Mark of the Witch, 2014.
Directed by Jason Bognacki.
Starring David Landry, Maria Olsen, Lillian Pennypacker, Paulie Rojas and Nancy Wolfe.
SYNOPSIS:
A beautiful young woman is driven into a dark underworld of demonic possession, desire, and extreme indulgences when she learns she may be the devil’s kin.
Not to be confused with the 1970 film of the same name, Mark of the Witch (known as Another, in the USA) is a low-budget horror (that’s probably obvious). A young woman is driven into a dark underworld of demonic possession, desire and extreme indulgence when she learns she may be the Devil’s kin.
Demonic horror films are pretty much a dime a dozen these days. Right from the start it’s clear that director Jason Bognacki (who also wrote the film) is trying to approach things from a slightly different angle visually. The film has something of an arthouse approach to the visuals. It’s very intimate and pretty low on dialogue. Does it deliver fully on what it appears to set out to do? Well…not really.
Whilst on the surface there seems an artistic approach, from the soft lighting, to slow motion, focus changes and often meticulously framed shots, the film looks more like an extended perfume ad. Stylistically it feels needlessly pretentious given the material is actually little more than your average bargain bin horror (which ultimately this is). Some shots look great, others feel forced or needless and the need to make every shot “artistic” becomes incredibly tiresome as in the end they mostly do absolutely nothing to visually drive the story. Bognacki, who also serves as DP and editor has given himself a lot of unnecessary work to do on both fronts. The slow motion alone probably makes this film twice as long as it actually might have been.
The film’s problems extend beyond the visuals to the messy structure. In attempting to tell the story mostly by visuals the film is hampered by clumsy story telling and a muddled script.
It becomes difficult as an audience member to invest in the film. Between the numbing visuals and flimsy plot (made unnecessarily complicated) you’re left merely waiting for the horror tropes to come into play. You’re left waiting for imaginative kills, a bit of gratuitous nudity, maybe some outlandish displays of blood. On that count the film doesn’t really deliver either. The whole thing is pretty bizarre, unintentionally goofy and just jumps all over the place. Some things just seem to happen completely randomly with little build up or explanation after.
The cast are all game, if not blessed with the chops that will see them at the Oscars (they’re white enough though). Looking like she might have a great side career as an Audrey Hepburn impersonator, Paulie Redding heads up the cast and does okay, even if she falls a little into melodrama rather than nuance.
She’s beautiful with eyes you can get lost in and certainly holds your attention though. Veteran jobbing actress, Nancy Wolfe chews scenery as Aunt Ruth (a role that’s confusingly written).
In the end, Mark of the Witch is an unfocused mess. It’s never quite clear what the film is going for. It’s Giallo by way of Hammer ham, all spritzed with a Chanel No.5 advert gloss. If you do find yourself watching this, prepare to be confused and probably disinterested quite quickly. It feels trashy without being as fun as an enjoyably trashy horror can be. Probably the best part of the film is the soundtrack which uses a number of classical tracks from Chopin, Puccini, Handel and Beethoven.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★
Tom Jolliffe
https://youtu.be/XUGnM460Waw?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published February 18, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
