sidekickllb OK kiddies, before we begin, let me explain what 80's movies were like: Bad hair with way too much product (can someone say "mousse abuse"?); Stereotyped characters; Synthesized music with the chorus repeated at least 6 times; Legwarmers and/or Spandex ... and on more than one occasion, Adam Ant.Spellcaster is a horror movie that was made in 1988, but for some reason, was not released until '92. It has all of the above, including Adam Ant (who shows his hands several times, but his face for only about 5 minutes).RockTV holds a contest where 7 "lucky" people will be flown to a Medieval Italian castle to spend the weekend with the extremely stereotypical alcoholic Brit rocker Cassandra Castle, and have a chance to win $1M. (Wow, that was a witty idea ... meet Cassandra Castle at the "Cassandra's Castle" contest).The 7 contestants are also stereotypical: The fat American slob; The prissy California girl who thinks she's better than everyone; The rich, snobby Brit woman who hunts game; The slutty French girl who shows lots of skin in her outfits and obviously doesn't wear underwear; The criminal Italian guy who pushes himself on the ladies more than once; The boy- and girl-next-door American brother and sister team who just lost their jobs, and who could really use that million bucks.Their host, Signor Diaboli (how the Italian guy didn't understand the man's name literally means "Mr. Devil" is beyond me) is the owner of Castle Diaboli. However, every time he is supposed to meet or greet his guests, for some reason the butler says he can't make it.The contest begins, and each contestant (and a few RockTV employees) end up getting offed in various supernatural ways. The effects for each murder, I will admit, are good ideas ... but the execution of each effect is bad. For example, one person is eaten by a chair that has a lion's head and paws carved into it. When it bites the person, it's fang squishes like the latex foam it is. Like I said ... good idea, bad execution (but you can see the FX people really tried hard, so I can't complain TOO much).Of course, the girl-next-door has to save the day, and she does. Diaboli ends up quitting his "normal" devilish day job for one even MORE evil ... Head VJ on RockTV ... with a great new contest for aspiring rock stars.Hey, wait a minute ... maybe Simon Cowell is really Adam Ant! {pause} Naaaah ... couldn't be ... :P

Christopher T. Chase Remember all the old Roger Corman flicks, where he had some money, props, locations and actors left over from a recently wrapped movie, and he or someone working with him dashed off a quick script to take advantage of the opportunity? Well, SPELLCASTER plays just like one of those...except that producer Charles Band forgot one important ingredient...a storyline that would actually make it entertaining and watchable! You would think that by having a script co-written by Ed Naha (DOLLS) and Dennis Paoli (RE-ANIMATOR, FROM BEYOND), it would've turned out better than it actually did, and maybe the script WAS good. But what's on the page doesn't necessarily make it to the screen, and boy, does it really show here. This was one of those few Empire Pictures movies I didn't catch up to back in the Eighties, and now I can see why. Subconsciously, I must've known it was better to stay away.Former NYPD BLUE cast member Gail O'Grady was getting her start here, as one of a group of "lucky winners" of a contest sponsored by a rock music channel (think a really low-budget MTV). The prize is getting flown to an ancient castle in Italy, (actually Empire's chief location back then, where many of the films were made), to meet top pop star Cassandra Castle (DOLLS' Bunty Bailey), and participate in a scavenger hunt for a check worth $1 million. The castle, of course, belongs to the mysterious and elusive "Signor Diablo" (Adam Ant), which automatically should tell you that Really Bad Things are about to happen.Yep. Bad acting, bad direction and ridiculously bad editing. O'Grady and Bailey are probably the two most watchable performers in this whole mess. I'd make it three including Adam Ant, but he doesn't even show up till near the end of the third reel.The most interesting and fun things about SPELLCASTER are the title and the opening sequence, when Bailey does a music video as Castle that's every bit as engagingly cheesy as the vids you used to see on MTV back in its infancy. After that, folks, it's all downhill from there, as you watch the usual horror stereotypes, (tarty French girl, slutty American floozy, sleazy Italian gigolo punk, fat, greasy, junk-food-eating loser, etc.) fall victim to the best special effects work that John Carl Buechler's MMI could come up with on a non-existent budget.Fans of Empire's Eighties catalog may actually have fond memories of this movie. Personally, I do have the same sentiments about some of their flicks...but this definitely wasn't one of them.

BKinzeys Most everything wrong in the '80s had an influence on this movie. Including the fact it was made in '91. An all around bad horror movie with bad acting and a trite, simplistic script.Richard Blade is given top billing in this mess and is the reason I watched this movie. Currently, in 2007, Mr Blade is an oldies DJ on a radio station in Los Angeles. That was enough to get me to watch this stinker. In the '80s Mr Blade was a popular "Video Jockey" and hence his casting as a "Popular Video Jockey" hosting a contest being held in a castle.Nothing against Mr. Blade personally. I'm sure he was offered money and a chance to broaden his professional resume. If nothing else he proves being a good DJ and a good VJ does not translate into being a good actor.Possibly the movie is bad enough that in a few years this movie can be seen as a true howler for it's script, acting and true datedness.Currently is should only be viewed after checking it's listing here on IMDb to note several of those connected to this horror-ible dud went on to have actual careers! The only true horror I see here is a nail in the coffin of the '80s being dead.That's all Folks!

FieCrier A brother and sister working as dishwashers win a Rock TV channel contest to participate in a reality TV show. They will be two of seven people joining a pop music video star and a VJ in an Italian castle, to search for a million dollar check. (Finding a check in a house, or even a room might be pretty challenging, but in a castle...?)When they arrive, the camerawoman sends the only two other people from her crew to Rome to get an HD camera. After they've left on their journey, an unseen man in front of a crystal ball causes their car to stop and explode in flames.The video star is stuck up and an alcoholic, and she makes some kind of deal with the VJ whereby he doesn't even hide the check, but gives it to her. Besides the aforementioned team of siblings, there's also a sex-mad stiletto-wielding Italian car thief, a snooty upper- class English huntress, a vain blonde vegetarian cocktease, a sexy French girl, and a fat food-obsessed New Jersey guy.The camera-work is pretty unimaginative, and the lighting uniform throughout, so every scene looks pretty much the same. The exteriors of the castle are nice, and the props within are pretty good, particularly a chair that comes to life, but it really is let down by the direction.Adam Ant eventually shows up towards the end (it's no secret that he's Diabolo, the man behind the crystal ball). Unfortunately, he did not do any of the soundtrack work.I'm surprised this was rated R! The most skin on display were a couple of bare backs, and the worst word "bitch." There's very little violence, and it's pretty brief and cartoonish. I'd have rated it PG.Definitely not one of Full Moon/Empire Pictures/Charles Band's better ones. Pretty mediocre and unimaginative.