Cast a Deadly Spell

Tagline : Bullets! Demons! The end of the world! Can’t hold a man like this!

Runtime : 96 mins

Genre : TV Movie Mystery Comedy Horror

Vote Rating : 6.1/10

Budget : 6 million $ USD


Reviews for this movie are available below.

Plot : In a fantastical 1940s where magic is used by everyone, a hard-boiled detective investigates the theft of a mystical tome.

Cast Members

Disclaimer - This is a news site. All the information listed here is to be found on the web elsewhere. We do not host, upload or link to any video, films, media file, live streams etc. Kodiapps is not responsible for the accuracy, compliance, copyright, legality, decency, or any other aspect of the content streamed to/from your device. We are not connected to or in any other way affiliated with Kodi, Team Kodi, or the XBMC Foundation. We provide no support for third party add-ons installed on your devices, as they do not belong to us. It is your responsibility to ensure that you comply with all your regional legalities and personal access rights regarding any streams to be found on the web. If in doubt, do not use.
DMCA Policy
- Privacy Policy
Kodiapps app v7.0 - Available for Android. You can now add latest scene releases to your collection with Add to Trakt. More features and updates coming to this app real soon.
Tip : Add https://kodiapps.com/rss to your RSS Ticker in System/Appearance/Skin settings to get the very latest Movie & TV Show release info delivered direct to your Kodi Home Screen. Builders are free to use it for their builds too.
You can get all the very release news and updates direct from our Telegram group.
Our Twitter and Facebook pages are no longer supported.

Reviews

The year: 1948. Magic is everywhere, the hallmark of progress. Hardboiled gumshoe Philip Lovecraft is a PI for hire, but his latest case, a search for a missing book called “The Necronomicon,” leads him down darker alleys than he’s ever traversed before, filled with black magic and hideous creatures intent on doing him harm. Charged with protecting a virtuous dame, finding a magical tome, and unravelling a murderous mystery, Lovecraft will have only his wits, his fists, and a trusty pistol to come out alive. And in this world, coming out undead is a distinct possibility… Supernoirtural would be the perfect word for this film. Cast a Deadly Spell is a fascinating anomaly, a rare treat and a helluva fun ride. It was made for HBO in 1991, directed by Martin Campbell (GoldenEye, Casino Royale, The Mask of Zorro) and starring Fred Ward (as Lovecraft), Clancy Brown, David Warner, and Julianne Moore as Lovecraft’s ex-lover and current gun moll, Connie Stone. And since it’s inexplicably never been released on DVD, it’s never seen the audience that it deserves. This is a pitch-perfect blend of film noir, droll comedy, and Lovecraftian horror. The script (by Joseph Dougherty) is smart, funny without being silly, and filled with perfectly-placed nods to H.P. Lovecraft’s oeuvre. Fred Ward is fantastic as the gruff, acerbic detective, turning in one of the best modern-day performances of a noir PI. He has great fun with the über-noir dialogue. Case in point: > Hackshaw: You don’t believe in magic? > Lovecraft: I believe it, just don’t use it. > Hackshaw: Why? > Lovecraft: Personal reasons. > Hackshaw: And they are? > Lovecraft: Personal. or > Olivia: That’s quite a tie. > Lovecraft: Oh, thanks. > Olivia: Did it put up much of a fight? > Lovecraft: No, I snuck up behind it. Clancy Brown makes a magnificent gangster heavy, Julianne Moore would fit perfectly alongside Barbara Stanwyck as a classic noir dame, and David Warner is in prime form. Director Campbell fully embraces the tale’s pulpy roots and directs with the most stylish flair I’ve seen out of him; it’s almost as though he filmed it in the style of the old Roger Corman shlock films, with exaggerated shots and colors cranked up to 11. The performances ground the film and the direction gives it more class than its origins as a cheap made-for-cable movie should warrant. It’s a heady, exuberant pairing. With the talent both behind and in front of the camera for this made-for-TV flick, it’s incredible that it’s never seen a DVD release. It managed an ugly VHS transfer (and, thanks to the internet, a rather cruddy but serviceable copy can be downloaded) but it’s high time for HBO to release this gem on home video. Two-fisted, brawny action, horror-tinged, a tad campy (in all the right ways)…this is a magnificently fun film that needs to seen. Highest recommendation.

