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A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

I simply can not believe the rating this gem has. Everything below 8 is blasphemy. It's sad that this movie never had theatrical release and was never released on DVD or BR either. It was distributed only as VHS for video stores and because of that it didn't have a chance to reach wider audience and rise to popularity it deserves. Everything in it is between very good and perfect. Considering relatively low budget of about 6 million, HBO did fantastic job with production. Movie is directed by Martin Campbell, man responsible for Golden Eye, Mask of Zorro and Casino Royale, and Joseph Dougherty (Pretty Little Liars) wrote one of the most original scripts I ever had luck to see. Movie combines 40's Film Noir with supernatural horror of 80's and well-measured humour. It is based on Lovecraft mythos, but unlike most of movies based of Lovecraft that rape his stories, this one is not adaptation, but an original story inspired by Lovecraft, which skillfully includes parts of Lovecraft's mythos into noir crime mystery.!!! SPOILER ALERT !!!Fred Ward, in style of Bogart, plays former cop, now private detective, who is, in LA at the end of 40's, hired to find stolen Necronomicon, book that possess power to unlock interdimensional gate and let Great Old Ones back on Earth. Great Old Ones are very powerful demonic beings who once ruled the Earth. Most known are Azathoth, Yog-Sothoth and, of course, Cthulhu. It is interesting that, unlike most movies with supernatural plot, magic here is not secret skill reserved for few and kept in secret from public, but the most common everyday tool used by all. Same applies for supernatural beings, so we have zombies as bodyguards, and in jail we can see some vampires and werewolves. But non of that is shown in usual glamorous and mystical way full of stunning special effects. It's all incorporated in film noir style and shown as common and normal, so you won't have a feeling that you watch fantasy movie, but just usual 40's crime noir.Directing is great, there are some beautiful shots you should not miss, and lines are true masterpiece. Script is so well written that I am sure it would be great literature for reading even without seeing the movie."My name is Lovecraft and I'm the guy who knows. Just about the only guy who knows it all and is still breathing. It started that night and it started with a woman. It always starts with a woman." And the woman is Julianne Moore, charming as always and one more good reason to see this film.9/10

Fred Ward is excellent as the 1948 private eye hired to find a stolen witchcraft book, the "Necronomicon". It had to be a unique film that blends noir, monsters, virgins, zombies, and magic into a "black comedy", and that film is "Cast a Deadly Spell". There are at least a bunch of surprises along the way, as our hero tries to locate the book. The sharp tongued dialog is perfect, droll, and often hilarious, as Fred Ward, the only one who doesn't use magic, tries to survive witches spells, gangsters, and solve the case. This movie proves that you don't need CGI, if you have a creative mind behind the script, and some excellent makeup for the monsters. - MERK

Cast a Deadly Spell The problem with living in a world where magic is possible is all of the tacky wardrobes you have to see everyday.Thankfully, the magicians in this mystery dress in 1940s garb.In an alternate universe where magic exists, a clichéd PI that hates the black arts, H. Phillip Lovecraft (Fred Ward), is hired by an affluent client (David Warner) to retain a tome for him called the Necronomicon.To do so, Lovecraft must not only navigate the supernatural streets of L.A. but also his on-again off-again ex (Julianne Moore).All the while, Lovecraft is unaware that his obtaining of the Necronomicon will ultimately unleash the Old Ones, an ancient monster race that will enslave the city.Part Dashiell Hammett detective yarn, part Lovecraftian horror. This HBO produced amalgamation has the hard-boiled lingo and the slimy subspecies of the two genres down pat.But beware: Lovecraftian dames usually have tentacles.Yellow Light vidiotreviews.blogspot.com

"Suppose somewhere along the line I'd changed my drinking habits.""I'd order you a sour anyway... just to watch you eat the fruit.""Sweet old Phil, subtle as a flagpole."This is the story of an unlikely hero. A man who doesn't use magic, even if everybody around him does. A man who knows it all, except how to select a tie.The movie starts with a brisk introduction into a world where everybody uses magic. It is the year 1948 and the arts are everywhere: black, white and everything in between. Young and old, men and women alike, all use it to get ahead in life; to get an edge. This is a world where there is a solution for everything and magic is the high-tech of the day. Once the story establishes that, it moves slowly and brilliantly towards the end, taking it's sweet time, never in any rush to get anywhere. And it doesn't have to, because this is one of the few TV movies that have it all: a great cast, a fantastic story and script and above all, brilliant direction. It is funny, it is witty, it is charming, it is truly one of a kind.The story is simple, with only a few characters, but all of them very well done. Fred Ward is great as detective H.P. Lovecraft, Julianne Moore is one incredible woman, Clancy Brown is great, Alexandra Powers is charming and David Warner is one class above everybody. They all have a part to play and all of them play their part brilliantly, under the masterful direction of Martin Campbell.The camera work is simply brilliant. It alternates effortlessly between close-ups - short, intense and inquisitive - and wide establishing shots, or hard long stares at one character or another, giving them ample time to show their acting skills or emotional range.The music is soft and ever present.The dialog is sharp and witty, somewhat cliché but beautifully done. There are lots of unexpected remarks and snappy comebacks and there is also one genre that is a dying breed nowadays: the monologue. A form of exposition which if done right proves to be very effective.If there is one thing that I liked most about this movie, is the little things. The script and the director spare no effort in adding countless small touches that make the world of this movie very convincing, full of life and wonder. Or danger, as the case may be.Cast a Deadly Spell. Proof that movie making is an art. 10/10.