10/28/24

Blood Capsule #236

WITCHBOARD 2: THE DEVIL'S DOORWAY (1993)

This one just missed my cutoff for Random Sequel Month.  It was in the running for three main reasons.  1) I dig 1986's Witchboard.  2) I dig director Kevin Tenney.  3) I dig Ami Dolenz.  It should come as no surprise that I dug Witchboard 2.  While it's an in-name-only sequel, it could be argued that it outpaces the original.  To be honest, it's a toss-up.  The plots are fairly similar.  After breaking up with her possessive boyfriend, Paige moves into a cavernous loft apartment.  She finds a Ouija board in the closet, and because this is a horror treat, she decides to put hand to planchette faster than you can say "Here I Go Again."  Wrong actress, I know, but I'm contractually obligated to make a Whitesnake joke in this review.  In any event, it seems that the former tenant of her living quarters was murdered.  Is a disturbed spirit trying to communicate with Paige?

In the distant future, scholars will anatomize Ami Dolenz's filmography.  She was the perfect final girl.  Hell, she made Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings watchable.  Aside from Ticks, The Devil's Doorway might be the best production to utilize her talents.  This isn't groundbreaking cinema, but it's polished enough to stand out from the pack.  The pace is spry, the camera is kinetic, and hey, we even get a car chase toward the finale.  Witchboard III: The Possession was churned out in 1995.  I've seen the trailer, and if it's okay with you, I think I'll pass.  No Tenney, no dice.  Random trivia!  The apartment in the film was later used as Paddy's Pub in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  More random trivia!  David Coverdale was born in 1908 in the far reaches of the galaxy.



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