Witchville

WITCHVILLE is an oddball Syfy Channel TV movie with a fantasy setting and lots of action amid the routine plotting and cheesy dialogue. I found it a little better than most, with plenty of FX that are admittedly lame, although at least they're something to look at. The setting is a dour fantasy landscape, populated by witch burners and mercenary swordsman, with bald-headed Luke Goss playing the charismatic hero with ERAGON's Ed Speleers at his side (a surprise to see Speleers reduced to such B-movie fare just a few years after his debut). The witchy baddies are headed by an aged Sarah Douglas alongside a youthful MyAnna Buring. It's cheesy and nonsensical throughout, but at least it's never dull.

Syfy Channel do sword and sorcery, with some martial arts thrown in. Former pop star Luke Goss (of Bros) stars, if that's the right word, as King Malachy who has to defend his tiny Kingdom of about 20 subjects against an evil witch called the Red Queen. Apart from some nice mountain scenery everything about this movie was bad, the atrocious acting, the script, the awful camera work and the poverty row effects, a real stinker!

The lack of money is apparent in nearly every scene of this movie, but it's an interesting fast moving story so all in all I still enjoyed it. Just be prepared for very cheap fx and supposed crowd scenes where you only see six people clustered around Mr Goss.

Pros: Partially charismatic cast, fairly passionate, make best use of resources Cons: Low budget, partially weak acting Let me first tell you that I am no B-movie buff in any way. I don't grade them especially high. Giving this movie an 8 is not because it is as good as Lord of the Rings in every aspect, but rather because with the Resources handed, this is probably one of the better movies you could make. What sets it apart is that the actors, for the most part, buy into it and most of the main cast are fairly charismatic. The true subpar acting you'd expect in movies like these are confined to lesser, supporting actors. There is attention to detail and some passion and effort both in from of and behind the camera. To be fair – this movie probably struck a chord with me personally somehow. It is not a great story, it is not magical directing – but it is a good enough, low-budget matinée and if you're into fantasy and can stand low-budget, this one will probably at least amuse you for the time being.