Superstition was shot in 1982, but didn't see a release until 1985. Just a few short years, but a lot changed in that time.

It would have been a perfectly suitable shocker from '81. No classic, but certainly a rewarding time under the stars. We had A Nightmare on Elm Street in the interim. Craven's movie is one of the most influential of all time, and while the first is a dark and scary movie, it's also funny.

In 1985 audiences went for The Return of the Living Dead, Silver Bullet, and Fright Night, with a lot more horror comedy in the wings.

Superstition is a conglomerate of elements from The Amityville Horror, The Omen, The Exorcist, and the slasher movies that ruled the screens of its time. There are historical scenes dealing with Satanism that look straight out of an Armando de Ossorio movie.

It seems a witch is interred in a lake near an abandoned house in the parish of a small town church. A family is moving into the place, but a bunch of grisly murders are taking place.

There are more creative deaths per capita in Superstition than in most slasher movies, and they are poorly but entertainingly executed. The plot is as stale as a decade-old corpse, and characterization is virtually nonexistent, but who cares when the movie moves at such a brisk pace?

Superstition was released as The Witch in England, where it received the royal Video Nasty honor. The movie played a few theaters, but the time had passed. Thanks to the videocassette recorder, drive-ins were falling down, which killed its chances for a decent run. I think Superstition's generic title helped it get lost in the home video feeding frenzy. Too bad; it deserved a better fate.

I watched Superstition on a great old Anchor Bay DVD. It was later released on blu-ray by Scream Factory, but it's now out of print and consigned to history.

Written by Mark Sieber

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