Witchcraft V: Dance with the Devil (1993)

Before you start reading this review is part of a larger marathon that I’m doing where I watch all sixteen of the Witchcraft movies in a row. I may reference those so check out the following link to start at the beginning. If you have already done that then enjoy my misery. 

There is a new warlock in town… or maybe not. His name is Cain, and he is either a demon, or just the Devil’s bill collector. We see him recruit a girl named Marta to help him and by that, I mean he doesn’t kill her. So, the pair start collecting souls that I think he is owed. I mean he keeps talking about them having six good years so maybe these folks made a deal with the Devil? The movie never explains itself, but then again this is a Witchcraft flick so did you expect them to? We also meet a reverend who gets possessed by some lightning when he goes to help a homeless guy who got run over by a car. That is important later.

Now we meet William, played by a new actor named Marklen Kennedy. He and his lady friend got to a bar that is also where Cain is doing his magic show because that is what demonic bad guys do in their down time. That last bit is a total guess from me. Cain knows that William is a warlock so he mind controls him to do his bidding. Makes the soul collecting more efficient and I’m guessing if he makes his quota, it will bring the Devil back to Earth. There is a big showdown and sword fight where Cain loses his head, and the credits roll immediately. 

I’ve noticed that I tend to try and start these reviews off with something positive. I’m going to do that again. The actor who plays Cain, David Huffman, chews the hell out of the scenery. Really if he had stared at the camera and asked us about a Blood Feast it would have seemed appropriate. He wiggles his fingers to mind control and throws open his cape Manos style to collect souls and intimidate people. That was fun, not enough to make the movie any good, but at least it wasn’t as boring as the previous three. 

Huffman as Cain chewing up scenery

The rest of the movie is a thin plot with characters that jump from scene to scene disrobing for some simulated naughty business. We see so many naked girls that it actually gets old after a while. Or maybe I’m just old and that isn’t enough to keep my attention anymore. Regardless as I suspected this is likely the formula that the rest are going to follow. The scenes go on and on reusing the same angles to stretch things out. This is what I suppose you must do when you don’t have an actual script, dialogue, or plot to speak of. 

They did improve a bit on the kills and special effects. Don’t get your hopes up as it isn’t great, but better. Instead of the nonexistent stuff from three and four we do actually get to see a couple stabbings, and a heart get punched out. These are cheaply done, no surprise there, but it is more than we had previously. Sadly, we also are saddled with some of the audio issues again as we can’t always hear the dialogue clearly. One step forward two steps back if you know what I mean. 

The only other thing of note is that Greg Grunberg of Alias, Lost, Heroes, and of course Big Ass Spider fame has a blink and you will miss it appearance in one scene. Overall, I can’t recommend this one as it is less of a mess but still a mess. I’m keeping hope alive that these movies will improve.

Next up Witchcraft VI: 666

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