User reviews

Just watched this on the recommendation of a friend, and was very pleasantly surprised. It's not High Cinematic Art by any means, but it's entertaining and funny, the acting is very competent indeed, the effects, although not exactly convincing, work well with the overall theme of the piece, and the plot is coherent and credible (unusual both for mainstream comedy and mainstream horror).

I particularly like the way that it combines multiple B-movie themes most convincingly; the hard-drinking private detective (with suitably glamorous femmes fatales), the evil wizard/scientist who wants total world domination, and the well-timed slapstick comedy. The none-too-subtle references to several more serious films (Alien, Gremlins, Witness, to name but three) add a suitably post-modern touch of irony to the humour.

Just one thing. _Don't_ watch this if you're a Lovecraft fan. You'll have an apoplectic seizure. :)

It's 1948 Los Angeles and magic is real. Hardboiled private detective Harry Philip Lovecraft (Fred Ward) refuses to use it. He is hired by rich Amos Hackshaw to recover the Necronomicon. Olivia Hackshaw is the flirtatious 16 year old daughter. Connie Stone (Julianne Moore) is a lounge singer. Harry Bordon (Clancy Brown) is the mobster club owner.

The magical hard-boiled noir detective story is a great concept. It is held back by its TV level production. It could be a great action horror but it doesn't have the dark style or the budget. There is some sly humor but it needs a real comedian to pull it off. The humor comes too close to being camp. Ward could use a funny sidekick. This has some great value especially if one is familiar with the noir genre.

Fred Ward is excellent as the 1948 private eye hired to find a stolen witchcraft book, the "Necronomicon". It had to be a unique film that blends noir, monsters, virgins, zombies, and magic into a "black comedy", and that film is "Cast a Deadly Spell". There are at least a bunch of surprises along the way, as our hero tries to locate the book. The sharp tongued dialog is perfect, droll, and often hilarious, as Fred Ward, the only one who doesn't use magic, tries to survive witches spells, gangsters, and solve the case. This movie proves that you don't need CGI, if you have a creative mind behind the script, and some excellent makeup for the monsters. - MERK

This is an unique film, an example of a poorly known film that strongly deserves more. It's taste on mixing a 40's detective story with the alternate past in which "everyone used magic" (as the initial screen says) is strange, tasty, and makes this film to be in its own classification. I've never seen other film like that.

Let's say that the plot is not an original one... an antihero fighting for the freedom of the world, and he hardly knows what he's doing. The most wonderful is the charm of the epoque, the constantly appearing "magic tricks" (like the pub with an entrance but no building), the songs singed by julianne moore... just unforgettable.

I knew this was going to be a very special made-for-TV movie when, inside the first 5 mins., the lead detective, H. Phillip Lovecraft, holds up a voodoo doll and says, "it's the murder weapon".

Watching Cast a Deadly Spell is kind of like watching The Maltese Falcon if it were produced by the people responsible for the Disney Channel original movie Halloweentown.

The magic is awesomely inventive. In a cat and mouse scene, a hardened henchman whose boss just got swindled out of a text has to figure out which bathroom stall the swindler is in. He puts water into his hands and blows on it. The water steams and then turns into a bolt of fire that he throws across a bathroom floor to burn out his mouse. When the swindler offers the henchman money, the henchman spells the cash into a flurry that lacerates his prey until he is unrecognizable.

Lovecraft, our Bogart who strikes a match on anything but his matchbook, is an anomaly -- he doesn't use magic for "personal reasons". Everyone is chasing after the Necronomicon, and Lovecraft is tasked with hunting it down the old fashioned way.

Next time you find yourself in the mood for cheesy noir fantasy, throw this on. It rains blood, virgins have special killing powers, gargoyles track people, prehistoric creatures rise from tomato sauce and zombies work in construction.

CW: there are some insensitivities to queer/trans culture; racial fetishism.

This is such a fun movie, everyone I've shown it to has tried to swipe my rather beat up copy... If you're a fan of hardboiled detectives, the works of H.P. Lovecraft, horror mixed with comedy, Fred Ward, or watching movies in slow motion to find all sorts of cool stuff going on in the background, then this film is for you...

Sadly, you CAN NOT PURCHASE this film, unless you find it used. HBO only released it to video rental stores, even though it's lesser sequel is available just about anywhere. To make matters worse, all tapes come with a Macrovision copy block. Bummer...

So, if you can find it, grab it quick, before someone else does!

