Plot: What’s it about?
After Annie (Tanya Dempsey) found herself abused by her boyfriend once again, she went to find comfort with her friends Stevie (Debbie Rochon) and Rose (Tina Krause). The two happen to be in the middle of a documentary on witchcraft and as part of this project, they organize a seance to see who might pop in. The girls don’t wish to turn to the dark side, but they want to better understand the allure of the black arts, as well as perhaps satisfy some of their own curiosities about the supernatural. As it happens, the seance does call up someone from the beyond to meet the girls, but sadly for them, it isn’t someone they want to encounter. No, the witch from hell with a bad attitude, Lilith (Brinke Stevens) has been summoned back to the realm of the living and of course, she is quite pissed off about it. Now she plans to use her black magic powers to take revenge on those who called her spirit back, which means bad news for the trio of hotties, since Lilith will stop at nothing to punish them in fatal fashion. Can the three friends manage to survive Lilith’s assault, or will this first contact prove to be their last?
As viewers of Witchouse and Witchouse 2: Blood Coven know, the films have little in common and in that tradition, Witchouse 3 doesn’t aim to be a traditional sequel. Shot in nine days for about twenty-six thousand bucks, Witchouse 3 has become a smash hit with horror fans and with good reason, as it defies those production limitations. You’d expect a film shot under these conditions to look cheap, have poor gore effects, poor location work, and such, but director J.R. Bookwalter and crew overcome to give us a well made, solid horror movie. The bulk of the makeup effects look terrific, while production seems good in other areas also, Witchouse 3 simply doesn’t seem like a movie made in such a short time, on such a tight budget. But then again, Bookwalter (The Dead Next Door) is well known for delivering good horror for little cash, so I suppose I should have known. As with the other Witchouse pictures, this one never really scares us, but it has some good atmosphere, hot chicks, memorable gore effects, and a high entertainment value. I do wish Ariauna Albright could have been brought back as Lilith, but aside from that, I couldn’t ask much else from Witchouse 3. As usual, Tempe serves up a well crafted special edition, crammed with extras and offered at a low price, so don’t hesitate to add this DVD to your collection.
Video: How does it look?
Witchouse 3: Demon Fire is presented in a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. As this movie was shot on digital video then put through the Filmlook process, it doesn’t look as good as normal film based projects, but this transfer is still solid. I don’t think it looks as good as Dead & Rotting, another Tempe picture shot under the same conditions, but I wasn’t too let down here, all things considered. The image does have more grain present and looks softer than expected, but this probably a result of the Filmlook process, which might not have been the wisest choice in this case. Even so, the movie looks good for what it is and that’s a very low budget horror picture, shot on digital video, not film. So no, you won’t be blown away by this treatment, but considering the source material involved, I doubt anyone will complain too much.
Audio: How does it sound?
I was quite impressed with the Dolby Digital 5.1 option found here, as it leaves most other horror movie soundtracks in the dust, low budget or not. The mix has been well arranged and executed, with plenty of surround presence, but a nice balance between subtleties and power, so it never seems forced in the least. Some scenes require more juice than others and it works out well in that respect, so we have flashes of sheer impact, but also more reserved touches, such as background noise to enhance the film’s atmosphere. I never had a problem with dialogue either, as the mix is crafted so that even in the more power based sequences, vocals remain clean and always easy to understand. The liner notes inform us that J.R. Bookwalter used part of his fees as director to finance this new mix and without question, it was money well spent.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This special edition from Tempe starts with not one, not two, but three audio commentary tracks, enough to please enough the most demanding fan, to be sure. The first track is with director J.R. Bookwalter and star Debbie Rochon, who offer a lot of behind the scenes information, but inject enough humor to keep the session alive. A nice blend of insight and anecdotes, this first track is a good one and shouldn’t be missed. The second track features stars Brinke Stevens, Tanya Dempsey, and Paul Darrigo, who have their minds more on memorable stories from the set, as opposed to real insight, though that means plenty of entertainment value. The third and final track is with producer Tammi Sutton, crew member “Spud” Scaduto, and director of photography Danny Draven, which turned out to be a little slow at times, but still a solid session. Sutton seems to have the most to say and contributes a lot of information, but this one just seems lacking at times, especially when compared to the other tracks found here.
But we’re not done with the extras yet, as a whole heap of additional materials remain ahead, such as a reel of “home movies” that is worth a look. This is really a behind the scenes featurette that runs just over half an hour, but it is not like those fluff promotional pieces we’re used to, not even close. This is an actual look at how Witchouse 3 was produced, taking us day by day through the shoot, which makes for an interesting, enjoyable featurette. Next up is about twenty minutes of bloopers and outtakes, which is mostly line dropping or other humorous events and since this is a horror movie, that makes even more fun to watch. A twenty-three minute interview with Debbie Rochon is up next, in which she discusses her experiences on the set of this film, as well as her career on the whole. This disc also includes an interview with a trio of cast members, a ten minute reel of footage shot on set by Rochon, some talent files, Burning of the Salem Witches short film (w/ optional audio commentary), and the film’s trailer.
