source: The Spell

The Spell

A teenaged girl, taunted by her schoolmates because she is overweight, uses her supernatural powers to take revenge. First of all, the lead girl that everyone calls "tubbo" is hardly overweight. Homely, sure, but not overweight. I mean, not nearly as much as she could be. Second, this film necessarily will have to be compared to "Carrie" -- two films about teenage girls who get teased and have magic powers, released around the same time. This is, of course, the poor man's "Carrie" and thus ended up on TV rather than in theaters. But is it really less of a film? Third, this film has the distinction of having an early appearance by Helen Hunt (one of my least favorite actresses). Here, she is only 13 or 14. If you happen to be a fan of hers (and I do not know why), this might be worth checking out if you want to see how she acted in her formative years (though, since both her father and uncle were directors, she sort of grew up in the lifestyle).

There's one scene in the movie that always stood out in my head. A woman is walking down a flight of stairs, when she is overtaken by one of these spells. Her tongue turns purple and smoke comes out of her head. It was very shocking the way the attack just seemed to come out of nowhere.

Not a bad film that was made for TV. Quite entertaining really. Rita is a 15 year old overweight girl who is made fun of by the other kids. She finds out she has supernatural powers and uses them against those that she feels is causing her problems. I felt sorry for Rita in the beginning - but as the film progressed she became annoying - not listening to her parents, trying to act like she's an adult really became annoying to me. By the end of the film I was ready for Rita to be gone - well away from her family or something happen to her to straighten up and act right. Pretty good even though it's made for TV. Worth watching if you like the older films and occult/witches types of films. 7/10

An overweight plain high school girl (Susan Myers) is tormented daily by her peers. She acquires powers that allow her to destroy (or kill) her enemies. But she's getting out of control. Can her mother (Lee Grant) stop her? This was basically a TV remake of "Carrie". "Carrie" was R rated so most teenagers (like me) couldn't get in to see it. This was quickly made (it shows) and put on TV--it was a HUGE hit. For what it is, it's not bad. Grant and Myers especially are good and it's pretty well-written. The deaths or "accidents" are pretty tame (compared to "Carrie") but there IS a show-stopper near the end where one woman seems to decompose (or something) in seconds. For 1977 TV it was pretty graphic. It all leads to a showdown which (when you think about it) is pretty silly. Still this was good and I give it an 8. Anybody know how to see this? Like other 1970s movies it's disappeared!

I was in-between my junior and senior years of high school. And, while I had just turned eighteen that spring, it was not in time to catch CARRIE at my hometown monoplex (as it might be called, today). So, I had to settle for this made-for-TV clone. And, I loved it!!! The scene where that millionaire's wife burns up, from the inside out, was genuinely scary to me. Especially, when you consider the stricter standards for graphic tele-violence, at that time. I also loved the climactic duel between Rita and her mother. Where we learn that Lee Grant's character has always had the same power! But, the main reason I still love it to this day? Doney Oatman and all those other leotard-wearing lovelies from the opening scene were so hot, I had a dream about them, later that same night!!

She's 15 and at an age that is just so much more complicated when you're fat. Rita discovers that she has telekenetic powers and can seek revenge against those who are cruel to her. Good performances by Lee Grant and a young Helen Hunt. Bostock is downright chilling in the role. Some excellent special effects for this type of movie, and the end scenes are quite scary, actually. Most of all, a good message about teenagers. Sometimes they can be witchy and seem like aliens, but what they need most of all is love.

An ugly obese blob learns witchcraft from her gym teacher (don't we all) and uses her new powers to get revenge on everybody until her mom straightens her out. Helen Hunt plays her lookalike sister. Weird movie.

THE SPELL is a straight-up TV movie rip-off of CARRIE, albeit made on a smaller scale and lower budget and without the genius of Brian De Palma at the helm. Rita is an ordinary teenage high school pupil who gets bullied by her peers for being overweight (which she isn't, of course). It turns out that a dysfunctional home life doesn't help much. To this end she develops her psychic powers to a degree that she can cause harm to those who oppose her, and black magic may be involved. This is a familiar kind of movie that nonetheless benefits from a typical '70s-era spooky atmosphere, a dedicated Lee Grant (who was always in some misfortune in the 1970s, it seems) and some effective set-pieces, not least the bit with the woman with the boiling blood which is still shocking even now in a pre-EVIL DEAD kind of way.