By Geno McGahee
The story of parapsychologists going into a haunted house and encountering an evil force has been done over and over and over again, but that doesn’t mean that it’s a bad thing. In the case of the 1989 Kevin Tenney film “WITCHTRAP,” it’s a great thing. You can’t compare it to the more serious horror entries like HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL and THE EVIL, but it has incredible charm and was very well written. Tenney is quick-witted with his writing and funny. The dialogue is amusing throughout.
We begin with poor Amazing Azimov (Richard Fraga), a magician that agrees to stay at the Lauder home to help push a bed and breakfast, but he encounters the evil spirit of Avery Lauder (J.P. Luebsen). Azimov is launched out of the window and the producers loved the idea so much that they showed it from several different angles. There is something about a guy falling to his death in a ridiculous suit. It’s amusing. This death was a great start to this film. It set the tone immediately.
Agnes Goldberg (Judy Tatum), a ghost expert, her husband a mental medium, Felix (Rob Zapple), a physical medium, Whitney (Kathleen Bailey), a videographer, Ginger (Linnea Quigley), along with a security team enter the Lauder house to exorcize the demon. The security team is led by Murray (Jack W. Thompson) and his two defiant detectives, Leon Jackson (Clyde Talley II) and action star, Tony Vincenti (James W. Quinn). The interactions between Murray and Vincenti are very amusing. I laughed a lot during this movie.
The group there is easy prey for the evil spirit of Avery and soon people begin to die. They have to find a way to overcome the evil before they all die. Vincenti must overcome his own belief system to team up with the physical medium to go to battle with Avery before he becomes immortal. The movie moves along at a brisk pace and maintains the viewer’s interest throughout.
The last act of this movie wraps it up really well and some of the deaths are really memorable. The acting is all over the place, but I can look beyond the mediocre performances and at the heart and core of this film. The backbone of this film is the witty writing and fun story. James W. Quinn was also very good in his role as the badass hero. He had great line after great line and delivered them well.
WITCHTRAP turned out to be an awesome surprise. It wasn’t scary, but not all horror is and, in the end, this is about entertainment and this fits the bill. I loved this flick and highly recommend it.
Rating: 7.5/10