Sadly Over-hyped

Brilliant and touching

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

One of the few actually scary horror films made in the 1980s, SUPERSTITION pushes all the right buttons. While the uninspired plot just strings along a series of violent murders, the film manages to convey an atmosphere of terror - and of the unknown. The supernatural entity which commits all the murders is kept masked, enshrouded in darkness for the entire film, making it seem eerie and faceless, and of course all the more frightening.It's rare when an effective film like this comes along, so its not to be taken lightly. As well as the genuine thrills there are also plenty of violent, gory death scenes to liven things up, and despite the low budget these can rival (and better) any modern-day production. From the powerhouse opening where a severed head explodes in a microwave (it has to be seen to be believed) and a boy is literally cut in two by a window, you know that this is going to be an entertaining film. And it sure is.As well as the aforementioned gruesome activities we also get a show-stopping moment where a circular saw breaks, flies across the room to drill through a priest's chest. Another poor victim has a stake hammered through her chest, while a scaly hand takes care of the rest of the cast. The bleakness and pessimism of this film is summoned up by the shock ending in which the final survivor is also killed. The inappropriate musical score is probably the worst thing in this film, but luckily it doesn't intrude and detract from any of the key scenes. Influences from THE AMITYVILLE HORROR and THE OMEN are clear, but kept fresh.None of the actors here are famous, proving that you don't always need a star name to have a good film. For a change I liked a lot of characters in this film, and nobody was too wooden. The most engaging of the lot is the gruff detective who looks like a cross between J.T. Walsh and Ned Beatty. The hero is quite bland but likable, and also the father of the family living in the house, who himself is a reverend, is believable: he drinks, and when he hears his wife screaming hesitates in fear before trying to rescue her. The realistic reactions of a man in this situation.Still, there's no need to worry about the quality of acting when you have people hanging in lift shafts, severed arms grabbing the legs of a young swimmer, and a man impaled by broken glass. On top of this there's a suspenseful finale where the sole survivor is menaced by the silhouette of a monstrous witch. These factors help to make SUPERSTITION an effective, gory, frightening and above all enjoyable shocker.

"Superstition" centers on a witch quite literally in cahoots with Satan himself being drowned in a pond in 1692. Immediately after, the church nearby burns down and the town finds itself in the throes of a curse. Fast forward to the 1980s, and a reverend has moved into the house on the property with his family, and the witch isn't having any of it.Long on my "must watch" list, "Superstition" is a middling haunted house flick, and an unusually violent one. The opening scene has a group of prankster teens getting filleted (and microwaved!) while dinking around inside the old abandoned house, and there are some practical special effects that are especially convincing. As the narrative unfolds, the modern family moves into the abandoned house, complete with Reverend and wife, their teenage daughters, and younger son, and a malevolent force begins to tear the family apart, both figuratively and literally. There is unfortunately not a lot of tension to be had here, and that is one of the film's central problems.In terms of aesthetics, it doesn't feel like a low budget production in spite of the fact that it is; that said, the cinematography at times recalls the flatness of a made-for-TV movie, and it would almost seem to be made for the small screen if it weren't for the fact that it's gratuitously violent. Although the film is set in New England, the production took place in California, and it shows— attempts to give the film a Northeastern ambiance are ultimately ineffective. Heavy strokes of Mario Bava's opening scene in "Black Sunday" during the film's witch flashbacks is also a bit too procedural to be engaging.The performances here range from solid to hammy, but there is an equilibrium amongst the cast that makes the performances work overall. As I mentioned before, the special effects in the film are really impressive, especially given the time period in which the film was made. The finale has an explosion of wild witchery smattering across the screen, and I have to give the film props for having the gall to kill off a prepubescent child— you don't see many films go there! Overall, "Superstition" is a surprisingly in-your-face horror flick that suffers from some fundamental flaws, yet has enough going for it in the weight of special effects to make it worthy of a viewing. The plot mixes several sub-genres into a somewhat underwhelming cocktail of witchery and supernatural slashing, and while there is a certain dullness to the cinematography and establishment of atmosphere, there is just enough to lightly please us genre fans who have seen it all. 5/10.

This horror tidbit from the 80s has become a cult favorite of mine for around 25 years.I have seen it about 50 times and fell asleep at least 40 of those.OK ? but i drank coffee ,put toothpicks in my eyeballs and finally watched it all the way through.A witch with an annoying laugh,(No wonder they burned her)imprisoned in a black pond,held there by the power of a Medieval crucifix is released to kill anyone who goes near the pond or the house located there. SPOILER ALERT! Echoeing: "I will not die"and constantly laughing, She kills just about everybody 'cept one, who we assume will send her back to her watery tomb.We hardly get to see the burnt out weirdo witch see but we do see that her Demon like hand which looks like it was dipped in tar. In the 86 min of this film maybe 30 of them are of the main characters rattling off some nonsense to do with the plot. The rest is a no holds barred(BORED) violent potpourri.The way the witch kills everyone is actually funny but creative.Enjoyable,mostly, but can get boring in between the bloodshed.Do your best to stay awake,horror fans and you will like "Superstition" But for the record it will never be more than an 80.s horror quick kick as far as it's worth. but..enjoy!

Superstition (1982) ** (out of 4) Bizarre little film about a house on some church property, which has been the site for countless strange murders. A new Reverend (James Houghton) is helping a family move into the house but more and more bodies begin to pile up so he starts doing some research and discovers that the location is where a witch was killed nearly three-hundred years earlier and now she's back for revenge. Okay, this movie doesn't make a bit of sense and the lackluster direction doesn't help but at the same time this thing is so weird that it's hard not to recommend it to horror fans. While watching the movie you'll think that this is yet another film trying to cash in on the success of THE AMITYVILLE HORROR and you'd be correct but the film also tries to mix in with the various slashers out at the time as we get some rather graphic death scenes and some gore. In terms of creepiness you're not going to find any. I'd say the main reason for this is the lackluster direction and Roberson is never able to build up any type of atmosphere and for the most part there's very little to no energy in any of the scenes. The film also doesn't seem to know what it wants to do as the screenplay is pretty much all over the place and leads to one confusing scene after another. In the end not much makes sense outside of the revenge aspect because characters are constantly showing up and disappearing without any rhyme or reason. The gore aspect of the film is an interesting thing because I'm guessing the MPAA were asleep at the wheel or just not paying attention to anything going on here because while films like Friday THE 13TH were cut to shreds by the group, this film here got away with quite a bit. We've got people getting a spike in the head, decapitations, bodies cut in half plus countless other scenes. The special effects aren't the greatest in the world but they're mildly effective. The gore level really doesn't mix with anything else in the film but it at least keeps you awake through some of the most confusing aspects. Houghton turns in a decent performance in the lead with Albert Salmi and Stacy Keach, Sr. doing fine work as well. The mixture of the story and gore doesn't work but it does make the film come off with a weird vibe and mix in the story and you've got a very strange ride. It's not a good film and God knows we've had countless good and bad witch movies but this one here is of interest due to the gore level.