Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale (2024) Season One Review

SANCTUARY: A WITCH’S TALE Season One centres Elaine Cassidy’s Sarah Fenn alongside other powerful female characters with Hazel Doupe (Smother, Into the Badlands) as Harper Fenn, Amy De Bhrún (Line of Duty, Vikings) as Abigail Whithall and Stephanie Levi-John (The Spanish Princess) as DCI Maggie Knight.

When local teen rugby star and town golden boy, Dan Whithall dies in a sudden and unexplained accident, the tight-knit community turns to Sarah (Cassidy) for answers. Though witches are welcome to live openly in Sanctuary, the weight of Dan’s death brings to light how deep old prejudices can run and just how quickly suspicions can turn deadly. In the wake of a police investigation and as rumours spiral, grief soon curdles into blame and Abigail (De Bhrún) – Dan’s devastated mother and once Sarah’s closest friend – begins to stoke the pyre on a modern-day witch hunt.

As suspicion grips the town, Sarah and her teenage daughter Harper (Doupe) find themselves in the middle of a mounting storm: a community unravelling; an investigation steeped in bias and a deadly force of paranoia determined to destroy them.

I was tickled pink when I was approached to review a TV series about witches that was set in England and couldn’t wait to watch it. It starts off well but quickly degenerates into a ‘hate fest’, where literally everyone turns on Sarah and her daughter Harper to the point that it becomes unbearable to watch without seething with anger throughout. As a parallel to how witches were treated back in the midsts of time, then it certainly hits the spot in conveying how reviled they were and how their local communities were all nice and smiley when they wanted something from them and then how quickly they turned when things go pear-shaped.

It becomes impossible to enjoy or be entertained by, as it amounts to nothing more than watching a mother and daughter be persecuted and vilified on their home turf and there is little in the way of respite. It is unrelenting and leaves you feeling far from gripped or entertained but riled up instead. The anticipated magic and spells take a back-seat to a bog-standard soap drama dressed up and sold off as something more enchanting. I watched every episode if only to see how many of the vile characters met a just reward (not enough of them do for my liking). Perhaps if the personal drama was not the series’ only card to play and had there been more to the story than an unrelenting build-up of hate towards Sarah and Harper then I might have warmed to it more than I did.

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Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches Season 2 (2024) Review

ANNE RICE’s MAYFAIR WITCHES SEASON 2 sees the return of its stellar cast including Alexandra Daddario (THE WHITE LOTUS, TRUE DETECTIVE), Tongayi Chirisa (AMERICAN HORROR STORY, iZOMBIE), Harry Hamlin (MAD MEN, CLASH OF THE TITANS) and Jack Huston (BOARDWALK EMPIRE, FARGO). Ben Feldman (MAD MEN, SUPERSTORE, AS ABOVE, SO BELOW) and Alyssa Jirrels (FATAL ATTRACTION, AS WE SEE IT) also join the cast, breathing fresh life into Rice’s acclaimed novels.

It’s back to the streets of New Orleans where Rowan (Daddario) is facing the challenges of motherhood after giving birth to the embodiment of the demonic entity Lasher. For Rowan, being a Mum is truly like nothing else, as Lasher provides her with abilities she’s never experienced before… but these elevated powers come at a cost and soon begin to threaten her very existence…

The complicated connection to her son increases as he grows at an alarmingly rapid rate, speeding through his teens into adulthood. As Lasher grows, he begins to struggle with his own wants and desires, causing him to spiral dangerously out of control, threatening the entire Mayfair bloodline. As blood is spilled and more lives are put at risk, Rowan must decide whether her newfound powers are worth the cost of those closest to her.

AMC acquired the rights to Anne Rice’s books in 2020 and have since wasted no time in bringing her work to our TV screens under the banner of IMMORTAL UNIVERSE. To date INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE has two seasons under its belt, with a third arriving in 2026, and both INTERVIEW series have received both critical and audience acclaim. MAYFAIR WITCHES has yet to deliver to the same standard however its Season 2 comes remarkably close to matching it.

The first season of Anne Rice’s MAYFAIR WITCHES (2023) took a few episodes to find its groove but once it did it soared. Fortunately, there are no teething issues with this second season as the foundations were already in place and come the end of this second season I was gagging for more. With Season Two I had a better grasp and understanding of Rowan Mayfair’s power and the relationship dynamics between the characters which I must confess to finding a bit muddled first-time round.

Jack Huston captures the complexity of demon spirit Lasher and elsewhere Harry Hamlin’s Cortland gets some choice scenes of his own as he goes head-to-head with his captor and father Julien Mayfair, excellently played by the ever-reliable Ted Levine. Levine elevates every scene he is in taking this second season to new heights, he clearly relishes the opportunity to play an out-and-out villain, and he gives it everything he’s got.

