Spellbinder 4K 1988

Another film largely unknown to the general public (certainly here), this time from the glorious ’80s. Even the most dedicated film buff might only stumble upon it by chance, for example while browsing Kelly Preston’s filmography. And that’s perhaps unfair, because while Spellbinder may seem at first glance like a run-of-the-mill supernatural thriller, it’s actually a highly engaging and remarkable film.

A young lawyer named Jeff comes to the defense of the beautiful Miranda; they get to know each other, he takes her back to his place, and they quickly begin a romance. It becomes clear almost immediately that the girl has supernatural abilities, but Jeff is completely enchanted by Miranda, and this doesn’t bother him. Jeff’s friends tease him, but they’re genuinely happy for him; only his secretary looks at his boss’s lover with hostility. Everything goes awry when some extremely sinister-looking cultists start hunting Miranda. It turns out she’s a witch who escaped from a group of Satanists, and now they want her back to use her in their next ritual...

In this summary, it all sounds like nonsense, but in reality, things are a bit more complicated. The film opens with an intriguing but standard “yuppie in danger” thriller setup. What follows is simply delightful madness, in the best traditions of the kitschy ’80s. With plenty of mysticism, which, in principle, could have been easily done without. Here, one of the villains uses magic to lift the hero’s car into the air; here, Jeff fights a witch skilled in martial arts; and there, in the cult’s lair, the words “Satan rules” flash across the wall. Despite all this, the film somehow doesn’t descend into a circus and plays out, if not seriously, then at least with genuine interest. And then suddenly comes the finale, swift and uncompromising; after that, you sit motionless for a few minutes, as if you’ve been hit over the head with a club. It’s better, of course, not to say anything about it; I’ll just say that it can’t be called original, especially these days, but did I expect something like this here? Not at all.

A few words about the actors. Tim Daly, whom I’m not very familiar with, plays his part quite well; he doesn’t shine, but the role suits him, even physically. Kelly Preston is very good. She was generally good in the ’80s, much sexier and more interesting than many of today’s starlets. In small roles, you can see Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and M.K. Gayne.

Spellbinder is an imperfect but impressive and instructive film, certainly worth watching.