Witchboard II (1993)

A beautiful young woman opens the door to her new apartment and unlocks a passageway to pure evil, in the spine-tingling supernatural sequel to the popular hit Witchboard.

Genre – Genre Classics

Executive Producer – Walter Josten

Director(s) – Kevin Tenney

Writer(s) – Kevin Tenney

Cast – Ami Dolenz, Laraine Newman, Christopher Michael Moore and Timothy Gibbs

Blue Rider’s Role – Producers and U.S. theatrical distributors

Distributor(s) – Blue Rider Pictures (US theatrical), Republic Pictures Home Video (video and laserdisc), Medusa Communications (UK VHS)

Release Date – 1993

John Gatins’ Later Success:
John Gatins, who appears in this early Blue Rider film, and who starred in Leprechaun 3, is now under Oscar consideration for penning the hit 2012 Robert Zemeckis-Denzel Washinton film FLIGHT. In it, Washington plays a commercial airline pilot with a penchant for cocaine, alcohol and flight attendants who heroically lands a broken jetliner, only to have his sobriety questioned during the follow-up investigation. Although Gatins has been sober for 20 years, he was once a serious abuser of drugs and alcohol, who also had a fear of flying. Blue Rider’s Jeff Geoffray says, “John is a great guy whom we loved working with. It is wonderful to see that a young man we had such faith in has overcome personal obstacles to succeed in such a way.”

Los Angeles Times article on Gatins: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-flight-screenwriter-john-gatins-20121103,0,4364957.story

Critics’ Kudos:
EFilmCritic.com: “First off, Ami Dolenz is cute and sexy. She does not do any nude scenes, but her lovely clothes get smaller and smaller as the film goes on, and this seems right to me! Dolenz’s acting suffers because Tenney changes her too quickly. In one scene she is sugar and spice; in the next she is wearing short shorts and a halter top into the woods to dig up a body. Gibbs as Mitch is ruggedly handsome and should be doing more than this type of stuff. Tenney’s direction is better here; he works his budget around to highlight some decent effects and action.”

Burnout Central review by “Pizowell”): “Witchboard 2 is a competently written and directed flick that proves that ouija boards are not toys, but sure can be fun. The sequel to Witchboard is much more fun and stylish. Director/writer Kevin Tenney gives us the goods here. We get plenty of great angles and very cool camera work. With this, Witchboard, and Night Of The Demons, Tenney has proved to be a talented director and a name to remember.

“Ami Dolenz (daughter of my favorite Monkee, Mickey) looks great in the lead and, despite what you may have heard, is a pretty good actress. She is so cute too!

“Witchboard 2 manages to be more than just a supernatural thriller; it also creates an interesting murder mystery when we realize that the spirit Susan was murdered by someone close to Paige. While murder and mayhem are all around her, she investigates the mysteries surrounding Susan’s death, while Susan wants to take control of Paige’s body and we examine the suspects to figure out who killed Susan. Pretty fun stuff.
Witchboard 2 is an entertaining and stylish little flick that succeeds at being fun. Check it out if you have the chance.”

Brian J. Wright, The Cavalcade of Schlock: “This was reasonably diverting; there were a few shots which made me go ‘Cool!’ and rewind it so I could watch ’em again. There’s some laughs and an amusing sequence where a spinning buzzsaw blade chases one guy around. I also liked a scene were a wrecking ball smashed one unlucky character and a van; we’re given a ball’s-eye-view. Worth watching for Tenney’s directorial energy and inventiveness.”

Major Cast and Crew Credits and Awards:
Directed by Kevin Tenney (Night of the Demons, Brain Dead, The Second Arrival, Witchboard, Peacemaker, Pinocchio’s Revenge).

Written by Kevin Tenney (Endangered Species, Peacemaker, Witchboard, Night of the Demons III).

Starring Amy Dolenz (Can’t Buy Me Love, She’s Out of Control, Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings, Rescue Me, Miracle Beach, Stepmonster; nominated for two Young Artist Awards for General Hospital); Laraine Newman (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Coneheads, The Flintstones, Kurenai No Buta; Emmy nominated for Saturday Night Live); Christopher Michael Moore (Mad City, Almost Pregnant, City Heat) and Timothy Gibbs (The Kindred, Season of the Hunted, The Kings of Brooklyn; two awards and five nominations for works including Father Murphy and One Life to Live).

Cast includes John Gatins (Gods and Monsters, Norbit, Varsity Blues, Leprechaun 3, Real Steel; wrote screenplays for Flight, Coach Carter, Hard Ball, Summer Catch and Dreamer: Inspired By a True Story); Julie Michaels (Titanic, Batman & Robin, Batman Forever, Holes, Dirty Love, Barb Wire, The Scorpion King); Sarah Kaite Coughlan (Hollywood Shuffle, Pinocchio’s Revenge, Girlfriend From Hell); Marvin Kaplan (Wild At Heart, Adam’s Rib, The Nutty Professor, The Great Race and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World); Jeff Feringa (Dangerous Minds, Kansas City); Todd Allen (Collateral Damage, The Postman, 48 Hrs, Silverado, Wyatt Earp, Grand Canyon, Mask) and Kenny Rhodes (Witchboard, The Munsters’ Revenge).

Executive Producer: Henry Seggerman (Evolver, Progeny, Leprechaun 3, The Paper Boy, Night of the Demons 2).

Producers: Jeff Geoffray (Around the World in 80 Days, Shergar, Silver Wolf, Behind the Red Door and 23 other films and TV projects) and Walter Josten (Wake of Death, O Jerusalem, Back in the Day, Bar Starz; and Emmy for The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie; 28 other films and TV projects).

Original Music by Dennis Michael Tenney (Crush, Pursuit of Happiness, Macon County Jail, Storm Catcher).

Cinematography by David Lewis (Night of the Demons, UHF, Leprechaun 3 and 4, The Hills Have Eyes Part 2, Betrayal of the Dove).

Film Editing by Daniel Duncan (Night of the Demons I, II and III; Cerberus; Guardian; Tick Tock).

Production Design by Ken Aichele (Evolver, Leprechaun 3).

Special Effects Coordinators: Kevin Francis McCarthy (Murder in the First, Hobgoblins, Fear of a Black Hat, Where the Day Takes You, Indecent Behavior III, Attack of the 60-Foot Centerfolds and 37 other films and TV projects) and Sandra McCarthy (Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills, Three Ninjas Knuckle Up, Trancers II, Cold Steel).

Visual Effects Supervisor: Kevin O’Neill (Blade, Dracula, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Last Action Hero, Mulan, American Gothic, Sunshine State, Evil Alien Conquerors and 36 other films and TV projects).

Release Data:
Released in U.S. theatres on September 10, 1993. Also released in Finland (as Noiduttu Ympyr 2 – Paholaisen Portti), Portugal (as Poderes Ocultos), Dutch DVD (as Satan’s Dreams), Germany (Witchboard 2 – Die Tur zur Holle), France (Witchboard 2: La Planche aux Malefices) and the U.K. (The Return).

Links:
Internet Movie Database entry for Witchboard 2