Director: Rebecca J. Matthews
Year: 2020
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: Witches of Amityville Academy
Genre: Witchcraft
Plot:
Arriving at a special boarding school, a woman finds that her mysterious acceptance was due to the vengeful headmistress who wants to use her witchcraft powers for her own means, and after escaping turns to a series of good witches to fight back against their nefarious plans.
Review:
There were some enjoyable elements to be had here. Among its better elements is the rather fun storylines here that offer a better build-up than expected. Getting to know the various witches and their personalities, their backstory about needing to be kept a secret from the rest of the world as well as the new girl at the school with her insecurities and hangups has some intriguing aspects involved. It all works nicely with the brief glimpses we get to understand the witches and their side of the conflict.
As well, the film works quite nicely with the grand decision to reveal the plan from the start where this one unleashed the goal almost immediately. From the revelation of their plan going for the abduction and sacrifice that signals what's going on in grand fashion, this is a shocking start to the coven's plans and leads to the other witches taking her in and explaining the situation that gives context to what happened. Getting the few attempts to stop her from understanding with the failed attacks on their protected hideout is a fun way to add some action to this setup.
The other really enjoyable aspect is the final half where a lot of the action gets a bit more involved. As the plan is revealed and the race to stop the witches from stopping her, the plan to ensure her success means the fun kidnapping plan under the guise of the hallucinogenic nightmares means this one gets fun leading into the series of confrontations with the students and the ritual she attempts to perform at the same time leading to the action-packed finale where they overcome the forces rather nicely. All told, these all manage to make this one quite enjoyable.
This one does have a few issues with it. The first drawback is the extremely quick tempo that never gives this one a chance to really tell its story, focusing on these unexplained tactics to gain power for something we don't get until the third act. This makes the events at first confusing without much in the way of context, much like the rationale for constantly leaving them alive which just seems to allow them a chance to show up later to flip their plans even though the opportunity presents itself several times. Alongside the tameness of the film with no blood or gore, these are the few flaws here.
Overview: ***.5/5
While it's not the most intense effort out there, this one has enough going on with a fun build-up, enough action, and some enjoyable encounters that make it worthwhile. Those who enjoy this style of indie effort, the lighthearted type of genre card or are fans of the creative crew will enjoy this one while those burned out on the style or subject matter should need caution.
This review ran as part of our 2023 Women in Horror Month celebrations. Click the banner below to check out the rest of our month-long celebrations including various reviews and interviews:
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