Monday, April 13, 2015

House of the Witchdoctor, The Bizarre Desires of Sex-Craved Women

"Charged up sex-crazed women driven by bizarre desires...."  I just can't get those lyrics out of my head.  Hopefully on Sunday, when we're exhorted to sing Hymn 461, I won't spurt out this hypnotizing ballad.  In any event, when the end credits roll to this tune in 2013's " House of the Witchdoctor," in which the sex-craved do not fare well, you will be wondering who turned the tables on who.  Though, fans of the horror/slasher film will see the plot twist 45 minuted before it occurs, perhaps the very last twist, sneaked in before the aforementioned song, will prove most satisfying.  Heaped with great performances, especially by the villains (...or are they the villains?) Allan Kaysar and David Willis (pictured below), director Devon Mikolas presents to us a fine metaphor for northeastern upper crust society.
Okay, here goes.  Leslie (Callie Stephens) is bringing four friends home from college.  One year ago, her boyfriend was killed (sacrificed) and these four friends believe they are helping Leslie mourn.  These plots are never that simple.  Regina (Emily Bennett) and Tom (Danny Miller) are weed smoking nymphomaniacs (....you think they'll fare well?) and Patty (Summer Bills) and Thad (Jonathan Helvey) are religious prudes, and all are in for a most decisive week-end.  Fate has a twist for all involved.  Converging on this friends week-end are Buzz (Willis) and Cliff (Kayser), two murdering rapists who decide to try their hand at home invasion.  We also meet Leslie's weird folks (Bill Moseley and Leslie Easterbrook).  After murdering his mother and raping, torturing and killing a drug dealer's girl (Steffie Grote), Cliff gets high on ice.  He and Buzz head to an isolated semi-mansion.  As Regina and Tom engage in pre-marital sex and Thad and Patty pray, the invasion begins.
Buzz and Cliff knock out the guys and rape Regina (pictured above) and Patty.  Leslie eludes the thugs.  Her parents have left for the evening, and Leslie tries to call 911 (that never works in these films).  As the four friends are beaten and humiliated, Leslie decides to act.  What results is a mini-war inside this suburban palace.  Uh oh.....something in the basement is gonna come into play.  As with most idyllic estates in upper crust communities, evil forces are dwelling just below the surface, suggesting that Buzz and Cliff chose the wrong home to invade.  Now the seemingly invincible evil duo must battle a seemingly invincible force that is not too tolerant of invaders.  Plenty of gore and carnage will ensue, and most of the cast will be reduced to bloody heaps. 
Will Leslie and her four friends survive the forces at play in the house?  Exactly what dwells in the basement?  Is the supposed paradise of upper-crust suburbia merely Hell with lipstick painted on it?  All these questions deserve answers, which you will find in "House of the Witchdoctor."  Brutal and at times stomach turning, the hardcore horror fan will not be disappointed by this work.
 



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