''Witch Story'' ( it, Streghe (Witches)) is a 1989 Italian horror film directed by Alessandro Capone.

Synopsis

The film is set in rural Florida. After passing on her diabolical legacy to a child, a witch is burned alive by the local population, even as the priest had hoped to exorcise her. Fifty years later, several teens gather in the house where the witch once lived. One of the teens inherited after his father's mysterious death. After some of the kids experience visions of a little girl, one reveals her interest in the occult. Later, vacationers experience increasingly disturbing events. When some girls are possessed by the witch and begin to decimate their companions, the survivors manage to contact a priest for help.

Production

''Witch Story'' was the directorial debut of Alessandro Capone. Capone had previously worked as a screenwriter since the mid-1970s including a few horror films such as ''

Body Count A body count is the total number of people killed in a particular event. In combat, a body count is often based on the number of confirmed kills, but occasionally only an estimate. Often used in reference to military combat, the term can also r ...

''. Capone stated that he was a fan of horror films and wanted his debut to be a horror film. He had the international distributor Manolo Bolognini to give him a new guaranteed minimum to help start the project. The film was shot partially in Rome but predominantly in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Release

''Witch Story'' was distributed in Italy by Titanus on 26 May 1989. The film was released in the United Kingdom as ''Witch Story'', in other English territories as ''Superstion 2'' due its similarities to the film ''

Superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...

''. In Germany the film was released as a sequel to Larry Cohen's '' Wicked Stepmother'' which was titled ''Tanz der Hexen'' with ''Witch Story'' being titled ''Tanz der Hexen Teil 2''.

Reception

In Italy, Leonardo Autera of ''

Corriere della Sera The ''Corriere della Sera'' (; en, "Evening Courier") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average daily circulation of 410,242 copies in December 2015. First published on 5 March 1876, ''Corriere della Sera'' is one of It ...

'' gave the film a negative review noting "slapdash editing, full of inconsistencies", "coarse special effects" and an "amateur cast" outside Ian Bannen whom the reviewer noted looked bored in the film.

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0098397 Films set in Florida Films set in 1927 1989 horror films 1989 films Italian horror films Films shot in Florida Films about witchcraft Films shot in Rome 1989 directorial debut films Films directed by Alessandro Capone Films scored by Carlo Maria Cordio 1980s Italian films