Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Spell’ On Hulu, A B-Horror Movie Where ‘Misery’ Meets Hoodoo

When Stephen King’s Misery was adapted for the screen in 1990, Kathy Bates and James Caan turned this horrifying story of a superfan holding her favorite author captive into an instant classic. Now imagine, for a moment, that this story – one of a man held hostage in bed with gruesome injuries by a ruthless captor – is moved to Appalachia, and features a wildly talented Black cast. This is Spell, now streaming on Hulu. 

SPELL: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Marquis Woods (Omari Hardwick) has everything going for him; he’s a big shot attorney, he has a loving family, and he lives to spoil his children. When he finds out his estranged, abusive father has passed away, he decides to take a trip down to Appalachia with his family to achieve some kind of closure. Marquis seems desperate to prove to himself that he’s moved past the abuse and his small town roots, so he flies his own small private plane. When they land to refuel before heading over the mountain to their final destination, locals warn him and his family this might not be the best idea, but he proceeds anyway. The plane winds up getting caught in a nasty storm, and when Marquis awakes, he is alone and injured on a bed in the attic of Eloise (Loretta Devine) and Earl (John Beasley).

While Eloise initially seems to be well-intentioned, Marquis soon discovers the sinister truth. Eloise practices Hoodoo, and has been manipulating a doll of him. There seem to be an entire community of people who follow her, too, and to Marquis’s horror, ritual sacrifices are on the table. As he faces more gruesome acts of abuse and punishments for his escape attempts, Marquis gets closer and closer to the truth. But what will it cost?

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: The most obvious comparison for Spell is horror classic Misery, though Spell may also bring to mind flicks like The Skeleton Key, The Hills Have Eyes, and Deliverance.

Performance Worth Watching: Screen and stage icon Loretta Devine truly steals the show as Miss Eloise, perfectly delivering a series of unhinged, unsettling laughs and lines (even when the script is lacking). Devine makes a meal out of every single one of her scenes, effortlessly giving the creeps to both her on-screen victims and us as viewers. Even when she veers into camp territory, her performance is still a demented delight, making so much of Spell worth watching.

Memorable Dialogue: The dialogue is definitely the weak point of Spell, but Devine’s delivery of lines like “where you think you is, New York City?” with a devilish twinkle in her eye really helps keep Spell interesting.

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: Spell indulges in a number of horror movie tropes from the jump; big city people head to a small town, small town folk warn the city people about the danger ahead, city people ignore the warnings and end up in way over their heads. Despite this, however, Spell still lands many of its punches, creating a truly unnerving atmosphere in a relatively short amount of time. This is in large part thanks to the strong lead performances from Omari Hardwick and Loretta Devine, who embrace their devilish dance with great enthusiasm, even when the script is weak.

While Spell may be a little too self-serious for its own good (and sometimes loses sight of what kind of story it’s trying to tell), the 90-minute flick is relentlessly entertaining – though I certainly would advise against eating anything during your viewing experience. The effectiveness of the scares varies, but the overall sense of dread and despair never wavers. The film has something genuinely interesting to say about our roots and the way our experiences shape us, and the inescapable nature of the past and our traumas. This may occasionally feel like it’s a message for a different movie, but with someone as talented as Hardwick carrying much of Spell‘s weight, these themes still ring true.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Spell may be laden with cliches, but it’s undeniably entertaining, bolstered by strong performances from Devine and Hardwick and some seriously stomach-churning sequences.

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines, hogging the mic at karaoke, and thirst-tweeting. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.

Where to Stream Spell