The Haunting of Morella

The Haunting of Morella (1990)

** (out of 4)

Based on the Poe story, Morella (Nicole Eggert) is put to death for being a witch but before dying she passes off a curse in front of her husband and baby daughter. Seventeen years pass and the daughter (also played by Eggert) begins to have strange visions and soon a possession begins.

Jim Wynorski's THE HAUNTING OF MORELLA deserves a lot of credit. It was a Roger Corman produced cheapie but you have to give it credit for at least looking like an authentic period piece. I must admit that I was really shocked to see how good the film looked. More times than not these low-budget movies update the setting to where they don't have to worry about costumes and other things like that but that's not the case here. I thought the director did a very good job at delivering a nice atmosphere and the setting was perfect.

As far as the film goes, I wouldn't call it a complete success but there are enough interesting moments to make it worth sitting through. As you should expect from the director, the horror elements often take a back seat to the nudity and sexuality. There's plenty of both here but the horror elements aren't too bad for what they are. There are a couple bloody moments that will have fans of the genre happy.

David McCallum offers up a good performance in his role. Eggert is simply okay in her part. Lana Clarkson stands out in the role of the friend and you've also got Gail Thackray in a small part. THE HAUNTING OF MORELLA isn't a complete success but it's certainly entertaining enough to make it worth watching.