by Flack » Mon Apr 10, 2023 12:19 pm
Witchboard 2: The Devil's Doorway was an unlikely sequel, entering theaters a full seven years after the release of the original (and only moderately successful) Witchboard. Witchboard 2 doesn't make sense on many levels; not just its plot, but its sheer creation. The original film, released during the height of the Satanic Panic, played on the fears of adults (and hopes of teens) that Ouija boards enabled the living to talk to the dead. By 1993, that wave had largely passed -- the fear that children's brains were being reprogrammed by backward messages in music had largely subsided. The highest grossing horror films of 1993 instead featured dinosaurs (Jurassic Park), aliens (Fire in the Sky), and zombies.
Witchboard 2 is a sequel is name only, with the only common thread (save for a brief, unrelated cameo) is that both films contain an Ouija board. Despite sharing no characters, spirits, or locations (it's not even the same Ouija board), Witchboard 2 is, more or less, the exact same film as Witchboard 1. Sure, Linda from the first film is a stay at home girlfriend and Paige from the second film is a single artist living alone in a loft, but major plot points, events, and even lines of dialog are identical. Trouble begins in both films when the female protagonist begins using the Ouija board alone. Both are deceived by the spirit they are conversing with. In both films the spirit commits murders, and in both films a detective pins the crimes on the living. In both films, humans possessed by evil spirits use an axe to attack people. In both films, someone says "I have a bad feeling about this," one of the lamest Star Wars references ever. In both movies there's a lot of arguing over who the "portal" is that allowed an evil spirit to enter our realm, and in both movies, evil spirits are exorcised by the destruction of the Ouija board. Both films end with someone discussing whether or not the Ouija board still functions moments before the planchette zips over to "YES." Literally, both movies have the same trick ending! There's a strong case to be made that there's no need for Witchboard 2 to exist, and a similar argument could probably be made in regards to the first one.
In Witchboard 2, Paige discovers an Ouija board what has been left behind by the previous owner of her apartment, and within 30 seconds a spirit begins conversing with her. Paige responds by saying, "huh, these things really work," with less of a reaction than every time a cricket lands anywhere near me. It's not long before Paige begins asking Russell, the landlord's brother, if he knew anyone named Susan, because that's who she's been talking to through the Ouija board. Russell helped murdered Susan and yet does not seem worried in the slightest that Paige is freely chatting with his victim beyond the grave. In fact, through much of the movie, Russell -- Susan's murderer -- helps Paige follow Susan's clues in hopes that it will lead to her murderer. Him.
Another weird thing both films share is the claim that spirits aren't good spellers. Each film contains a scene in which the spirit delivers a message that is misspelled, causing confusion. In the first movie, the payoff is nearly instant. In Witchboard 2, Paige spends half the movie trying to figure out what a RIFLECAPE is, only to -- thanks to a cliched set of Scrabble tiles -- rearrange the tiles to spell the word FIREPLACE. It's such a dumb, forced, nonsensical way to obfuscate a plot point, and the only thing that could make it even more stupid is to use it in both films, which they did.
In one of the film's biggest mistakes, Witchboard 2 is lacking in victims. The film only has five primary characters, most of whom are needed to move the plot along. As a result, most of the best deaths happen in dream sequences. It's a slasher movie with almost no slashes.
Witchboard 2 lacks the humor, the shock value, and the kills that made the first film remotely memorable. It's also missing the three best things from the first film, the first being Tawny Kitaen and the other two belonging to her. Save your digital rental fee and put the money toward your own Ouija board, currently selling for $20ish on Amazon. Oh the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9rF_wjFzVc
[i]Witchboard 2: The Devil's Doorway[/i] was an unlikely sequel, entering theaters a full seven years after the release of the original (and only moderately successful) [i]Witchboard[/i]. [i]Witchboard 2[/i] doesn't make sense on many levels; not just its plot, but its sheer creation. The original film, released during the height of the Satanic Panic, played on the fears of adults (and hopes of teens) that Ouija boards enabled the living to talk to the dead. By 1993, that wave had largely passed -- the fear that children's brains were being reprogrammed by backward messages in music had largely subsided. The highest grossing horror films of 1993 instead featured dinosaurs (Jurassic Park), aliens (Fire in the Sky), and zombies.
[i]Witchboard 2[/i] is a sequel is name only, with the only common thread (save for a brief, unrelated cameo) is that both films contain an Ouija board. Despite sharing no characters, spirits, or locations (it's not even the same Ouija board), [i]Witchboard 2[/i] is, more or less, the exact same film as [i]Witchboard 1[/i]. Sure, Linda from the first film is a stay at home girlfriend and Paige from the second film is a single artist living alone in a loft, but major plot points, events, and even lines of dialog are identical. Trouble begins in both films when the female protagonist begins using the Ouija board alone. Both are deceived by the spirit they are conversing with. In both films the spirit commits murders, and in both films a detective pins the crimes on the living. In both films, humans possessed by evil spirits use an axe to attack people. In both films, someone says "I have a bad feeling about this," one of the lamest Star Wars references ever. In both movies there's a lot of arguing over who the "portal" is that allowed an evil spirit to enter our realm, and in both movies, evil spirits are exorcised by the destruction of the Ouija board. Both films end with someone discussing whether or not the Ouija board still functions moments before the planchette zips over to "YES." Literally, both movies have the same trick ending! There's a strong case to be made that there's no need for [i]Witchboard 2[/i] to exist, and a similar argument could probably be made in regards to the first one.
In [i]Witchboard 2[/i], Paige discovers an Ouija board what has been left behind by the previous owner of her apartment, and within 30 seconds a spirit begins conversing with her. Paige responds by saying, "huh, these things really work," with less of a reaction than every time a cricket lands anywhere near me. It's not long before Paige begins asking Russell, the landlord's brother, if he knew anyone named Susan, because that's who she's been talking to through the Ouija board. Russell helped murdered Susan and yet does not seem worried in the slightest that Paige is freely chatting with his victim beyond the grave. In fact, through much of the movie, Russell -- Susan's murderer -- helps Paige follow Susan's clues in hopes that it will lead to her murderer. Him.
Another weird thing both films share is the claim that spirits aren't good spellers. Each film contains a scene in which the spirit delivers a message that is misspelled, causing confusion. In the first movie, the payoff is nearly instant. In [i]Witchboard 2[/i], Paige spends half the movie trying to figure out what a RIFLECAPE is, only to -- thanks to a cliched set of Scrabble tiles -- rearrange the tiles to spell the word FIREPLACE. It's such a dumb, forced, nonsensical way to obfuscate a plot point, and the only thing that could make it even more stupid is to use it in both films, which they did.
In one of the film's biggest mistakes, [i]Witchboard 2[/i] is lacking in victims. The film only has five primary characters, most of whom are needed to move the plot along. As a result, most of the best deaths happen in dream sequences. It's a slasher movie with almost no slashes.
[i]Witchboard 2[/i] lacks the humor, the shock value, and the kills that made the first film remotely memorable. It's also missing the three best things from the first film, the first being Tawny Kitaen and the other two belonging to her. Save your digital rental fee and put the money toward your own Ouija board, currently selling for $20ish on Amazon. Oh the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!