An unusual, offbeat fantasy-noir, with a dose of humor and tongue-in-cheek that seriously flirts with comedy. Welcome to Los Angeles in 1948, but this is a bizarre city that is full of strange monsters, and where everyone uses black magic. Everyone except Detective Lovecraft, and that is what makes him trustworthy to recover the most famous book of black magic. H. P. Lovecraft is unique in that he is the only one who refuses to use magic in his work. Shortly after he is hired, he finds his client. So Lovecraft is hired by a mysterious wealthy man (David Warner) to recover a stolen book, the Necronomicon. This book which the Lovecraft character's hired to recover - the Necronomicon, shows up in many of author H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos stories. Along the way, the detective Philip Lovecraft is tempted by his seductive teen daughter (Alexandra Powers). While investigating, he finds that the book holds the key to taking over the world by magical means, releasing the "Old Ones". Philip uses the tallents of a local witch, Hypolite Kropotkin (Arnetia Walker), to explain what is happening. To make matters worse, Lovecraft isn't the only one searching for the book, he's up against a nasty mobster, Harry Bordon (Clancy Brown), who happens to be Lovecraft's ex-colleague. Harry Bordon is owner of a nightclub called The Dunwich Room, a reference to H P Lovecraft's famous stories The Dunwich Horror. It's a new kind of evil, as old as time !.

A flavorful, bubbly witch's brew of horror , comedy and private- eye cliches . Set in a fantasy version of 1948 Los Angeles where witchery, magic, voodoo abound, but gumshoe Harry P. Lovecraft uses street smarts intead of sorcery to track down a stolen Necronomicon and if you know what that is you'll want to watch. Wild creatures Gremlins-alike, and FX wizarddry complement this TV trick and treat. The humor is outlandish and effective; the attention to color by cameraman Alexander Gruszynski and set design is marvellously atmospheric of the 1940s; the soundtrack by Curt Sobel sets an adequate mood; and the well-shaded, blackly humorous interpretations are something else. The whole plot and many of the monsters are taken from the works of H. P. Lovecraft, the reason for Fred Ward's role has his name as well and many names: Dugwich, Yog Sothoth, Cthulu, and Azathoth are taked from Lovecraft works. The deceased Fred Ward plays nicely a hard-boiled detective who investigates the theft of a mystical tome. He's well accomapnied by a fine cast, such as: Julianne Moore in the typical role of Film Noir as femme fatale, Clancy Brown as usual villain, David Warner, Alexandra Powers, Charles Hallahan, Arnetia Walker and Lee Tergesen in a double role.

And equally from the pen of Joseph Dougherty (who wrote Cast a Deadly Spell(1991)) came an inferior follow-up : Witch Hunt (1994) by Paul Schrader but apart from the basic premise, two films have nothing in common and, although the author is the same, the story is much weaker, and the whole film is worse in every aspect. In the latter Dennis Hopper replaces Fred Ward in the lead role H. Phillip Lovecraft, along with Penelope Ann Miller, Eric Bogosian, Sheryl Lee Ralph,Julian Sands, Debi Mazar.

This motion picture Cast a Deadly Spell (1991) -shot in 38 days- was professionally made by Martin Campbell. Campbell's first Hollywood movie was Criminal Law (1998) and he went on to direct Defenseless (1991) and No Escape (1994). Martin is a good craftsman and expert on thrillers and action movies , such as : ¨No escape¨, ¨Criminal law¨, ¨The mask of Zorro¨, ¨The legend of Zorro¨, ¨Three for all¨, ¨GoldenEye¨, ¨Casino Royale¨, ¨Vertical limit¨, ¨Reckless¨, ¨Last resort¨, ¨Edge of darkness¨, ¨Green Lantern¨, among others. Some of his American credits include directing this TV film: HBO's Cast a Deadly Spell (1991) and two episodes of NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street (1993), among others. He also directed the epic romance Beyond Borders (2003) starring Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen. And directed two James Bond actors in their respective debuts: Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye (1995) and Daniel Craig in Casino Royale (2006). "Cast a deadly spell¨ rating: 6/10. Thee interesting use of magic and decent though traditional special effects, attractive music, and a light relaxed environment which should not fit with suspense, noir, and thriller as genre determinants make an acceptable pastime for one fine viewing.

As much as I like Fred Ward and David Warner and the noir detective genre, this film is just a bit too silly. Filled with references to the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, this film seems to be satirizing Lovecraft's work rather than paying homage to it. The ending is way too predictable.

There are lots of interesting concepts (zombie henchmen, etc.), but they just seem like individual characters/gimmicks made for a Role Playing Game.

Producer Gale Anne Hurd hooked up with Fred Ward after she split from James Cameron (who hooked up with Linda Hamilton after making Terminator 2). They worked together on films like "Tremors"which have credits for 4- Ward Productions, so I wonder if that's a company she created in honor of Fred Ward.

I wonder why this isn't a movie that people know? After all, it is definitely unique and fun to watch, and how many films do you know that are a combination 1940s film noir and horror? Man, this is a real "curiosity piece."

