’Spell’ Review: Dir Mark Tonderai (2020)

In Spell, high profile and wealthy lawyer, Marquis (Omari Hardwick), gets a call saying that his father has died. Despite being estranged from his abusive dad, Marquis’ wife insists that they go and pay their respects. On the way there, the family’s private plane crash lands during a storm and Marquis wakes up alone in a strange house. He’s been taken in by Eloise (Loretta Devine), an elderly woman who believes she can use magic to nurse him back to health. Desperate to track down his missing family, Marquis attempts a daring escape, but in doing so discovers that Eloise may be far more dangerous than he anticipated…

Director Mark Tonderai (House at the End of the Street), tries his best to conjure up some tension and scares, however, the result lacks anything memorable. Whilst Spell is well made and acted, it lacks any real sense of atmosphere and suspense; the plot is tired and repetitive. Rather than expand out and give the story scope, writer Kurt Wimmer seems content to keep recycling the same scenario over and over. This means that the viewer has to sit and watch as Marquis repeatedly sneaks out of his room, discovers a new revelation about Eloise and then sneaks back into his bed just, and it’s always just, before she enters the room. It’s a little contrived, cliched, and downright dull. 

Spell attempts to tackle some tricky topics, mainly black-on-black racism, and that divide between those that are perceived to have sold out and ‘turned into the white man’ that enslaved their ancestors, and those that remain devout to the old ways of their culture. There’s also a lot of discussion about escaping your past and how childhood events never truly leave you. Again it’s a valid subject, but it isn’t handled with the most respect and rather than having Marquis be empowered from having survived his trauma, the film almost paints his trauma as having been necessary to help him cope with his current situation

Since House at the End of the Street, Tonderai has carved out a career directing television, having worked across programmes such as Nightflyers, Castle Rock, and Gotham. This shift from film to television shows with Spell playing out like an extended episode of a series rather than a fully coherent film. The constant repetition of trial and error of Marquis’ escapes seem to be included as a way to try and plug the run-time gap, but instead it only works to frustrate and alienate the viewer. 

Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her turn as Annie Wilkes in Misery, a film that Spell so desperately tries to emulate. Bates got her nomination in part for being given so much material to work with. Sadly in Spell, neither Devine or Hardwick are given anywhere near the workout that both are capable of. The two leads make the most of what they’re given, but you can’t help feel that even they are exasperated with their character’s actions. 

A Southern Misery with added hoodoo is what Spell sets out to be, however, the result is more akin with a short Twilight Zone segment stretched too far. 

Spell is available now on Digital HD.