Everyone’s dying to play.
Written and directed by Kevin #tenney.
AKA
#witchboard: The Return
Satan’s Dreams
Witchboard 2 – Die Tür zur Hölle (Witchboard 2 – The Door to Hell)
Démoni játék: Az ördög kapujában (Demonic game: The Devil’s gate)
Kevin Tenney returns as writer and director of the sequel; great! The music is once again by Dennis Michael Tenney; great! I love the original Witchboard (1986).
Ami Dolenz stars as Paige Benedict. Paige, who is an accountant and artist, moves into a new apartment. She soon finds a Ouija board which she begins to play with and communicates with a spirit called Susan. Her ex, Mitch (Timothy Gibbs), a cop, drops by and harrasses her a little but she’s helped out by her landlady’s brother, Russel (John Gatins). She asks her landlady, Elaine (Laraine Newman), about Susan and Elaine says she, Susan Sydney, lived there two years ago. Russel also knew her.
Paige contacts Susan again who spells out A.R.T.I.S.T., then spells out H.E.L.P.. Meanwhile, Jonas (Christopher Michael Moore), the landlord, is attacked by a supernatural force. Susan also alerts Paige to a problem at work involving a colleague called Carla (Sarah Kaite Coughlan).
Jonas’ body is found, a suspected accident.
Mitch drops by again, less hostile this time, and Paige asks him to find out about Susan Sydney. After Jonas’ funeral, Russel tells Paige that Susan isn’t dead. Paige confronts the spirit which still claims to be Susan and it spells out M.U.R.D.E.R.. It then spells out R.I.F.L.E.C.A.P.E.. Mitch calls and tells Paige there is no death certificate for Susan Sydney.
I liked Witchboard 2, a lot. I suppose the important question is: Is it better than the original? Or at least: Is as good as the original? I would say that it’s definitely as good as the original; superb characters, more than competently acted, decent story and decent effects. It also introduces an automatic writer which is a nice touch. It’s a great mystery too and I found it very absorbing. Basically if you like the original then I don’t think this will disappoint. And if you haven’t seen either then I would recommend them both highly.
Also stars Marvin Kaplan as Morris, Julie Michaels as Susan and Todd Allen (in a neat little cameo) as Garbageman.
If you like Witchboard 2: The Devil’s Doorway then you might like:
Witchboard (1986)
Night of the Demons (1988)
Long Time Dead (2002)
Ouija (2014)
