Or “The Ouija of Wall Street”

Director: Peter Svatek
Cast: David Nerman, Elizabeth Lambert, Cedric Smith, Donna Sarrasin
Screenplay: Kevin Tenney, Jon Ezrine
93 mins. Rated R for strong sexuality and violence, and for language.

Following a limited theatrical release for Witchboard 2, the third film was released direct-to-video and was the first installment without Kevin Tenney at the helm. He still contributed to the screenplay, but he was not allowed to return as director for the scuzziest reason. Turns out the studio was angry that Tenney did not force his star Ami Dolenz into a nude scene in the second film (she had a no-nudity contract). Tenney refused to coerce his star into something she wasn’t comfortable with. Turns out, they even intentionally had the nude scenes for the third film completed first so that if the performers quit, they could still use the scenes. Yeesh.

Brian (David Nerman, Eye of the Beholder) is a recently out-of-work stockbroker in desperate need of purpose. When he meets his new landlord Francis (Cedric Smith, Fast Company), a man who has made his fortune with the help of a Ouija board, he believes he’s got his confidence back. The board delivers stock tips, but it wants his body in return.

This is a Witchboard sequel that feels like a late Hellraiser sequel, one that was a different film but got slapped with some Ouija stuff to make it a Witchboard film. Why would anyone think a sequel about the magic stock-trading Ouija board be interesting or notable? Sure, there are a few twists and turns here and it isn’t exactly as it seems, but that doesn’t make it any more entertaining. Tenney co-wrote the screenplay, but I’m confused about what his goal would be here and how much it changed after leaving his desk.

The movie looks cheap (of course, direct to video can have that effect), but more than that, it’s just lacking in style. Tenney’s films feel like Tenney’s films, and his Witchboard movies feel distinct enough from his Night of the Demons films while retaining that, but being dragged into the mid-90s hasn’t done well for Witchboard. Director Peter Svatek (Bleeders) just didn’t imbue much into this movie, and it feels short on cash, short on imagination, short on sets and costumes, short on just about anything, and a movie that tries to mix the fast-paced world of high finance with Ouija board absolutely needs to win on style. Still, Svatek has a few tense interactions here, directing a loan shark subplot that feels tense and dangerous and features an odd secondary character moment, and I think the possession stuff with Brian viewing it all through the mirror is traditional but effective. I just wish there was more meat here, more fun. It doesn’t take full advantage of its ludicrous game, packing in lots of nudity and sex but little else. Brian’s just an ineffective lead, a little too pathetic early on to root for, and he makes some boldly stupid decisions that don’t merit much confidence in the rest of the picture. The plot points in the back half work better because the characters aren’t fleshed out enough and therefore, it’s hard to argue that they wouldn’t make these idiotic choices.

Witchboard III: The Possession is not the easiest film to find in the world, especially in good quality (I had to hunt around on eBay), and I’d say it isn’t exactly worth it. This doesn’t feel enough like a finance/stock market film or a Ouija film, and there isn’t much worth remembering here. It’s a shame that the Witchboard franchise, like so many others, just kind of limped across the finish line for a trilogy, losing steam across two okay films and a downright bad third. Still, a remake of The Wolf of Wall Street with a Ouija board would be fascinating.

2/5
-Kyle A. Goethe

• For more Witchboard: Witchboard, Witchboard 2: The Devil’s Doorway