 8, 2006) was an American composer, conductor, and orchestrator of film and television scores, best known for his long-running collaborations with directors John Milius and Paul Verhoe ...

. The film was marketed with the tagline "A nightmare of illusion and betrayal".

Plot

Los Angeles attorney Jeff Mills and his lawyer friend and colleague Derek Clayton rescue a beautiful woman, Miranda Reed, from an abusive boyfriend. The boyfriend makes threats at Jeff, but eventually leaves. As Miranda has no home, Jeff offers to let her stay at his. Jeff becomes romantically involved with Miranda, despite the ominous things that keep happening since he has met her. Grace, Jeff's secretary warns Jeff that Miranda is trouble, but he does not heed her warning. Miranda disappears after her mother Mrs. White confronts Jeff in his office. Jeff seeks the help of the police and Lieutenant Lee warns him that Miranda is wearing a necklace with the sign of a satanic cult suspected of murders and disappearances in the area. Miranda eventually reappears and reveals that she belongs to the cult, a

coven A coven () is a group or gathering of witches. The word "coven" (from Anglo-Norman ''covent, cuvent'', from Old French ''covent'', from Latin ''conventum'' = convention) remained largely unused in English until 1921 when Margaret Murray promote ...

run by her ex-boyfriend and her mother was responsible for her induction into the cult. Miranda says she wants to leave the cult and explains that the mysterious events Jeff has witnessed are part of the coven's effort to bring Miranda back into the fold, as if they have not done so by the

winter solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winte ...

, Miranda will be free forever. The coven's solstice ritual features a human sacrifice on a beach where the victim has to come voluntarily. Jeff vows to help Miranda elude the coven. He hides her with his client Brock while he goes to work, but the coven finds Miranda and kills Brock. In a frenzy, Jeff breaks into Miranda's old house and coerces the current occupants who are members of the cult, to reveal Miranda's whereabouts, which is Towers Beach. Jeff and Derek rush to the beach to save Miranda. Derek leaves to call the police, while Jeff stealthily moves towards the beach, where the cult is having their ceremony. Unfortunately, Jeff is spotted and captured. The coven have Miranda tied up as a sacrifice. Miranda's ex-boyfriend stabs towards her, as Jeff screams—but unexpectedly—he cuts Miranda loose rather than killing her. Miranda then confuses Jeff by seductively dancing around him, rather than running away or helping him. Before he could come to his senses, Jeff is forcefully tied up where Miranda used to be. Miranda is then robed and joins the coven in their ritual. It is now clear that Miranda is only there as bait. Jeff is the real sacrifice, and Derek is the actual leader of the coven with Miranda as his co-conspirator to trap Jeff and make him voluntarily come to the sacrifice. Derek and Miranda mock Jeff and Derek kills Jeff who realizes the full extent of the plot and his betrayal, but is too late. The film ends with Grace's funeral; she had died under mysterious circumstances (presumably killed by the cult in order to avoid exposure). The final scene shows Miranda and Derek replaying the same scenario from the beginning of the film on a new victim, Derek's new legal client.

Cast

as Jeff Mills *

as Miranda Reed *

Rick Rossovich Frederic Enrico Rossovich (born August 28, 1957) is an American actor. Rossovich began acting in the early 1980s, first gaining recognition for portraying Ron "Slider" Kerner in the 1986 film ''Top Gun''. Rossovich's other movies include the thri ...

as Derek Clayton *

Audra Lindley Audra Marie Lindley (September 24, 1918 – October 16, 1997) was an American actress, most famous for her role as landlady Helen Roper on the sitcom ''Three's Company'' and its spin-off ''The Ropers''. Life and career Audra Lindley was born ...

as Mrs. White *

Anthony Crivello Anthony Crivello (born August 2, 1955) is an American actor who has appeared in the original cast of several Broadway shows, including ''Les Misérables'', '' Kiss of the Spider Woman'', '' Golden Boy'', ''Marie Christine'', and '' The News''. ...

as Aldys *

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Japanese: 田川洋行, ''Tagawa Hiroyuki''; born September 27, 1950) is a Japanese-born American actor, film producer, and martial artist. Often cast as villains, he is known for his film roles in ''The Last Emperor'' (1 ...

as Lieutenant Lee *

Diana Bellamy Diana Alice Bellamy (September 19, 1943 – June 17, 2001) was an American character actress of stage, film, and television, during the 1980s and mid-2000s, who was often cast in both comedic and dramatic roles to great acclaim. Bellamy is know ...

as Grace Woods *James Watkins as Tim Weatherly *

Kyle T. Heffner Kyle Troy Heffner (born May 21, 1957) is an American television and film actor. Early life and education Born in Chicago, Heffner graduated from Northwestern University. Career After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles and met Garry Marshall ...

as Herbie Green *

M. C. Gainey Michael Connor Gainey (born January 18, 1948) is an American character actor best known for his appearances in ''Lost'', ''Con Air'', ''Sideways'', ''Tangled'', and ''Django Unchained''. Early life Gainey was born in Jackson, Mississippi. In the ...

as Brock *

Stefan Gierasch Stefan Gierasch (February 5, 1926 – September 6, 2014) was an American film and television actor. Career Gierasch made over 100 screen appearances, mostly in American television, beginning in 1951. In the mid-1960s, he performed with the Trin ...

as Edgar De Witt *

Roderick Cook Roderick Cook (9 February 1932 – 17 August 1990) was an English playwright, writer, theatre director and actor of stage, television and film. Cook is known for creating, directing and starring in the musical review '' Oh, Coward!'' and portray ...

as Ed Kennerle

Release

The film was given a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

theatrically in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

in September 1988. It grossed $657,446 domestically at the box office.

References

External links

* *{{Amg movie, 46053 1988 horror films 1988 independent films 1988 thriller films American supernatural horror films American independent films American thriller films Films set in Los Angeles Films about witchcraft Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films scored by Basil Poledouris Films directed by Janet Greek 1980s English-language films 1980s American films