Director: Robert Michael Ryan
Year: 2023
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
After an encounter with bar patrons, a woman left beaten down by a group of guys decides to seek revenge by using a vengeful witch’s spirit as a means of accomplishing this, and as it gets carried out learns the grim truth about the situation and tries to stop it from continuing.
Review:
This was a generally fun indie genre effort. One of the better elements here is the general setup and backstory of the titular being that all comes together incredibly well. The main setup of the girl returning home and trying to get her life back on track which only ends up causing her to fall foul of the other guys she used to know which soon turns into a genuine assault on her presence gives this an intriguing starting point. This gives not only the perfect amount of background on the main character which helps to make her endearing but also gives everything the right context for the entity being summoned to have the perfect starting point to be seen as a worthwhile counter to the interactions we’ve seen to that point so everything has a great context as a starting point.
That setup provides a solid grounding for the later hauntings that take place. The cold open that shows the effects of the witch’s wrath is a great way to give this a decent enough start with the mysterious nature of the summoning and how it works, which only gets enhanced by the later summoning against the guys who attacked her that have a lot to like. With the witch being shown to control and manipulate the situation to the point where the victim is stuck in a supernatural series of events that is replicated back at the other girl who summoned her, this setup generates a solid series of encounters that are quite enjoyable. It all leads to a fantastic finale where the race to stop the rampaging witch, featuring some fine action and a great reveal at the end that all combine for a lot to like about it.
There are some issues to be found here that hold this down. The main factor against it is the immensely silly means through which the group of criminals escalates matters to the point they do it as quickly as it happens. From seemingly obvious bar banter hook-up comments, the idea of going straight to assault and potential rape that would’ve been accomplished had it not been interrupted but is so egregiously overblown it becomes ridiculous. That’s the case with the murderous intent they try to impart later on which is completely misguided and has so little build-up to get there it comes off as rather comical so small an indiscretion resulted in this hard an outburst. On top of the low-budget limitations throughout here, this one has a few factors holding it back.
Overview: ***.5/5
An enjoyable genre effort with some issues involved, this comes off far better than expected while having some drawbacks to it with the drawbacks coming into play enough to bring it down. Give this a shot if you're a fan of this particular style of indie fare or are curious about it while those who don’t enjoy these kinds of efforts should heed caution.
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