Enlisting a so-called “master of horror” can’t hurt when you’re re-imagining a cult classic from the 1980s. In this case, the master is Chuck Russell, director of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) and the hit Jim Carrey comedy The Mask (1994). You won’t see any laugh-out-loud moments in his new movie Witchboard, however. Technically, this is a modern-day reboot of the 1986 horror-thriller of the same name, as well as the fourth in a series of sequels. Like Witchboard 2 and Witchboard III, Russell’s horror remake is a standalone feature, chronicling roughly the same events as the original. Centering on an ancient artifact whose users will face catastrophic results, the latest Witchboard offers some juicy hard-R scares and an engaging character journey. But there’s little else to keep the 112-minute end result alive.
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Playing With Fire
2.5
/5
Release Date
August 15, 2025
Runtime
112 Minutes
Director
Chuck Russell
Writers
Greg McKay, Chuck Russell, Kevin Tenney
Producers
Chuck Russell, Bernie Gewissler, Greg McKay
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Aaron Dominguez
Christian
In the original film, the downward spiral of events begins when a Ouija board surfaces at a California party, where the guests attempt to contact the spirit of someone they know. The spirit appears, of course, but the characters come to suspect it’s actually a evil entity impersonating the guy they were trying to reach. Then Linda (Tawny Kitaen) gets the itch and uses the cursed board by herself, which is a big no-no — especially since she was specifically warned in the opening sequence not to.
The troubled female protagonist this time around is recovering drug addict Emily (Madison Iseman), who has joined up with her loving fiancé Christian (Aaron Dominguez) and their group of friends — including Brooke (Mel Jarnson) and Richie (Charlie Tahan, a wasted talent here) — to open an organic café in New Orleans’ iconic French Quarter. While the group works to renovate an old carriage house for their new business, Emily stumbles upon the eponymous ancient pendulum board. Following her exposure, her increasingly bizarre behavior prompts Christian to seek the help of smooth-talking expert Alexander Babtiste (Jamie Campbell Bower), who prides himself on his knowledge of occult bloodlines. But it’s not as simple as a one-off meeting by candlelight to rid Emily of the evil forces driving her mad. Alexander has his own agenda, including a masked ball plagued by otherworldly forces.
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A Restaurant Opening From Hell
Atlas Distribution Company
The Avenue
Emily’s troubles eventually circle back to the restaurant, where a blood-soaked third act centers on their long-awaited opening. Maybe Emily wasn’t actually spiritually healed by Alexander the great during their initial ceremony. Witchboard thrives when it explores Emily’s struggle with sobriety, which returns to the spotlight throughout the film’s (occasionally frightening) first half: As she slowly loses her grip on reality, Christian, looking for a “logical” explanation to all the madness, begins to wonder if Emily has indeed relapsed.
Thanks to Iseman’s committed turn as Emily, there’s a bit of heart in Witchboard, at least when it doesn’t get sidetracked with an overload of spiritual (and sinful) side characters. Leading that villainous charge is rising star Bower, who was memorable on season four of Stranger Things and milks every moment as the whimsical master of witchboards. Unfortunately, however, Alexander is too one-dimensional of a persona for the young actor, and it won’t take a seasoned cinephile to anticipate where things are going with his shady character.
The cliffhanger ending begs for viewers to bounce out of their seats in terror just one last time, while putting out feelers for a hypothetical Witchboard 2. But it’s doubtful that studios would want to back a follow-up, given this film’s less-than-impactful vibe. It’d be far more entertaining to gather around a Ouija board in your own living room and see what happens.
From Atlas Distribution Company and The Avenue, Witchboard debuts in theaters on Friday, August 15, 2025.
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