It's Los Angeles and 1948 and everyone, except the hero (Fred Ward) is using magic, occult witchcraft-type stuff (which this reviewer hardly endorses). Ludicrous, yes, but fascinating and funny in parts.

Too bad this isn't out on DVD because the colors and atmosphere just ooze 1940s. It's also simply great entertainment. Juliane Moore looks gorgeous and Ward is likable in the lead role. He has the authentic look of a private eye, and I like the idea that he has more morals than all the other characters in the movie combined.

If any story can be called truly "unique," this is one of them.

This is a visually stunning movie. The look of 1940s Los Angeles is beautifully captured. Also stunning is a very young Julianne Moore in an early role.

The writing is a notch or two better than is common in this genre. The superb supporting cast has some wonderful Noir-ish "Snappy retorts".

The only flaw in this movie are the incredibly BAD BAD BAD not so special effect. They detract from any otherwise enjoyable movie. Yes, there are viable wires the hellish critters dangle off of. Yes, the "gremlins" are stolen directly from the movie of the same name. (And add absolutely NOTHING to the overall movie). The quality and complexity of the special effects were cutting edge in 1955. Unfortunately this movie was filmed in 1991.

The last ten minutes of the movie are very disappointing. The film speeds along for what you assume is a magnificent resolution. When the end finally comes, it is more with an anticlimactic whimper before it fizzles out.

Over all movie rates an 8. Special Effects rate a TWO.

This movie was excellent! The combination of old gangster, comedy, and horror was a great idea. The acting was excellent (Fred Ward rocks, as usual), and for an 80s film, it was really good (I'm not a big fan of the mall hair, brat pack, and Modonna crap that was hashed out in the big 80s).

This film, quite the opposite was very entertaining and an absolute MUST HAVE for HPL fans.

The entire movie was Lovecraft inspired and not a murder of his writings, like most of them are.

Most definitely, check it out. You won't regret it. it's a great tongue-in-cheeck, campy horror schlock that is actually well done.

If you like it, there's a sequel called "With Hunt" with Dennis Hopper as the lead. Not as good, but still entertaining.

This film rates 7 tentacles and a star shaped protrusion all the way up, on the elder god-o-meter

Oddly enough I had never heard about "Cast a Deadly Spell" before now in 2020, and that was because a friend recommended it to me, given my fascination and love for all things Lovecraftian.

So with the notion of this being a Lovecraftian movie, I must admit that I had some expectations to this 1991 movie.

And I will say that the movie was entertaining and enjoyable, and yeah it most definitely was Lovecraftian for sure, but it was done with an equal amount of light comedy and tribute that it actually worked out quite well. I must admit that at first I had to get over the fact that the character was named H. Philips Lovecraft, but hey, a minor obstacle.

I was rather impressed with the cast that they had for the movie. Fred Ward really carried the movie quite well, and I will say that he hardly got the acknowledgement he should get for his performances in movies, he actually is quite talented. The movie also had the likes of Clancy Brown, Julianne Morre and Charles Hallahan on the cast list. But most impressively and so fabulously well-cast for the movie was David Warner, just a shame he didn't have a larger role on the screen.

The effects were actually quite good and are still watchable today. Sure, they bear signs of being from 1991, but still hold their own rights in 2020.

If you like Lovecraftian things, then I can warmly recommend that you take the time to sit down and watch "Cast a Deadly Spell". I am rating it a well-deserved six out of ten stars.

Cast a Deadly Spell

The problem with living in a world where magic is possible is all of the tacky wardrobes you have to see everyday.

Thankfully, the magicians in this mystery dress in 1940s garb.

In an alternate universe where magic exists, a clichéd PI that hates the black arts, H. Phillip Lovecraft (Fred Ward), is hired by an affluent client (David Warner) to retain a tome for him called the Necronomicon.

To do so, Lovecraft must not only navigate the supernatural streets of L.A. but also his on-again off-again ex (Julianne Moore).

All the while, Lovecraft is unaware that his obtaining of the Necronomicon will ultimately unleash the Old Ones, an ancient monster race that will enslave the city.

Part Dashiell Hammett detective yarn, part Lovecraftian horror. This HBO produced amalgamation has the hard-boiled lingo and the slimy subspecies of the two genres down pat.

But beware: Lovecraftian dames usually have tentacles.

Yellow Light

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The cast is pretty solid but the movie struggles with identity problems. It doesn't really go in enough to be funny per se, missing great opportunities and beats with the magic that could be as good as Beetlejuice. For example the femme fatale singing scenes could be hilarious if she sang about something more stupid and magical since the lyrics aren't great as they are, but they're still focused on heavily for a whole long scene. Besides not being funny enough for comedy, it isn't really scary or suspenseful enough to feel like a true horror or noir either. The horror effects are cool and campy but they lack some of the edge from the likes of the eighties Gremlins and fall a bit more on the side of cartoonish, probably because of the budget. Otherwise the film looks to be of surprisingly good quality.

