'Witchboard’: dark magic, revenge and a vengeful witch unleashed

On Halloween, I felt it was only fitting to include something for the horror movie buffs out there. 

By now, if you’ve been reading my reviews, you know that I am a huge fan of the genre. I enjoy anything that fits into the supernatural and psychological playground. 

But I will tap out if it is in your face gore. 

As such, I recently watched Showmax's “Witchboard”. If you watched the “Ouija” franchise, you will enjoy this.

Set in New Orleans’ French Quarter, it centres on Christian (Aaron Dominguez) and Emily (Madison Iseman). He is a talented chef on the brink of opening a new restaurant. And she is a recovering heroin addict. 

At a recent dinner soiree at their place, Emily, encouraged by Brooke (Melanie Jarnson), who is Christian’s ex-girlfriend, plays around with a historic board they stumble across. 

What appears to be harmless fun turns into a string of strange events, one of which involves the accidental death of Richie (Charlie Tahan), who is Christian’s friend and restaurant partner. 

Meanwhile, both Christian and Emily realise that the board is a stolen artefact from a local museum. Although he cautions her against using it, Emily is drawn to it. 

It isn’t long before she’s having strange dreams and eerie encounters, which change her personality.

Concerned about her, Christian seeks Brooke’s help. She, in turn, introduces him to Alexander Babtiste (Jamie Campbell Bower), an expert on the occult. 

However, history, bloodlines and hidden agendas result in mayhem being unleashed, with Emily used as a conduit to bring back a powerful banished witch, Naga Soth (Antonia Desplat), who made the board and its bone pendulum. 

Overall, the film has a few hair-raising moments that will satiate fans. 

In movies of this nature, preposterous becomes the norm, and a few scenes really do push the boundary on that front. With offerings so few and far between, this one entertains, at least. 

I wouldn’t go placing too much emphasis on performances, script or logic. It’s a supernatural offering about revenge. 

Rating: *** solid and enjoyable, though not groundbreaking.