Witchville
Witchville
| 22 May 2010 (USA)
Witchville Trailers

When Prince Malachy returns to his father’s kingdom after the Crusades his first impression is that a bad harvest is the reason that the villagers are sick and hungry. But all is not as it seems and a stranger to the village, warns the new king that a dark force is the cause of their ills.

Reviews
Claysaba

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

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Gurlyndrobb

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

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Ezmae Chang

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

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Logan

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

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robo8

Pros: Partially charismatic cast, fairly passionate, make best use of resources Cons: Low budget, partially weak acting Let me first tell you that I am no B-movie buff in any way. I don't grade them especially high. Giving this movie an 8 is not because it is as good as Lord of the Rings in every aspect, but rather because with the Resources handed, this is probably one of the better movies you could make.What sets it apart is that the actors, for the most part, buy into it and most of the main cast are fairly charismatic. The true subpar acting you'd expect in movies like these are confined to lesser, supporting actors. There is attention to detail and some passion and effort both in from of and behind the camera.To be fair – this movie probably struck a chord with me personally somehow. It is not a great story, it is not magical directing – but it is a good enough, low-budget matinée and if you're into fantasy and can stand low-budget, this one will probably at least amuse you for the time being.

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Paul Magne Haakonsen

When I saw the word 'Syfy' appear on the screen, I immediately raised my defenses and thought 'oh no, this is going to be one of those movies'. As you might know, if you are familiar with Syfy Channel's previous works, then they have a habit of putting out some fairly questionable movies that tend to be lacking proper special effects.However, "Witchville" actually surprised me in a good way. Well, aside from the poor choice of title for the movie, then Syfy actually managed to pull this production off quite nicely.The movie has a fairly alright story, although it was quite predictable and not really bringing anything innovating to the fantasy genre. And actually most of what was in the movie have been seen in other similar movies. But still, "Witchville" worked out well enough.What really impressed me was the production value that Syfy had upped and put into this. Especially the costumes and wardrobes, that was just brilliant work. I liked the armor and all the detail they had put into those. However, I just didn't fully understand the obsession with skulls, almost every armor and outfit was adorned with skulls in one way or another, even the king's armor had a skull on the shoulder piece of his armor, that just wasn't proper attire for a king. Skulls are associated with death and evil, and shouldn't be adorning a king's armor. But aside from this skull-fetish, then the armors and costumes were just amazing.And as for the special effects, well Syfy isn't exactly known for their million dollar investments on the CGI side of movie-making. However, the effect that they put into "Witchville" were actually nicely executed and seemed to work well enough on screen. Don't expect to be dazzled out of your seat, though, but it is a great step up the ladder effects-wise for Syfy. So thumbs up on that account.The people they had cast for the various roles were also working out well enough, most of them anyway. Personally I think that the lead by Luke Goss should perhaps have been cast differently, as he was not a particularly strong actor in this movie. The movie was really carried by the performances of MyAnna Buring (playing Jozefa), Sarah Douglas (playing the Red Queen) and Simon Thorp (playing Kramer).I am a huge fan of this particular fantasy genre (perhaps because of my 26 years of playing Dungeons & Dragons), and I did enjoy "Witchville". So you might ask why I only gave it a 5 out of 10 rating? Well because the story was somewhat of a mess, there were a lot of dead ends in the movie and the coherency of it all was just overall blurry. The movie lacked a proper red line to follow, and as such, the end result turned out to be somewhat jumpy and half-hearted."Witchville" is well worth a watch if you enjoy this particular type of fantasy movie, just don't expect too much from the movie in the story department.And thumbs up for the people behind the design of the DVD cover, because they really buffed it up and made the movie appear much more interesting that it actually turned out to be. So as the saying goes; "don't judge a book by its cover".

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rafters99

I thought I'd watch Witchville as it did seem interesting as a fantasy film. I would give it 3 stars out of 10. I thought the direction in the movie was lacking and the cinematography was poor. I don't recall seeing any scenes that were shot in a memorable manner. I will admit that the sets were built well and the costumes were decent. The story had promise. A kingdom cursed by witches and a king and his followers trying to set it free. I thought the lead character and most of the other characters were weak actors. In some cases, the weak acting might have been due to poor direction. However, not all of it can be blamed on poor direction. The lead character, the king, lacked screen presence. Often, he delivered lines with a lack of emphasis and his facial expressions didn't always reinforce what he was saying. His character could have expressed a more interesting arc through the film but failed to do so. I felt his 2 friends and the magician delivered better performances than he did. And this in a way is unfortunate as the king gets the most screen time in the film. His sister, the daughter of the Red Queen also delivered a mediocre, unconvincing performance. There were some key scenes where she failed to convince me of the inner turmoil she was experiencing in her decision making. The lead Asian fighter was also not convincing. There were a couple of times where she seemed to be smirking and come to think of it, so would I watching the lame performances that were occurring. The Red Queen herself delivered a good performance and did her best to overcome weak direction. There were key scenes that were botched up such as when the king decides to kill the Red Queen. It dragged on for a while and it demonstrated a lack of direction and proper editing. Finally, at the end of the movie, there is a burial ceremony for the king's friend that takes place. I wondered why there was no burial ceremony for the magician who sacrificed his life as well for the kingdom. At the very end, there is a cheesy scene showing a couple of the witches watching the burial ceremony. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to take from this scene. I certainly didn't spook me or fascinate me and I thought it was rather absurd. I would give the movie 3/10 and not recommend others to watch it.

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misbegotten

Sword & sorcery movies are usually set during a fabled, bygone age, in mythical kingdoms populated by dragons, wizards, orcs, goblins, elves and the occasional unicorn. However, from late 2009 onwards a new wave of fantasy/action films has emerged, supposedly set in the 'real world' during medieval times, and depicting witchfinders, knights and Crusaders battling against witches and a demon or two. Examples include SOLOMON KANE, DARK RELIC, BLACK DEATH and SEASON OF THE WITCH.Commissioned by the American Syfy channel, WITCHVILLE (awful title) appears to be an attempt to adapt to this new trend, while retaining most of the trappings of more traditional fantasy fare. Prince Malachi (played by Luke Goss) returns to his homeland after several years away, to discover his father the King is dead and the kingdom is stricken with plague, drought and famine. Learning that a coven of witches are responsible for his nation's plight, Malachi joins forces with a crossbow-welding witch-hunter and a band of warrior-thieves to locate and kill the coven's leader, the Red Queen (Sarah Douglas), unaware that he's actually being stalked by the Queen's lethal enforcer Jozefa (MyAnna Buring).WITCHVILLE's storyline contains no surprises and it is clearly a low budget film, but every penny can be seen on screen, with impressively elaborate costumes and weaponry that seem to be inspired by those in the games ASSASSINS' CREED and WORLD OF WARCRAFT. The movie also boasts effective sword-fighting sequences and more-than-competent direction: Jozefa's entrances throughout the film are especially stylishly handled.A common weakness in Syfy Original movies is the quality of the CGI effects failing to match the ambitions of the script, but thankfully that's not the case here. Special effects are mostly limited to the Red Queen and Jozefa hurling balls of energy at opponents, and the biggest CGI setpiece - an attack by hellhounds - is conducted with real flair.The cast all do what's required of them, without any real noteworthy or stand-out performances, although Buring radiates a particularly strong presence as she prowls through the movie like a red-cloaked Angel of Death.In conclusion, WITCHVILLE is a solid and worthwhile, if unremarkable, addition to the sword & sorcery genre.

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