‘Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches Season 2’ – Alexandra Daddario returns to enchanting gothic series – on digital & physical August + Box Set

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Panel at Comic-Con @ 2024

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In the Lost Lands (2025) Review

Based on a short story by bestselling author George R.R. Martin (A GAME OF THRONES) and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (RESIDENT EVIL, MONSTER HUNTER), IN THE LOST LANDS follows the powerful sorceress Gray Alys (Milla Jovovich) as she journeys into the dangerous “Lost Lands.” Guided by the mysterious gunslinger Boyce (Dave Bautista), they must outwit and outfight both man and demon as they search for an elusive magical power…

Anderson follows up his 2020 MONSTER HUNTER with another lavish fantasy adventure epic starring genre favourite Jovovich; the cast also includes breakout star Amara Orekeke in her film debut, Fraser James (TERMINATOR: DARK FATE), and Arly Jover (BLADE). Featuring a superb score by Paul Haslinger (UNDERWORLD), outstanding visual effects by Dennis Berardi (THE SHAPE OF WATER), and beautifully shot by Glen MacPherson (the RESIDENT EVIL films), IN THE LOST LANDS is epic filmmaking at its most exciting and visionary.

Milla Jovovich and Dave Bautista have always proven to be a welcome addition to any film cast and their combined presence here keeps this otherwise sluggish fantasy film watchable. I was aware, before I sat down to review IN THE LOST LANDS, that it failed to find much of an audience at the box-office and win over the critics, which is much the same for many of director Paul W.S. Anderson’s films. Of that director’s output, his 1997 EVENT HORIZON stands out as his pièce de resistance. Unfortunately, IN THE LOST LANDS is lacklustre, dull, and instantly forgettable.

As seems to be increasingly the case nowadays with big screen releases, the film’s special effects aren’t, they are more ‘mediocre’ special effects. It makes you yearn for a big return to practical effects. There’s a wee twist towards the film’s climax but aside from this last-minute reveal IN THE LOST LANDS plods along lifelessly, much like the two main characters – which no fault of the actors, it’s what they are called upon to do. I wanted to like this post-apocalyptic sci-fi fantasy so much more but alas it lacked excitement and was further hampered by static action sequences and dialogue.

WATCH THE OFFICIAL TRAILER HERE

IN THE LOST LANDS will be available to buy and rent from digital platforms on 28 April, and on DVD, Blu-ray, 4K UHD and VOD on 2 June

An HMV Exclusive 4K UHD Edition, including limited edition art cards and an alternative cover, will be available from 2 June

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Dachra (2018) Arrow Player Review

Set against the backdrop of contemporary Tunisia, journalism student Yassmine and two classmates set out to solve the cold case of Mongia, a woman found mutilated 25 years ago and now imprisoned in an asylum suspected of witchcraft. As they pursue their investigation, the three friends stumble into the archaic and ominous world of Dachra, an isolated countryside compound filled with goats, silent women, mysterious drying meat, and home to a cult. When Yassmine discovers Dachra’s secrets, she must fight to escape alive.

Writer-director Abdelhamid Bouchnak’s first feature film is also reportedly Tunisia’s first horror film. Opening with the overused ‘based on a true story’ claim DACHRA has three youngsters – two men and a woman – toddle into woodland in search of a witch, sounds familiar right, but unlike THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT this is not a found-footage flick. With impressive photography, courtesy of director of photography Hatem Nechi, DACHRA certainly looks the part, its very atmospheric and, for the gorehounds amongst you, occasionally gruesome.

Unfortunately, the film is overlong, lacks originality, resorts to well worn genre tropes and consists of silly people making stupid choices. Anyone in their right mind would have done a runner very quickly from the spooky village the threesome visit but no, not in DACHRA, the youngsters stay there no matter how unsettling things become for them. There is a twist that comes late in the day that jars as it fails to sit well with an earlier scene where one of the two guys discovers that someone was filming them as they sleep and wielding a large knife whilst doing so.

DACHRA, winner of the Scariest Film Award at The Overlook Film Festival, is streaming on ARROW from 16th May

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Monster Summer (2024) Review

When a great evil threatens a group of teens’ never-ending summer, they must band together with a grizzly detective in this 80s adventure throwback. When a mysterious force begins to disrupt their big summer fun, Noah and his friends team up with a retired police detective to embark on a monstrous adventure to save their island.

