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The Spell (1977)

Rate: 5
Viewed: 5/15

Spell1
5/15: The Spell starts off well, has an absorbing premise, is turned into a cheap knockoff of Carrie, and finishes with a "fuck you" ending.

"Fat" isn't an adjective I'll use to describe Rita, but "plain" is more like it. What I like in regard to how her character is used is that she's not pretty as compared to her sister who's played by the very young Helen Hunt.

As seen through his taste for fine foods, luxurious adobes, and sporty cars, the father resents Rita due to her lack of beauty and finds it hard to get along with her. His poor parenting skills and uncaring attitude are the result of the misunderstandings between them.

On the other hand, the mother is a complex character who's torn apart by two polar opposites: Rita and her husband. She tries to please both but want them to compromise for the sake of family harmony. Increasingly, she's powerless because her husband has a differing opinion of how the matter should be handled which is sending her away halfway through the world. It's a clear message that he simply doesn't want her around anymore.

Therefore, the strife within the family is the most interesting aspect. Unfortunately, things are marred by the revelation of telekinetic powers possessed by several characters who happen to be witches. It's distracting and serves no useful purpose to the story, hence ruining the film. There's a twist in the final ten minutes that I didn't see coming, yet it doesn't make sense. When the movie ends, there are more questions than answers, and there's no apparent resolve to the conflict.

All in all, if appropriately taken in a different direction, The Spell would've been a compelling picture about family conflict.