House of the Witchdoctor is a 2013 American horror film directed by Devon Mikolas, his first feature film. It stars newer names such as Callie Stephens (When the Lights Go Out) and Summer Bills as well as actors who have appeared in many horror and genre films over the past few decades, in particular Dyanne Thorne (the Ilsa series, Blood Sabbath) and Bill Moseley (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2; House of 1000 Corpses; The Devil’s Rejects). The plot sees a group of typical American teens offering consolation to their bereaved friend at her parent’s plush residence, only to find themselves stalked… and even worse.
Serial nutcase Cliff Rifton (Allan Kayser, Night of the Creeps) has been released from prison and immediately hooks up with his old sidekick, Buzz Schenk (David Willis), both of them eager to pick up where they left off and terrorise as many people as possibly whilst taking as many drugs as possible. After killing his mother, raping a drug dealer’s girlfriend and then torturing and murdering him, new opportunities are sought and their new target is white, middle-class Leslie Van Hooten (Stephens) and her four friends, who manage to evade them on their way to her parent’s well-appointed pad on the outskirts of town, primarily for them all to help her come to terms with the anniversary of the death of her boyfriend.
An unfortunate series of Last House on the Left-like coincidences lead the criminals to the Van Hooten residence, a stroke of luck they are unwilling to let pass. With her parents away (Mosely and Leslie Easterbrook from The Devil’s Rejects and many Police Academy films) the teens are terrorised by a distinctly 1970’s-style home invasion; rape, torture and dehumanisation all getting a run-out. Before the plot becomes too predictable, the parents return, accompanied by neighbours, Rose (Thorne) and Emmett (Howard Maurer, Thorne’s real-life spouse and star of two Ilsa films himself, Tigress of Siberia and Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks), as well as assorted locals, all of whom are equipped with a wide array of garden tools and more traditional weapons.
Down in the basement of the house, true identities are revealed and voodoo wrong-doings require sacrifice and rites, volunteers both unwilling and otherwise already assembled. Will the local deities be appeased or will help arrive in time?
The home invasion angle of approach doesn’t really date and, if played correctly, is always an unnerving experience, the defiling of both body and property an eternally horrific thought. In this respect, the film doesn’t do a bad job, let down only by idiotic, dislikeable teens behaving in the most sickeningly forehead-slapping daft manner imaginable. The diabolical duo of Buzz and Cliff are played with eyeball-spinning glee and the enthusiasm and appalling satisfaction they gain from their crimes are demented and unhinged enough to be attributed by drugs and society – backstories are left to a minimum.
Do people still watch horror films just for nudity? Well, those who do won’t be disappointed, though Dyanne remains mercifully clothed. Her role is minimal, as is that of Mosely, despite the pivotal part he plays in the story. As such we are left with the curse of Rob Zombie – a parade of old faces, used poorly, to disguise flimsy plot under the guise of “I know my stuff, me!”. Though a twist is necessary in the film to prevent stale, though graphic sexually violent thrills, the notion of introducing voodoo and spell casting is so ridiculous that it feels like two half ideas half executed.
The net result is a film which would play well on late-night cable television, particularly for an audience with low expectations, low I.Q. and a penchant for low-necklines.
Daz Lawrence, Horrorpedia
