Horror comedies are either hit or miss affairs. When they're good (RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, EVIL DEAD II), they're good. When they're bad (EVIL ED), they're bad. Sadly, CAST A DEADLY SPELL falls into the latter category, but at least it tries very hard. The humour ranges from farcical to crude, and becomes downright embarrassing at times, very childish. At other times it's quite witty.
There are a lot of horror movie references here for fans, and some visual jokes which are pretty good - such as the zombies at the building site. However, the gargoyle humour is just plain sad and childish and I really have no idea who could find that sort of thing funny. A couple of scenes are totally ripped out of other, better films, such as the cursed parchment in the restaurant and kitchen scene (similar to the parchment in NIGHT OF THE DEMON) and the scene where a farmer shoots at a gremlin (which is directly taken from the scene in EVIL DEAD II where Bruce Campbell shoots at his severed hand).
As a film, CAST A DEADLY SPELL is not very satisfying. The plot is a muddled, twisting mish-mash of themes which never really gel together very well, being part comedy, part murder mystery, part thriller, part horror. The actors don't help. Julianne Moore is the love interest and is only mildly less annoying than she was in THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK. Clancy Brown (HIGHLANDER), a fine actor, is given little to do, while David Warner (FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE), who has starred in countless horror films, is given even less. The bulk of the film therefore rests on Fred Ward (TREMORS), but he hasn't much to do with the plot except to try and work out what's going on, while romancing Moore. Ward's wisecracking, fast talking Lovecraft is at first amusing but soon becomes tiring.
If you can bear to sit through until the end, there's an okay sort of monster, but it's hardly the type of Old One that Lovecraft himself would envisage. Not very faithful to Lovecraft, it's best if you try and think of this film as a contemporary affair that merely uses the characters and monsters of Lovecraft's imagination for comic value. Otherwise, you may find yourself very offended indeed.
There are a lot of horror movie references here for fans, and some visual jokes which are pretty good - such as the zombies at the building site. However, the gargoyle humour is just plain sad and childish and I really have no idea who could find that sort of thing funny. A couple of scenes are totally ripped out of other, better films, such as the cursed parchment in the restaurant and kitchen scene (similar to the parchment in NIGHT OF THE DEMON) and the scene where a farmer shoots at a gremlin (which is directly taken from the scene in EVIL DEAD II where Bruce Campbell shoots at his severed hand).
As a film, CAST A DEADLY SPELL is not very satisfying. The plot is a muddled, twisting mish-mash of themes which never really gel together very well, being part comedy, part murder mystery, part thriller, part horror. The actors don't help. Julianne Moore is the love interest and is only mildly less annoying than she was in THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK. Clancy Brown (HIGHLANDER), a fine actor, is given little to do, while David Warner (FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE), who has starred in countless horror films, is given even less. The bulk of the film therefore rests on Fred Ward (TREMORS), but he hasn't much to do with the plot except to try and work out what's going on, while romancing Moore. Ward's wisecracking, fast talking Lovecraft is at first amusing but soon becomes tiring.
If you can bear to sit through until the end, there's an okay sort of monster, but it's hardly the type of Old One that Lovecraft himself would envisage. Not very faithful to Lovecraft, it's best if you try and think of this film as a contemporary affair that merely uses the characters and monsters of Lovecraft's imagination for comic value. Otherwise, you may find yourself very offended indeed.