Quick Links
If you’re a horror fan, oh boy, have you been eating well the last few years. 2025 has been no exception,thanks to a stream of hits likeSinnersandWeapons, but with the genre so strong at the moment, there are many lesser-known films that fall under the radar.Witchboard, releasing on August 15, had the potential to be a small gem thanks to the direction of respected horror directorChuck Russell(A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors,The Blob), and the rebooting of a cult classic from the 1980s that could have used an update.
Alas,Witchboardis not a horror movie you’ll remember.While it’s fun to see Russell making a horror movie again, and his direction is more than adequate,a boring script, frustrating characters, and every lazy trope imaginable hold the film backfrom being something worthwhile. If you ask the board inWitchboardif this movie is any good, you’re not going to get an exciting answer.
What Is ‘Witchboard’ About?
The newWitchboardmight have the same name as the 1986 film, which starredTodd AllenandTawny Kitaen, but outside of that, the update features completely different characters with a new plot that has few similarities to what came before. Here, we center on Emily (Madison Iseman), another young blonde heroine in a horror film.Emily is a recovering drug addict who doesn’t know who her parents are, but rather than continuing to live in the pain of her past, she is focused on her fiancé, Christian (Aaron Dominiguez), a chef opening his own restaurant in the heart of New Orleans.
One day, while hunting for mushrooms in the woods with their friends, they come across the mysterious witchboard. Little do they know that two criminals hired by the ultra-rich Alexander Babtiste (Jamie Campbell Bower) just gave their lives stealing that same board from a museum, and now Alexander wants it back. The witchboard is like a Ouija board, where you ask it a question, and the pendulum and the bone finger attached to it point the way.
Of course, because this is a horror movie,the witchboard is bad news, and Emily’s friends start dying. There are a few fun scenes, namely a tense, drawn-out moment in a restaurant kitchen,where a character meets their demise in aFinal Destination-like gag. The longer Emily keeps the witchboard in her possession, the more something from the other side comes in, including visions of a witch from centuries past named Naga Soth (Antonia Desplat), who built the board to seek revenge on those who sought to destroy her. Now, the witch is coming for Emily and everyone she cares about. Will they be able to escape her?
Dumb Characters Stop the Story From Making an Impact
Witchboardis one of those horror movies where every protagonist looks perfect and glossy, as if they just walked out of a commercial and not real life. The only exception is Richie (Charlie Tahan), the everyday guy and the smartest of the bunch, who knows that the witchboard is bad news and wants nothing to do with it. Chuck Russell, who co-wrote the film withGreg McKay, should be commended for not writing a bunch of predictable horror movie characters. There are no stereotypes of the jock, the dunce, the mean girl, and every other character trait that’s been done to death. These are not those kinds of people at all, which makes you want to root for them in the first act. But then it all falls apart.
Witchboardhas an intriguing setup,which then evaporates as Russell fails to evolve his characters.Outside of a few lines in the third act, very little is done with Emily’s reveal that she’s an orphan and a former drug addict.Unlike theEvil Deadreboot, which used addiction to motivate its protagonist, it all has very little meaning inWitchboard, except to give Christian a reason to ask if Emily is on drugs every time she does anything strange due to the witch’s influence. The characters we’re supposed to care about to live through the events are uninspired and lifeless. Aaron Dominquez acts like a deer caught in headlights, flabbergasted by everything, whenever a scene turns dramatic.
Witchboardloses the promise of its premise simply because it does so little with the people in the story. Almost every single character is dumb and completely clueless. When Emily and Christian see that the witchboard is evil and that people are dying, do they get rid of it? Nope. For some reason, Emily thinks that her past of addiction will get her in trouble just by turning in stolen property. So, rather than do anything at all, they keep it on their bedroom dresser, even as the weird shit it’s capable of keeps piling up. In scene after scene, their brows are furrowed as, by golly, they’re completely dumbfounded by what’s happening and don’t know what to do.
Of course, if they were smart and got rid of the thing, like anyone else would do, then you’d have no movie in this world, butWitchboardis too lazy in building that world. There are some compelling scenes where we get to see Naga Soth’s story, and a few rather beautiful set pieces and cinematography. However, because the story can’t spend too much time away from its leads,the world of the witchboard brings out the old horror mainstay of “the expert,“created simply to explain what’s happening to the audience. Here, that comes in the form of another super-glossy character, Brooke (Melanie Jarnson), Christian’s ex, who just so happens to be a world traveler who specializes in antiquities and knows all about the witchboard. Throw in some books being read and a few Google searches, and boom,you have the type of cheaply written horror movie you’ve seen a thousand times before.
‘Witchboard’ Suffers From Predictable Horror Tropes
If there’s a standout inWitchboard, it’s Jamie Bower Campbell.With his deep voice and British accent, he is captivating when he speaks and oozes movie star charm, but his character has little to say beyond typical villainous one-liners. He’d be so much more convincing if he had more to do than talk and act sinister. It doesn’t help that he and everyone else are hindered by a formulaic plot with every horror trope you’ve seen before. These characters make the choices you know they’ll make, and the twists are seen from a mile away.Witchboardcan’t even help itself with its double ending, which includes two silly jump scares anda hilarious moment where a seemingly dead character opens up their eyes at the last possible second.
Maybe that temptation was given in to due to the hopes of a sequel, but it would be a surprise if that happened. At an hour and 50 minutes,Witchboardis already 20 minutes too long. There’s not enough for one movie, let alone for a second. ButWitchboardisn’t unwatchable.Chuck Russell still has it as a director, adequately crafting scenes filled with tension.On a surface level, this looks like a big-budget movie that a lot of time and effort was put into, complete with intricate settings and well-done effects. Russell has made a movie that’s pretty to look at, if nothing else.
If you’re new to horror, this is a good enough entry point, where you can ease your way into the genre without expecting too much. Still, with Chuck Russell involved, it could have been so much better. He was the man who gave us the bestNightmare on Elm Streetsequel. He knows how to do a reboot, too,having helmed one of the best ever inThe Blob. He was even instrumental inmakingJim Carreya household name withThe Mask. But here, he’s phoning it in, having forgotten what he did so effectively in the past, while also not having the likes ofWes CravenandFrank Darabontto help him write the script like he did with his best horror offerings.If you’re a moviegoer who desires smart, original horror, skipWitchboard. You’re better off just watchingSinnersorWeaponsagain.
Witchboardcomes to theaters on August 15.
Witchboard
Chuck Russell is capable of so much more than this lazy reboot.
Witchboard follows Emily and her fiancé Christian as they discover a Wiccan artifact while preparing to open a bistro in New Orleans’ French Quarter. As Emily becomes obsessed with its powers, Christian enlists the help of Alexander Babtiste, a mysterious occult expert with his own hidden agenda.
