The evilness of the Ouija board returns in Witchboard 2: The Devil’s Doorway. Released roughly 6 years after the first one, Witchboard 2 ups the action and mystery, with an intense plot about murder, sex and cover ups! Ah, who am I kidding?! It’s a cheesy 90s flick with the hot Ami Dolenz getting sexier and sexier as the minutes roll on. Fun times are in store!
PRODUCT INFORMATION
DISCS: 1
RUN-TIME: 98 min
ASPECT RATIO: 1.78:1
RESOLUTION: 1080p
AUDIO: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
SUBTITLES: None
REGION: A
RATING: R
PRODUCTION DATE: 1993
RELEASE DATE: October 15th, 2013
PLOT SUMMARY
A beautiful young woman unlocks a passageway to pure evil in the spine-tingling supernatural sequel to the popular hit, Witchboard. When Paige Benedict (Ami Dolenz, Ticks, She’s Out of Control) moves into her new artist’s loft, the only thing on her mind is her art and her slightly loopy landlady Elaine (Laraine Newman, Saturday Night Live). But when she finds an old Ouija board buried in her closet, she discovers that this new apartment isn’t hers at all. Through the board, Paige in contacted by the spirit of a former tenant who claims she was murdered there. Against the advice of her ex-boyfriend Mitch (Timothy Gibbs, The Kindred), Paige is drawn deeper into the mystery as she finds her dreams overtaken with vivid, erotic and brutal visions of unspeakable horror. And when other tenants in the building begin falling prey to violent, mysterious deaths, Paige realizes that only she can seal the door to the terrifying nightmare she has unwittingly unleashed and the price may be her soul. Stylishly directed by horror veteran Kevin S. Tenney (Night of the Demons).
MOVIE
Witchboard 2: The Devil’s Doorway has no connection to the original, save for the powers and rules of the Ouija board and a quick cameo of a couple Witchboard stars near the end of the movie. However, it’s nice to always see a returning director come back to his movies and Kevin S. Tenney is one director I really enjoy. He’s done a couple fun movies, like Night of the Demons and of course the original Witchboard. This time around, instead of an ancient evil possessing the board, Paige (Ami Dolenz,) an inspiring artist who seems to only draw weird triangles and faces, gets a hold of the board and finds out she is able to communicate with a supposedly murdered girl. As the story progresses, Paige comes out of her shell and starts dressing pretty skimpy (I don’t know anyone that would wear super short cut off jeans to go dig up a grave, but hey, I ain’t complaining) and her friends are starting to worry for her, especially her ex-boyfriend, Mitch (Timothy Gibbs,) who at first you think is a jerk, but eventually does right by Paige and you warm up to him quite a bit by the end credits.
Witchboard 2 isn’t full of scares and death, but what it does right, is having a good time and not overstaying it’s welcome. There is also plenty of well done shots littered throughout the flick, such as the camera panning though a keyhole into the room. I was quite amazed by that shot and it really worked out amazingly well. In the end, this is one movie you can sit down, have a few drinks and watch with friends and be guaranteed a good time. It might not be as great as the first one, but it’s a worthy sequel worth checking out.
BLU-RAY
Witchboard 2: The Devil’s Doorway was released by Olive Films on Blu-ray and it’s a nice looking feature. There is only so much you can do with a 90s horror flick, as to me they always looked a little soft and full of bloom lighting. Still, the Blu is nice and clear and there are no issues that jump out at me. The same goes with the audio, which is DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. It’s crisp and clean.
Features are on the short side, but any are welcome. You have a Feature Commentary with Writer/Director Kevin S. Tenney and Actors Julie Michaels and John Gatin, a short 8 minute Behind of the Scenes Featurette, which goes into detail on some of the special effects and shots of the film. It also features a few interviews with the cast and crew, who hype the movie up to Citizen Kane style worthiness. There is also two deleted scenes included, one roughly 1 minute and the other a little over 2 minutes. They don’t offer anything new to the movie, as they are mostly filler. Rounding everything out, is a couple of Home Video Trailers and three TV spots of varying lengths. The features look to be ripped from a VHS or something, so expect some low grade footage to show up.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
- Feature Commentary with Writer/Director Kevin S. Tenney and Actors Julie Michaels and John Gatin.
- Deleted Scene 1
- Deleted Scene 2
- Behind the Scenes Featurette
- Home Video Trailer 1
- Home Video Trailer 2
- 60 Second TV Spot
- 30 Second TV Spot
- 15 Second TV Spot
VERDICT
As I said above, Witchboard 2: The Devil’s Doorway might not be as good as the first one, but it’s a worthy sequel worth checking out. It’s fun and never boring and some of the shots in the movie are quite interesting to see. The story is your basic whodunit / murder / ghost / possession flick, but Kevin S. Tenney brings some of his own flair to film, which rises it up a little above some of the other earlier 90s horror films. The Blu-ray is definitely worth picking up and the Special Features included are fun to go through. Recommended.
RATING