Similarly to the humor, the magic doesn't quite permeate most scenes enough, except for being pushed in the dialogue, so as a viewer you keep forgetting it's supposed to be a _magical_ noir until something sort of random highlights it for you again. Also the idea of a sidekick could really work for it's advantage, maybe using the already intresting characters of Hypolite or Thadius more, for example.

I wish this movie was redone by someone like Mel Brooks, if they upped the anti on the humor this could be a really great movie in the vein of The Producers. As it is, it's a fine B-movie to slap on when you don't feel like doing much thinking, theres some fun "fast talking high pants"-dialogue in the classic noir-vein, but you wouldn't miss that much if you didn't see it either.

It is rare to find a film that can actually be funny and still mount very real tension (Ghostbusters and Galaxy Quest are two examples that have succeeded). This film does so in very good noir-ish style. Rife with inside jokes that should appeal to any fan of the hard-boiled detectives, horror movies, Lovecraft and film noir. Fred Ward and David Warner are perfectly suited in this film.

One of the first projects I remember as an agent assistant is "Cast A Deadly Spell." We had quite a few clients read for the roles, but none landed it. To memorialize the passing of Fred Ward, I revisited this.

It's a cross between a Dashiell Hammett story & Harry Potter. Ward played gumshoe Harry "Phil" Lovecraft, who gets hired by Hackshaw (David Warner) to recover the Necronomicon stolen from him by the next night at midnight, since he has a very important spell he needs to cast then.

Phil is an ex-cop that refuses to use magic & has questionable taste in ties. His former partner Harry (Clancy Brown) is now a crime boss & integral into the theft of the #book.

In his pursuit, the trail leads Phil to Harry's club, where femme fatale & former lover Connie (Julianne Moore) performs.

At the top of the movie, we see that the original thief was Mickey (Ken Thorley), who was planning on using it to run away w/ his lover Lily (LeeTergesen).

But while Phil is doing all the heavy lifting getting the book back, including have to fight a giant gargoyle, he's being shadowed by Det Grimaldi #PeterAllas. Well, at least until he sees Olivia (Alexandra Powers), Hackshaw's daughter, an integral part of his plan, which gets spoiled by love.

I love the cleverness of the mashup. The EFX are a little cheesy, as it's 1990 effects. What's REALLY fun is seeing how young all these actors look. This took place just before Moore broke out in "Hand That Rocks The Cradle." And OMG Brown looks like a baby! Dir Martin Campbell would later go on to direct "Casino Royale." So, there's a lot of pedigree here!

There's actually a sequel to this called "Witch Hunt" but they replaced Ward w/ Dennis Hopper. IDK why.

Kudos to casting director Pam Dixon for putting together such a talented cast w/ actors before their big breaks.

RIP Fred Ward You were a big part of the movies I love & you will be missed.

Damn near close. The idea of a private eye going it alone in world where magic reigns supreme is probably the ultimate extension of film noir and the hero-as-outsider. This movie captures all the charm of the Bogart 40's detective flicks and 80's type supernatural/horror F/X. It also adroitly mixes humor, horror, hard-boiled detecting, and mystery, with great performances from Fred Ward, David Warner, Clancy Brown, Alexandra Powers, Raymond O'Connor, and Julianne Moore.

There's a great Call of Cthuluian gumshoe film here, possibly the best.

Yep, the FX are a bit wonky, yep the humour is a bit misplaced at times, but I'll be honest - this feels like someone's grabbed a teenagers Call of Cthulu game and turned it into a film, but one where the GM isn't a complete dick and thinks its clever to waste everyones time by killing the players all the time... yep you're a dick.

Some of the humour totally lands - and it's in a weird space of pre-cgi, late 80s/90s splatter horror coupled with muppets, so it's got real charm, unlike all the CGI bilge. There's a reason everyone remembers Gojira in all it's cheap fx and nobody remembers all the bad cgi.

It's absolutely packed full of actors that went on to be greats, and their ability really shines through.

Go on, do yourself a favour, you won't have a bad time.

This movie has so many great actors in it and yet it is painful to watch due to no fault of their own. Julianne Moore can play the Ivory girl next door, the gorgeous female, and in this movie a drop dead gorgeous fox and a half. Fred Ward at the time played a number of quirky movies that made him a hit. I do remember people talking about this at work and having favorable comments made about it. I never saw it in its entirety or it had the same affect on me then as it does now. I lost interest with all the odd ball characters and scenes. Especially, the gremlin scurrying through the house. It was so poorly done it was not entertaining at all. At least gremlins, came off great. The great cast could not save this awful script. I am glad it did not have too awful an affect on their careers.