Starring Lorraine Bracco (THE SOPRANOS), Mel Gibson (BRAVEHEART), Mason Thames (THE BLACK PHONE), Kevin James (PAUL BLART: MALL COP), Nora Zehetner (THE RIGHT STUFF) and Abby James Witherspoon (HOT PURSUIT), Monster Summer is written by Bryan Schulz & Cornelius Uliano (THE PEANUTS MOVIE) and directed by David Henrie (THIS IS THIS YEAR).

Originally entitled BOYS OF SUMMER, MONSTER SUMMER plays out like a classic Eighties family movie. It has a whiff of THE GOONIES and THE MONSTER SQUAD about it, and a vibe that feels like it came straight out of Spielberg’s Amblin Studios. It makes for a pleasant surprise and is the perfect anecdote to those bloated Hollywood studio Christmas blockbusters poised for release that always spectacularly fail to hit the grade as decent entertainment.

Whilst perhaps lacking the budget of Spielberg’s family friendly, light-hearted action-adventure movies of the mid-Eighties, it makes up for any such limitations by boasting an excellent cast of youngsters and witnessing a return to form from Mel Gibson, who adds gravitas to his supporting role as a gnarly, grizzled neighbour whom the kids suspect of foul-play.

It’s by no means perfect – it could have been just that little bit scarier – but it does make for one of the more pleasant surprises that has been sent my way to review in a long while. Child-actor-turned-director David Henrie proves that he has the goods, and I look forward to seeing what he turns his hand to next.

Monster Summer is available on Digital Platforms 25 November. Distributed by Signature Entertainment

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Members Club (2024) Review

Wet Dreams, a middle-aged male stripper group, have hit rock bottom. After a string of disastrous gigs, the gang considers disbanding. Alan, the group’s happy-go-lucky front man, takes over the business and books the boys a lucrative and mysterious gig in rural Essex. But when the group arrive at the desolate club, their night quickly takes a dark turn when they find themselves tangled up in a plot to raise a murderous 16th century witch from the dead.

Following closely on the heels of SLAY, which saw drag queens entertaining at a biker’s bar before being besieged by vampires, MEMBERS CLUB does something similar by placing middle-aged male strippers up against a witch that is very keen to get their man bits in her clutches. And like SLAY this is another successful combination of horror and comedy that will tickle one’s fancy and prove more than perfect for unwinding at home with after another grotty workday.

Written and directed by Marc Coleman (MANFISH) MEMBERS CLUB must be my current favourite of all the films that featured at this summer’s London FRIGHTFEST, of those that I have been able to see to date. It’s by no means brilliant and it’s not aiming to be ‘brilliant,’ but as lowbrow British horror comedies go this delivers the goods. In a nutshell MEMBERS CLUB is THE FULL MONTY meets SUSPIRIA (the witch in MEMBERS CLUB’s bears an uncannily similarity to the main one in Argento’s 1976 classic) with a number of agreeably gross moments to get your laughing gears in motion.

Male strippers take on a 16th Century witch in MEMBERS CLUB available on UK Digital Platforms from 21st October

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Conjuring the Cult (2024) Review

After finding his daughter dead, David Bryson (Neil Green) attends a self-help group to cope with his nightmares. But when a group of mysterious women offer to resurrect his daughter, David’s own fate and that of his daughter’s soul hangs in the balance.

CONJURING THE CULT is written and directed by Calvin Moore McCarthy, who’s film CV reads like a collection of titles using, within their titles, popular franchise names, for example ‘INSIDIOUS’ Inferno, ‘CONJURING: the Beyond’ and now this. Intentional or otherwise CONJURING THE CULT makes for very funny viewing and often borders on camp and there aren’t that many movies that deal with grief that’ll make viewers chuckle, certainly none of which I am aware.

Most of the most part CONJURING THE CULT sees grieving father David continually encounters the spirit of his deceased daughter Masha (Chynna Rae Shurts) as she lollops around the family home, long dark hair hanging down, bent forward like a J-Horror wannabe, effectively aping RINGU, THE GRUDGE and many others of that ilk. When Masha is not channelling her inner Samara, she is instead screeching loudly into camera, mouth wide open, again like a J-Horror wannabe channelling THE GRUDGE, or suddenly popping into frame for one of this film’s many attempts at ‘jump’ scares.

Quite how David, or anyone else for that matter, fails to suss that the four younger women that he meets through the grief support group attends are witches is beyond me. They all dress in black, often talk in unison, and when arriving unannounced at David’s front door they are enshrouded within a mist/fog, but again David appears not to notice and just says to come on in. CONJURING THE CULT is better made than most other lower-budget flicks and is certainly entertaining albeit sometimes for the wrong reasons.

