Fantasia Film Festival 2024 Review: WITCHBOARD (2024) Delivers Entertaining Horror

Courtesy Fantasia International Film Festival

By Sarah Musnicky

WITCHBOARD (2024) is the latest horror film to be reimagined, most notably by genre fave writer/director Chuck Russell. This larger-than-life reimagining swings for the fences, breathing in new energy to a familiar 80s horror and evoking nostalgia. While some character decisions boggle more than not in the film's final act, Russell delivers an entertaining horror that will be at home with a live theatrical audience.

An intense cult-like ritual in the 1700s sets the scene, with an unnamed leader of witches (Antonia Desplat) at the center. Bishop Grogan (David La Haye) is at her mercy, or so it seems. A shift in luck spells doom for the witch before a camera hones in on the titular witchboard absorbing spilled blood. It is then that we pivot to the present day, where magical objects illicit curiosity more so than fear.

This curiosity (as well as some highly suspicious whisperings with an equally suspicious fluffy cat) leads Emily (Madison Iseman) to the witchboard. A former addict, Emily leads a life of promise with her fiance, Christian (Aaron Dominguez), and their group of friends. They're about to open an organic cafe in the French Quarter, with things looking up for the couple. Goaded into using the witchboard at a tasting for the cafe, Emily unintentionally opens herself up to evil.

WITCHBOARD (2024) is simple enough in its first half, following a standard formula originally outlined by its predecessor. The board calls for blood, taking what it needs with each swing of the pendulum. With Emily's past addiction looming in the forefront and Christian's restaurant business soon to open, these tension-ridden moments get extra heft.

The bloodshed delivered is slick and fast from the beginning. Quick cuts and dramatic flourishes reach out from the screen. Truly, the edits and Yaron Levy's camerawork go a long way here, massaging the humor, pacing, and tension into an entertaining, popcorn-munching flick.

Madison Iseman’s Emily is played with heartfelt earnestness. Her excitement and happiness gradually transform into fear, highlighting the slippery slope of recovery. One addiction traded for another condemns and reshapes her. As Christian, Aaron Dominguez pairs well with Iseman. Their chemistry is palpable. However, in squaring off with Campbell Bower, cracks in his delivery and subsequent performance show.

Courtesy Fantasia International Film Festival

At the risk of getting dragged over the coals for word usage, the scenes featuring Alexander Babtiste border on camp. Jamie Campbell Bower knows exactly what needs to be delivered, oscillating between sinister stares, barbed remarks, and helpful intellectualism. Bower's Babtiste is supported by three white-haired, black-clad triplets, adding a gauche theatricality to the Wiccan persona he projects in his Plantation home. As a villain, he shines, even if some of his motivations become blurred and nonsensical in the climax.

Where WITCHBOARD (2024) loses its focus is in its third act. A race against time turns into a scramble of timelines and character motivations that don't mesh. Babtiste's and the witch's decisions and motivations, in particular, baffle towards the end. The witch's backstory conflicts with her interactions with Babtiste, creating more confusion that inevitably results in viewers tossing hands in the air.

This culminates in an ending that doesn't entirely feel earned for the remaining characters. The final moments may result in a surface-level power move for the survivors, but it mostly rings hollow.

Despite these issues, WITCHBOARD (2024) 's biggest success is in its theming surrounding addiction. Emily's journey from beginning to end highlights the tragedy of relapse but also the reality of trading one vice for another. While playing with the supernatural is tempting, it has a penchant (at least in horror films) for generating painful results that render its users unrecognizable, even to them. In this, Russell is incredibly spot-on.

From beginning to end, WITCHBOARD (2024) never ceases to entertain. Slick and wonderfully edited, this movie easily struck me as one that would elicit lots of crowd response if seen live. Even if the story choices don't land 100%, there's plenty to enjoy in this reimagining.

WITCHBOARD (2024) had its world premiere at the 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival.