Main cast: Omari Hardwick (Marquis T Woods), Loretta Devine (Miss Eloise), John Beasley (Earl), Lorraine Burroughs (Veora Woods), Hannah Gonera (Samsara Woods), Kalifa Burton (Tydon Woods), and Tumisho Masha (The Sheriff)
Director: Mark Tonderai
God bless Omari Hardwick. With a last name like that, the fellow is born to make folks that appreciate a sexy hard man so happy, and he certainly puts a Spell on me.
Hence, I am here to share the great news: yes, he takes off his shirt in this movie, and while he doesn’t reveal as much as he did in some of his previous stuff (not going to lie, I endured Power just to look at that fine ass in motion), it is definitely nice enough for me. Plus, him getting bloodied up and what not is for some reason so hot.
In this movie, we have Marquis T Woods, a lawyer that has made a lot of money for himself and his family to the point that he owns a Cessna of his own. He came from the poorer parts of the Appalachia, and his father was abusive, so he understandably isn’t that upset when he receives news that the old man has died. His wife Veora, however, convinces him that he needs to go back for the funeral, so that he can finally find closure and let go of his demons.
Hence, he somewhat reluctantly brings his family over, and when his plane crashes during a storm, right into an episode of Deliverance-meets-Misery. Marquis finds himself stuck in the attic of an apparently eccentric but benevolent old lady, Miss Eloise, but come on, she’s clearly up to no good. Can he break himself free and find his family, before getting them all out of here?
The novelty of an all-black main cast and having a hillbillies-gone-wild movie with a cast that is about two-third black aside (this genre is dominated by white hillbillies, of course), Spell doesn’t really break new ground when it comes to the story. There are some thought-provoking moments about what it means to be a black person—Marquis tells his son, who is being bullied in school, to never retaliate, because that kind of action will be what “they” expect from black man—but all that is soon pushed aside once the plane goes down and Miss Eloise cheerfully steps into the scene,
Loretta Devine is awesome in her role, as Miss Eloise is truly terrifying because she will commit all these heinous acts with a wide smile and good cheer in her voice. All the folks in the area venerate her as their witch doctor and leader, because she can do things with her magic to cure even ailments that would otherwise appear incurable (restoring vision and ability to speak to the blind and mute, etc), so Marquis will have to go against the whole town if he wanted to go against her.
This movie is basically Ms Devine playing the tormentor, and Mr Hardwick (heh) only has to play the victim that will try to beat her at her game. Comparisons to Misery are perhaps inevitable here, but the movie also tosses in voodoo to keep things interesting. Mr Hardiwck doesn’t have much to do here aside from looking hot and, later on, playing the hot action hero, but again, I’m going to be honest: this movie has great lighting and set pieces, but the loveliest thing about this movie is Mr Hardwick himself.
I find Spell a pretty entertaining film, but I have to deduct one oogie because it enters bonkers territory during its late third. Basically, Marquis turns into a hot, shirtless vengeful action hero, in spite of having injuries that would have otherwise prevented him from doing what he does in these scenes. Oh, it’s easy to forgive this issue because, you know, shirtless, but come on. It’s like the movie just drops the ball there and then and decides to go full ham, when up to that point the whole thing had been more of a psychological horror flick.
At any rate, it’s hard for me to stay mad at this film. Omari Hardwick’s in it, after all, and he is so easy in the eyes. The movie itself is acceptable but not exactly a stand-out, but I feel that it will be a perfectly acceptable way to spend a nice afternoon looking at one of the finest male specimens in the land.
