The Love Witch
DVD Review
by Kam Williams
Campy Horror Comedy Comes to Home
Video
Elaine Parker (Samantha Robinson)
only became a witch after being abandoned by her late husband. An
incurable romantic with fairy princess fantasies, the gorgeous widow
still harbors hopes of finding Mr. Right.
With that goal in mind, she
relocates to a quiet town in Northern California where she
conveniently rents an already Goth-themed apartment in an imposing
mansion on a hill. There, she makes fast friends with her laid-back
landlady, Trish (Laura Waddell), while setting a trap for a string of
unsuspecting suitors via a combination of spells and love potions..
Her first mark is Wayne Peters
(Jeffrey Vincent Parise), a very gullible professor she picks up in a
park. She seduces the stranger with the help of a drink spiked with
hallucinogenic herbs. However, Wayne is not long for the world once
the two have consummated the relationship.
After burying the corpse in her
backyard, it's on to the next conquest for Elaine, who sets her
sights on everyone from Trish's husband, Richard (Robert Seeley), to
Griff (Gian Keys), the police Sergeant investigating Wayne's
disappearance. Thus unfolds The Love Witch, a campy horror comedy
written, produced and directed by Anna Biller (Viva). The movie marks
her sophomore offering, and stars Samantha Robinson in the title
role.
The visually-captivating
adventure is a rarity nowadays in that it was shot on 35 mm film. And
it is also a highly-stylized throwback in the sense that it is an
unapologetic homage to the trashy sexploitation flicks of the Sixties
and Seventies.
So, don't expect to invest
emotionally in this cornball adventure at all, particularly given how
the heroine delivers virtually every one of her lines in a
halfhearted, tongue-in-cheek tone. Ultimately, this period piece
harks back less to a cultural era than to a bygone genre of
moviemaking.
A light as a feather, feminist
fantasy where flawed males meet their match during creative displays
of eroticized violence.
Very Good
(2.5 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 120 minutes
Distributor: Oscilloscope
Laboratories
DVD Extras: Feature-length audio
commentary with director Anna Biller, cinematographer M. David
Mullen, actor Samantha Robinson, and producer/actor Jared Sanford;
behind-the-scenes video with Anna Biller; interview with
cinematographer M. David Mullen; deleted and extended scenes; and
theatrical trailers.
To see a
trailer for The Love Witch, visit: https://vimeo.com/151970316
No comments:
Post a Comment