Spell is a 2020 American supernatural horror thriller film directed by Mark Tonderai and starring Omari Hardwick and Loretta Devine. It was released in the United States through digital on October 30, 2020 by Paramount Pictures via Paramount Players.

Spell
Film poster
Directed by	Mark Tonderai
Written by	Kurt Wimmer
Produced by	Kurt Wimmer Gordon Gray Morris Chestnut Brian Wilkins
Starring	Omari Hardwick Loretta Devine John Beasley
Cinematography	Jacques Jouffret
Edited by	Sarah C. Reeves
Music by	Ben Onono
Production companies	LINK Entertainment MC8 Entertainment
Distributed by	Paramount Players (via Paramount Pictures)[1]
Release date	October 30, 2020 (2020-10-30)
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$500,104[2][3]

Plot

While flying to his father's funeral in rural Appalachia Kentucky, an intense storm causes Marquis to lose control of the plane carrying himself and his family. He soon awakens wounded, alone and trapped in Ms. Eloise's attic. Eloise claims she can nurse him back to health with a hoodoo figure she's made from his blood and skin. Unable to call for help, Marquis desperately tries to break free from her dark magic and save his family from a sinister ritual before the rise of the blood moon.

Cast

• Omari Hardwick as Marquis T. Woods[4]
• Loretta Devine as Ms. Eloise[4]
• John Beasley[1] as Earl
• Lorraine Burroughs as Veora Woods
• Hannah Gonera as Samsara Woods
• Kalifa Burton as Tydon Woods
• Tumisho Masha as Sheriff
• Steve Mululu as Lewis

Production

The film was shot in South Africa.[5]

Release

The film was released on digital platforms on October 30, 2020.[1][4][6] It was originally scheduled to be released theatrically on August 28, 2020[7] before it was pulled from the schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was later rescheduled to be released on home media on October 30, 2020.[8] It was distributed by Paramount Players via the studio's parent company Paramount Pictures.

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 48% based on 50 critic reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Despite a promising beginning, this repetitive and predictable thriller lacks enough of an identity to cast much of a Spell."[9] Metacritic reports a score of 38 out of 100 based on six critic reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[10]

Tomris Laffly of RogerEbert.com awarded the film one and a half stars.[11] Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting awarded the film one and a half skulls out of five.[12]

Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a positive review and wrote, "this is a decently stylish thriller with occult elements that should satisfy viewers’ genre requirements, though few will demand a second watch (or sequel)."[5]

Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a negative review and wrote, "Unfortunately, the filmmaker's stylistic efforts aren't enough to compensate for the predictable, cliché-ridden aspects of the screenplay..."[13]

References

External links

• Spell at IMDb
• Spell at Rotten Tomatoes