Superstition

A witch of old times on the road of revenge and a "haunted" house/property - the good thing: the death toll is not a small one!

Nice little horror flick from the beginning of the 80s. No masterpiece or classic, also no Oscar material, but a good watch - if you want some horror with a good slice of nostalgia and some blood spilled on the floor. Yummy.

I found this to be a very enjoyable film, and quite unique.

The supernatural /slasher/gore mix works really well, and the pacing of the film is excellent, not a minute is wasted, there's no padding, so it doesn't outstay its welcome.

Obviously not the biggest budget, but the sequence set in 1692 looks great and really adds to the atmosphere.

I definitely recommend a viewing. I watched the Scream Factory blu ray, and when the film is well lit, it looks great, in the darker scenes, not so much. There are also a lot of speckles/flecks evident in the darker scenes, but overall the picture is good.

An unusual, but rather enjoyable no-nonsense and wicked low-budget cursed haunted house/witch feature. A Reverend and his family move into a strange, remote house with a horrific past. Mysterious occurrences begin to happen and people within the property start dying or disappearing to only end up dead.

The plot is quite slight, with a premise relatively basic... revenge from beyond the grave; A drowned witch who reappears in demon form hidden under a cloak with glimpses of her long green hands and evil laughter to go with it. Its set-pieces are there for nothing more than atmospheric shock effects (gory, but creative and insane deaths), but director James W. Roberson effectively handles them and suitably paces the narrative with a dark, nervy energy.

It plays out like a haunted house ride... false jumps to only pump out the real one within its predictable superstitious framework (like the all mighty cross; the torment of all evil and good for exploding doors). Also there's a real nasty streak, which doesn't hold back for anyone and this makes the downbeat ending even more fulfilling. There's a real italian horror vibe to it all. The imagery is well-photographed (especially of the witch) and the score does pack that an ominous sting that crackles with intensity. Characters are one-dimensional, but the cast are committed with James Houghton, Larry Pennell, Lynn Carlin and Albert Salmi as a stubborn, hard-pressed detective.

I thought it was silly, but lively and unpleasant 1980s horror pulp that doesn't outstay its welcome. Fans of 80s horror overabundance should love.

A 17th century executed witch kills anybody who enters a house that was built on the site of her execution. Supernatural horror that plays out like a slasher movie with many inventive deaths every 10 minutes or so. This is well paced and there is plenty of good gore, including an exploding head in a microwave, death by an escaped circular saw, spike through forehead, and so on. This was made during the Golden Age of the slasher movie and certainly gives good value for money. Give me 1980's effects and vibe any day over 21st century CGI and remakes! Original title in 1982 was Superstition. It did appear on the seizure list during the Video Nasties farce but was given a rerelease as The Witch in 1985. Sadly this film appears to be something of a forgotten one, I can't even reference in it in my collection of horror movie books. It really does deserve a DVD/BR release so that a new audience can see it.

Don't let the generic-sounding title lull you into thinking this is a lame haunted-house movie. Although it's true that a lot of its plot elements are borrowed from other films (deadly lake, demon in the house, burned witch in Puritan times), Superstition feels remarkably genuine and is (somewhat) surprisingly good. And, unlike most cheapo horror films of the 70s and 80s (and, well, every decade), the plot is definitely not entirely predictable. There aren't really any recognizable names in the cast (Stacy Keach's dad is in it, and Lynne Carlin was in the '71 cult hit Taking Off), and the movie has a now-dated vibe to it, but the action is relentless and expertly done. Definitely worth a look for those of you who enjoy scary movies.