Had this one on my list of films to catch whenever I could, thinking I hadn’t seen it but realizing, as the film reached its final act, that I’d seen at least that part of it.  Check that: Either I saw the film’s closing act or the movie’s resolution was so predictable it just seemed like I had seen it before.

While it may sound like a big knock against the film, trust me when I say I don’t intend it to be as this film entertained me through to that (at least to me) predictable ending.

Cast A Deadly Spell biggest draw is in the fact that it presents a Raymond Chandler-esq “noir” L.A. of 1948 merged with the dark magics of H. P. Lovecraft’s literature.

The story features a very game and engaging Fred Ward who plays private detective Harry Phillip Lovecraft (yes, H. P. Lovecraft).  He lives in this “noir” L.A. and shuns any form of magic…even though it is a commonality in this world.  You see, everyone has some kind of relationship with the dark arts.  In this world, bloody rain can fall one overcast day and police stations bring in vampire and werewolf suspects for questioning.

In the film’s opening minutes Lovecraft finishes a case.  This serves to establish both his character -he’s very much a noble knight in the Phillip Marlowe tradition- and the peculiar world he lives in.  Following the opening, viewers are side-routed to some goings on involving a book and the shadowy people trying to get their hands on it.  It is during this sequence we see Julliane Moore in one of her earlier large roles.  Her character, Connie Stone, will play a role in the story to follow.

It is also during this interlude that one of the film’s “surprises” is presented, a character who doesn’t seem to be who they are, but viewers should detect a particular blonde’s secret right away.  At the risk of again sounding very down on the film, this was one of those plot twists that if you didn’t pick up on it right away, you truly need to get your eyes checked.

Afterwards we return to Lovecraft.  He’s directed to the Amos Hackshaw (David Warner) estate and, while driving in, sees a unicorn and a woman on horseback and carrying a bow and arrow hunting the creature.  The woman will turn out to be Olivia Hackshaw (Alexandra Powers), Amos’ 16 year old “innocent” daughter.

Amos, it turns out, lost his copy of the (in) famous Necronomicon (the book we saw in the interlude presented beforehand) and he needs to get it back in two days for, he states, a conference he needs to attend.  Amos tells Lovecraft he suspects his recently fired chauffeur, a man who he says had his eyes on the youthful Olivia, stole the book when he was sent away.

I won’t get into too many more details beyond what I’ve laid out above but, apart from the ending you see coming and the non-surprise regarding one of the characters, Cast A Deadly Spell is an entertaining film that pleasantly mixes the noir and dark magic genres in an effective way.  While the mystery at its heart may not be quite as clever as those found in the best works of Raymond Chandler and the horror elements may not be quite as horrifying as those found in the best works of H. P. Lovecraft, the film nonetheless hits its marks and entertains which is, after all, what any good film should do.

So, while the film may feature a couple of “surprises” that aren’t all that surprising, Cast A Deadly Spell is a pleasant, entertaining feature that presents a unique melding of genres, a pleasant cast, and an engaging story.

Recommended.

Here’s the movie’s trailer.  Sorry for the poor quality…

A Random Thought: Hollywood really loves remaking films they shouldn’t yet here’s a case of a good film that might make a really great remake.  Should be considered!