Witchcraft V: Dance with the Devil

Last updated
Witchcraft V: Dance with the Devil
Directed byTalun Hsu
Written by James Merendino
Steve Tymon
Produced byJerry Feifer
Drew Peloso
Michael Feifer
Starring Marklen Kennedy
Carolyn Taye-Loren
David Huffman
CinematographyDennis Maloney
Edited byTony Miller
Music by Miriam Cutler
Distributed by Simitar Entertainment (US, DVD)
Release date
  • 1993 (1993)
Running time
95 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Witchcraft V: Dance with the Devil is a 1993 American direct-to-video horror film directed by Talun Hsu and starring Marklen Kennedy, Carolyn Taye-Loren, and David Huffman. The fifth film in the Witchcraft series, followed by Witchcraft VI: The Devil's Mistress . It was produced by Vista Street Entertainment and released by Troma Studios.

Contents

Plot

Marta (Nicole Sassaman) and her boyfriend Bill (Freddy Andreiuci), run a scam were Marta lures an unsuspecting "date" back to her motel room where Bill then knocks the date out and they loot the victim. This time, however, the caper goes awry, and the victim was killed. Upset at the circumstances, and with the body in the trunk, Bill hits a homeless person and almost gets into a wreck with televangelist Reverend Meredith (Lenny Rose).

While the Reverend tries to help the homeless man, a mystic forces goes from the homeless man into the preacher, altering the preacher, who now shows much more interest in his secretary (Kim Bolin).

Marta and Bill bury the dead victim in the countryside, and with their car now inoperable, stumble into the campsite of Cain (David Huffman), who calls himself collector. After trying to run their scam on Cain, Cain turns the tables on them and uses his mystic sword to control Marta, ordering her to kill Bill, with which she complies. Cain reveals himself to be the agent of Satan.

Warlock/attorney hero William Spanner from Witchcraft 2-4 (Marklen Kennedy) and his girlfriend Keli (Carolyn Taye-Loren) are out on a date when Keli is hypnotized by the club's DJ, who is Cain. Cain sensing Spanner's power, tricks him to go onstage and implants a post hypnotic suggestion in Spanner. Cain wants to use spanner's powers to speed up his plan to bring Satan to Earth.

With Spanner acting very out of character, Keli contacts Reverend Meredith, who immediately brings in white witch Anastasia (Aysha Hauer). Anastasia casts a spell of protection on Spanner, but Marta, who has been nightly seducing and ravishing William, kills Anastasia.

Keli goes searching for William at Cain's club and is attacked by Marta. Cain is about to sacrifice her when William appears, bearing Reverend Meredith. William fights off Cain's influence and engages the villain in a duel. In the process, both Cain and Marta are killed, and William and Keli are reunited.

Cast

Continuity

William Spanner's role is greatly reduced from the previous three movies from hero to victim. Footage of the witch burning from the first movie is used. [1]

Reception

1000 misspent hours notes that while noting the movie veers close to soft-core porn, notes the story is better than the previous two movies. AV club found the movie very over-the-top, and states that Huffman’s campy performance makes this one a hoot [2] TV Guide finds the film a reflection of the series as a whole with low production values, poor scripting, uninspired direction and an ever-increasing reliance on bared breasts to arouse the audience. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hobo</span> Migratory worker or homeless vagabond

A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps, and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; a bum neither travels nor works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salem witch trials</span> Legal proceedings in Massachusetts, 1692–1693

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, nineteen of whom were executed by hanging. One other man, Giles Corey, died under torture after refusing to enter a plea, and at least five people died in jail.

<i>House on Haunted Hill</i> 1959 American film

House on Haunted Hill is a 1959 American horror film produced and directed by William Castle, written by Robb White and starring Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long, Alan Marshal, Carolyn Craig and Elisha Cook Jr. Price plays an eccentric millionaire, Frederick Loren, who, along with his wife Annabelle, has invited five people to the house for a "haunted house" party. Whoever stays in the house for one night will earn $10,000. As the night progresses, the guests are trapped within the house with an assortment of terrors. This film is perhaps best known for its promotional gimmick Emergo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Spanner</span> Police investigation into same-sex male sadomasochism in the United Kingdom in the 1980s

Operation Spanner was a police investigation into same-sex male sadomasochism across the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. The investigation, led by the Obscene Publications Squad of the Metropolitan Police, began in 1987 and ran for three years, during which approximately 100 gay and bisexual men were questioned by police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Gothic</span> Subgenre of Gothic fiction

Southern Gothic is an artistic subgenre of fiction, country music, film, theatre, and television that are heavily influenced by Gothic elements and the American South. Common themes of Southern Gothic include storytelling of deeply flawed, disturbing, or eccentric characters who may be involved in hoodoo, decayed or derelict settings, grotesque situations, and other sinister events relating to or stemming from poverty, alienation, crime, or violence.

