Witch Story

1989 Italian film

Witch Story

Directed by| Alessandro Capone
Screenplay by|

* Rosario Galli
* Alessandro Capone[1]

Story by| Alessandro Capone[1]
Produced by|

* Alessandro Capone
* Mauro Morigi
* Giuseppe Pedersoli [1]

Starring|

* Amy Adams
* Jeff Bankert
* Ian Bannen

Cinematography| Roberto Girometti[1]
Edited by| Franca Silvi[1]
Music by| Carlo Maria Cordio[1]

Production
companies

* United Entertainment Corporation
* Numero Uno International[1]

Distributed by| Titanus

Release date

* 26 May 1989 (1989-05-26) (Italy)

Running time

| 90 minutes[1]
Country| Italy[1]

Witch Story (Italian: Streghe (Witches)) is a 1989 Italian horror film directed by Alessandro Capone.

## Synopsis

[edit]

The film is set in rural Florida. After passing on her diabolical legacy to a child, a witch is burned alive by the local population, even as the priest had hoped to exorcise her. Fifty years later, several teens gather in the house where the witch once lived. One of the teens inherited after his father's mysterious death. After some of the kids experience visions of a little girl, one reveals her interest in the occult. Later, vacationers experience increasingly disturbing events. When some girls are possessed by the witch and begin to decimate their companions, the survivors manage to contact a priest for help.

## Production

[edit]

Witch Story was the directorial debut of Alessandro Capone.[1] Capone had previously worked as a screenwriter since the mid-1970s including a few horror films such as Body Count.[2] Capone stated that he was a fan of horror films and wanted his debut to be a horror film.[2] He had the international distributor Manolo Bolognini to give him a new guaranteed minimum to help start the project.[2] The film was shot partially in Rome but predominantly in Florida.[2][3]

## Release

[edit]

Witch Story was distributed in Italy by Titanus on 26 May 1989.[1] The film was released in the United Kingdom as Witch Story, in other English territories as Superstion 2 due its similarities to the film Superstition.[1][4] In Germany the film was released as a sequel to Larry Cohen's Wicked Stepmother which was titled Tanz der Hexen with Witch Story being titled Tanz der Hexen Teil 2.[1][4]

## Reception

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In Italy, Leonardo Autera of Corriere della Sera gave the film a negative review noting "slapdash editing, full of inconsistencies", "coarse special effects" and an "amateur cast" outside Ian Bannen whom the reviewer noted looked bored in the film.[5]

## See also

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* List of Italian films of 1989
* List of horror films of 1989

## Footnotes

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1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Curti 2019, p. 185.
2. ^ a b c d Curti 2019, p. 186.
3. ^ Grassi, Giovanna (November 18, 1988). "Cinema e gente". Corriere della Sera (in Italian).
4. ^ a b Curti 2019, p. 187.
5. ^ Autera, Leonardo (May 26, 1989). "La casa disabitata nella radura". Corriere della Sera (in Italian).

### Sources

[edit]

* Curti, Roberto (2019). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1980-1989. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476672434.

## External links

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* Witch Story at IMDb