Cast a Deadly Spell Movie Review

An “elseworld” vision of 1948 Los Angeles where everyone, from bums on the street to master criminals, uses magic for just about everything, from mixing drinks to cutting someone to pieces in a tornado of stolen loot. Everyone, that is, except for gumshoe Harry P. Lovecraft (Fred Ward), although he does use a lucky talisman. Streetsmarts vs. magic. Good vs. evil. Amos Hackshaw (David Warner) has hired Harry to track down a stolen Necronomicon, the key to ultimate-mystical power, in order to prevent a gangster and his zombie sidekick from ending the world as we know it, or at least as they know it. Weird creatures and decent special effects complement this made-for-cable-TV horror-noir comedy thriller. Followed by Witch Hunt in 1994, with Dennis Hopper as Lovecraft.

1991 (R) 93m/C Fred Ward, David Warner, Julianne Moore, Clancy Brown, Alexandra Powers; D: Martin Campbell; W: Joseph Dougherty, Dave Edison. VHS, LV HBO, FCT