<i>The Crucible</i> (1996 film) 1996 American historical drama film

The Crucible is a 1996 American historical drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner and written by Arthur Miller, based on his 1953 play of the same title. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis as John Proctor, Winona Ryder as Abigail Williams, Paul Scofield as Judge Thomas Danforth, Joan Allen as Elizabeth Proctor, and Bruce Davison as Reverend Samuel Parris. Set in 1692 during the Salem witch trials, the film follows a group of teenage girls who, after getting caught performing a ritual in the woods, band together and falsely accuse several of the townspeople of witchcraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Noonan</span> American actor and director

Tom Noonan is an American actor, director, and screenwriter, best known for his roles as Francis Dolarhyde in Manhunter (1986), Frankenstein's Monster in The Monster Squad (1987), Cain in RoboCop 2 (1990), The Ripper in Last Action Hero (1993), Sammy Barnathan in Synecdoche, New York (2008), Reverend Nathaniel in Hell on Wheels (2011–2014), the Pallid Man in 12 Monkeys (2015–2018) and as the voice of everyone but the two main characters in Anomalisa (2015).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satana (Marvel Comics)</span> Comics character

Satana Hellstrom is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Roy Thomas and John Romita Sr., she first appeared in Vampire Tales #2. Satana belongs to the species of magical beings called demons, who are born with supernatural abilities, as a human-demon hybrid. She is the younger sister of Daimon Hellstrom and the daughter of Marduk Kurios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fantastic Fest</span> Annual film festival held in Austin, Texas, USA

Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, and Tim McCanlies, writer of The Iron Giant and Secondhand Lions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Bridget Cleary</span> Irish woman killed by her husband (1869–1895)

Bridget Cleary was an Irish woman who was murdered by her husband in 1895. She was either immolated or her body was set on fire immediately after her death. The husband's stated motive was his belief that she had been abducted by fairies and replaced with a changeling, which he then killed. The gruesome nature of the case prompted extensive press coverage, and the trial was closely followed by newspapers across Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural depictions of the Salem witch trials</span>

Cultural depictions of the Salem witch trials abound in art, literature and popular media in the United States, from the early 19th century to the present day. The literary and dramatic depictions are discussed in Marion Gibson's Witchcraft Myths in American Culture and see also Bernard Rosenthal's Salem Story: Reading the Witch Trials of 1692

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Oberst Jr.</span> American actor

William Oberst Jr. is an American stage, film and television actor of German descent. Known for his work in horror and cult films, his career includes projects in film, television and one-man-show theater performances. He first received recognition for his portrayals of icon and humorist Lewis Grizzard as performed in theatrical tours across the Southern United States, and played the 'Facebook Stalker' in the 2011 online interactive video film and Facebook app Take This Lollipop and its 2020 sequel.

<i>Fathers Day</i> (2011 film) 2011 film

Father's Day is a 2011 action-horror comedy film directed by Adam Brooks, Jeremy Gillespie, Matthew Kennedy, Steven Kostanski and Conor Sweeney. The film stars Brooks as Ahab, a man determined to exact revenge on Chris Fuchman, the Father's Day Killer, a rapist and serial killer who murdered his father years ago.

Witchcraft III: The Kiss of Death is a 1991 American horror film directed by Rachel Feldman and starring Charles Solomon Jr, Dominic Luciana, and Nicole Lauren. It is the third film in the Witchcraft series. The film was distributed by Troma Studios and produced by Vista Street Entertainment. It is followed by Witchcraft IV: The Virgin Heart.

Witchcraft IV: The Virgin Heart is a 1992 American horror film directed by James Merendino and starring Charles Solomon Jr and Julie Strain. The fourth film in the Witchcraft series, it was followed by Witchcraft V: Dance with the Devil. Produced by Vista Street Entertainment, it was released by Troma Studios.

Witchcraft XI: Sisters in Blood is a 2000 American horror film directed by Ron Ford and starring Miranda O'dell, Lauren Ian Richards, and James Servais. The eleventh film in the Witchcraft series, it was produced by Vista Street Entertainment. The film is followed by Witchcraft XII: In the Lair of the Serpent.

Witchcraft VI: the Devils Mistress in a 1994 American supernatural horror film directed by Julie Davis and starring Jerry Spicer, Debra K. Beatty, and Shannon McLeod. The sixth film in the Witchcraft series, it was produced by Vista Street Entertainment and released by Troma Studios.

Witchcraft is a horror film series, that as of March 2018, has 16 direct to video installments, making it one of the horror genre's longest-running interconnected series. It began in 1988, and most films focus, at least partially, on the character of William Spanner, who is a powerful warlock who fights for good despite having an evil lineage.

Witchcraft VII: Judgement Hour is a 1995 American horror film directed by Michael Paul Girard and starring David Byrnes, April Breneman, Loren Schmalle, Alisha Christensen, and Ashlie Rhey. The seventh instalment in the Witchcraft film series, it was produced by Vista Street Entertainment and released direct-to-video on December 27, 1995 by Troma Studios. The script was written by Peter Flemming.

References

  1. "We dutifully sat through all 13 entries in horror's longest-running franchise". 30 October 2015.
  2. "We dutifully sat through all 13 entries in horror's longest-running franchise". 30 October 2015.
  3. "Witchcraft V: Dance with the Devil".