WATCH THE TRAILER

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Inherit the Witch (2024) Review

In 1984, a family throws a birthday party for twins Cory and Jessie. 30 years later, what’s left of the family reunites for the father’s funeral, at two isolated houses in the New Forest, England, historically a hotbed of witchcraft. There, horrific truths are slowly uncovered about the family’s occult pact with an ancient evil that has secretly been at the core of their wealth and power, as the remaining siblings uncover the true bloody darkness behind their inheritance.

Written and directed by Cradeaux Alexander, INHERIT THE WITCH, is described in the marketing blurb as ‘a psychological horror movie that features supernatural drama, occult thrills and central gay characters.’ Cradeaux Alexander also acts in the film headlining as Cory, one of the twins. Alexander excels at writing and delivering with his performance the ripe, spiky, barbed dialogue and it is these scenes that sees INHERIT THE WITCH shine the brightest.

French composer François Evans soundtracks INHERIT THE WITCH superbly with retro synth/electronic sounds which not only make for the most welcome film score that I have heard in many years but also enhances the film’s Seventies throwback vibe. Filmed in the expansive, sprawling New Forest, which is just up the road from where I live, INHERIT THE WITCH taps into the area’s association with witchcraft – tourist area Burley is popular for that very reason – and it pays off.

INHERIT THE WITCH is far less successful at maintaining the steady momentum of the film’s first half-hour. If often lacks focus and, in places, it can prove to be unnecessarily talkative and lacking much in the way of thrills or chills to keep the viewer hooked. That said, as far as lower budget British fare goes this is better than most that get a release, but it still does not always hit the heights that it so amiably strives to reach.

François Evans’s soundtrack can be purchased via the link below

www.lamprecordings.com

INHERIT THE WITCH will be available in the US on Digital from 24th September

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Witch (2024) Review

Small town, England, 1575. We meet Twyla (Sarah Alexandra Marks – KILL KANE, HELP), a loving wife and mother who has been falsely accused of witchcraft and faces death, should she be found guilty. Her devoted husband William (Ryan Spong – A SONG FROM THE DARK, THE REMOTE OFFICE), embarks on a desperate journey to hunt down the real witch and save his beloved.

In a mission fraught with fear and danger, the determined man encounters tales of malevolence through the ages, and he starts to question whether the witch he seeks is even of this world. Also starring Russell Shaw (SIX YEARS GONE, THE LOCKDOWN HAUNTINGS).

I have heard that if you are looking to make a film on a lower budget then a period-based story was one to avoid. Pulling off a period piece successfully will naturally require period costumes to be worn by all the cast. You would also need authentic looking locations to ensure that your film looks to be set in that time. So, it is a big well done to all involved with the making of WITCH for pulling it off production-wise, especially with their choice of location.

However, elsewhere WITCH flounders. It is too dialogue-heavy and static, and starved of close-up shots of the actors which robs them of any power or emotional heft to their performances, which are otherwise fine. There is the main story but no side stories, and as we know where the story is heading – from having it shown at the movie’s start before the story jumped back a few days – it fast becomes repetitive.

Logic takes a backseat – at the climax of a pivotal court scene a giggling, obviously unhinged blood-soaked woman is left unattended and apparently uncuffed for no good reason – and it’s probably one of the only period flicks I’ve seen where a man of law gives chase after criminals on foot rather than with the expected horse.

TRAILER

Released on digital 29 April 2024

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The Devil’s Heist (2020) Review

After being released from prison, Ted (Bryan Sapphire) and his associates rob Coven National Bank, later to find out it is owned by Lucifer (Mike Ferguson) and the employees are witches.

THE DEVIL’S HEIST looks like it was fun to make – check out the comedy out-takes at the start of the film’s end credits and you’ll see what I mean – unfortunately it’s not as much fun to have to sit through. It’s a short and rather lifeless flick, there’s no pace, no oomph and it’s criminally flat for something that has a premise that screams out for dynamic tension.

The story is broken down into chapters, although quite why is not clear as one segment is pretty much just as dull and repetitive as the one that preceded it. Director Fernando Acevedo’s film is basically three people bickering before, during and after they commit a robbery, otherwise there’s three women stood around what looks like a large bowl of milk nattering.

I couldn’t quite fathom why Lucifer would need a bank account or, on an overall level, whether the film was meant to be funny rather than taken straight. Add to that musical accompaniments that quickly become tiresome and repetitive and you have a very odd flick indeed. The version I was sent to review was ‘unrated’ which would imply that its content is more hardcore, it’s not. On the plus side Lucifer does has some great tattoos!

OFFICIAL TRAILER

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