I guess the sequel to this is Witch Hunt, which I loved, and saw BEFORE Cast a Deadly Spell. It doesn't much matter only instead of the guy Dennis Hopper, you got Fred Ward, who is probably known to everyone as either "That guy from the Right Stuff" or "Remo Williams." And I grew up in a life surrounded by pulp trash novels. Westerns, mysteries, just dime novels that most people don't proudly display on a book shelf, but were more or less everywhere in my childhood home. There was always one laying around to pick up and devour. So when Cast A Deadly Spell and Witch Hunt hit my radar, they became insta-classics. Sam Spade set in a world of magic. Hard Boiled Detective trash novels meets HP Lovecraft horror trash novels... the perfect merging. Pure pulp entertainment. And ultimately chock full of references to both genres that only a family that loves it's trash can really appreciate. I'm kind of upset there wasn't a third film.

Similar Movies

C(r)ook

A killer for the Russian Mafia in Vienna wants to retire and write a book about his passion - cooking. The mafia godfather suspects treason.

The Ice Harvest

A shady lawyer attempts a Christmas Eve crime, hoping to swindle the local mob out of some money. But his partner, a strip club owner, might have different plans for the cash.

Another Stakeout

A pair of immature detectives are joined by a pesky assistant district attorney in staking out a lakeside home where an important Mafia trial witness is believed to be heading.

Dead Men Dont Wear Plaid

Juliet Forrest is convinced that the reported death of her father in a mountain car crash was no accident. Her father was a prominent cheese scientist working on a secret recipe. To prove it was murder, she enlists the services of private eye Rigby Reardon. He finds a slip of paper containing a list of people who are 'The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta'.

Kung Fu Hustle

It's the 1940s, and the notorious Axe Gang terrorizes Shanghai. Small-time criminals Sing and Bone hope to join, but they only manage to make lots of very dangerous enemies. Fortunately for them, kung fu masters and hidden strength can be found in unlikely places. Now they just have to take on the entire Axe Gang.

The Thief Lord

A tale about two young boys, Prosper and Bo, who flee to Venice after being orphaned and dumped in the care of a cruel auntie. Hiding in the canals and alleyways of the city, the boys are befriended by a gang of young urchins and their enigmatic leader, the Thief Lord. From their home base of an old cinema theater, the children steal from the rich to support themselves and soon capture the interest of a bumbling detective. However, a greater threat to the children is something from a forgotten past - a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself

Love Takes Flight

A workaholic hospital director is forced to re-examine her rigid lifestyle when a free-wheeling EMS pilot enters her life.

The Girl Who Came Gift-Wrapped

So how can a swinging bachelor learn a lesson about love? As magazine publisher Michael Green celebrates his big 4-0, he finds a bikini-clad Sandy Benson wrapped in a big bow as a birthday present supposedly courtesy of his drinking buddies. After trading barbs with the former beauty pageant winner, they find they have an attraction of sorts and she sticks around. Romance abounds as this country girl goes looking for romance in the big city in a typical television romantic comedy fashion.

Two for the Money

Two cops, who have quit the police department to become private detectives and bounty hunters, hunt for a killer who has eluded capture for years.

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane

To the Los Angeles elite, Ford Fairlane is known as "Mr. Rock 'n' Roll Detective." This loudmouthed ladies' man serves an exclusive rock star clientele, who depend on his keen eye and smug discretion. So when a heavy-metal musician dies mid-concert, Fairlane is on the case before the lights come up. But things turn shocking when radio personality Johnny Crunch hires Fairlane to find a missing groupie mere hours before he is electrocuted live on air.

Hudson Hawk

Eddie Hawkins, called Hudson Hawk has just been released from ten years of prison and is planning to spend the rest of his life honestly. But then the crazy Mayflower couple blackmail him to steal some of the works of Leonardo da Vinci. If he refuses, they threaten to kill his friend Tommy.