Witchcraft (Evil Encounters)

I can only assume that Linda Blair, David Hasselhoff and Hildegard Knef were not exactly at the peak of their careers when they agreed to act in a b-class Italian horror production with a cast of virtually unknown actors. When I think about great actors, David Hasselhoff doesn't really come to my mind, but delirious as it may sound, the Hoff actually does a decent job here and manages to stand out which, I guess, says a lot about the rest of the cast. David gives us a very likeable lead that seems to genuinely care about the rest of the characters and goes out of his way to save the day. As for Linda, her acting is decent and it is nice to see a horror icon. The enjoyment of seeing Blair in this flick mostly comes from the campiness of her character towards the last minutes, but the truth is that she is not really our lead. The final girl is portrayed by the unknown actress, Leslie Cumming, who wins the award for one of the most unexcited-looking characters in a horror flick. Seriously, I don't expect superb acting in a b-class horror flick, but this girl takes things to the next level, by lacking any kind of emotion and speaking in a monotonous tone of voice throughout the entire film.

In "Witchery" the story goes something like this: A young woman named Leslie travels to a remote island to do some research for a book that she is writing, which is about the occult. Leslie's boyfriend, named Gary, travels with her to take some photos for the book, since Leslie wants to provide photographic evidence about the existence of witches and, according to some local folklore, there is a strange phenomena that occurs in the island, known as "the witch's light". Though Gary is a genuinely nice guy and he wants to help his girlfriend with her book, he also sees this trip as a perfect opportunity to finally get some action with his girlfriend (don't get your hopes up, Gary!) Though Leslie appears to be in her mid twenties, she is a virgin and very proud of it, since she belie...

Cheesy late 80’s supernatural horror with David Hasselhoff and Linda Blair

Eight people are trapped on a barren island off the coast of Massachusetts where there’s a spooky defunct hotel inhabited by the witchy specter of an old German actress. David Hasselhoff, Linda Blair, Catherine Hickland and Leslie Cumming (Leslie) are on hand.

“Witchery” (1988) is a straight-to-video mystery/horror that combines the plot of Agatha Christi's “And Then There Were None” (aka “Ten Little Indians”) with the style of low-budget occultic-themed flicks of the mid/late 80s, like “Bay Coven” (1987), aka “Bay Cove.” Regrettably this isn’t even close to being as effective as the well done “Bay Coven.”

It’s hampered by bad or hammy acting, gaudy non-special effects and a one-dimensional location, which the creators try to make up for with hard R-rated sequences, including a top nude rape scene featuring Leslie Cumming (some prints cut out these scenes). Thankfully, some sequences work well despite the low budget, like the horrific capture, torture & death of an older woman, as well as the eventual possession scenes. Meanwhile blonde Hickland is stunning (she was Hasselhoff’s wife at the time).

The film runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot in Scituate, Massachusetts (the hotel), & nearby Cohasset.

GRADE: C/C-