From Leeds-based independent producer/director Owen Carey-Jones comes The Spell, a domestic teen drama masquerading as an occult thriller.
Set on a West Yorkshire council estate, 16-year-old Jenny (Rebecca Pitkin) hooks up with local boy Rick, who is fascinated by the occult. When a witchy rival for Rick’s affections puts a hex on Jenny, it’s not long before the poor lass has strange visions, out-of-body experiences, Exorcist-style attacks and ends up in a mental ward.
Said to be based on true events, Carey-Jones doesn’t really know what he wants to make here. Having recently reviewed the superbly-crafted Tony, another ultra low budget, UK-made, council estate-set psychodrama, I find The Spell pales in comparison.
The acting is amateurish, the soundtrack – although catchy – belongs to another film, and the script is ponderous – you have to wait an excruitating 34-minutes before you get some effective Exorcist meets The Entity scariness. And it’s too bad Carey-Jones didn’t keep this up as what follows is slow, wordy and hard to follow. Oh look! There’s another scary moment at the 58-minute mark. Oh dear! That’s it. As for the end… well it’s truly disappointing.
I think the problem with this vanity project is that The Spell wants to be a paranormal version of The Virgin Suicides, but it comes across as a under-developed emotional drama about a teen in dire need of a good therapist. Maybe in more mature hands The Spell could have achieved what it set out to do.
