Witchouse 3: Demon Fire (2004) from Tuna

Since none of the three Witchouse films are really related, except that they all include a witch named Lilith, Full Moon Pictures was going to acquire a film already in the can and simply convert it into part 3 of this franchise. Director J. R. Bookwalter convinced them that it would be cheaper to start over if the film were shot in HD digital video. Bookwalter hired a cast, reworked the script, and shot what he calls a "babes in a beach house" movie for $26,000.

Tanya Dempsey is bashed by her husband, and escapes to her old friend's house, where she finds a crew making a documentary on witchcraft. In the process of producing the film, Tanya and two of her bimbo friends (Debbie Rochon and Tina Krouse) accidentally form a coven. At one point or another the coven finally conjures up the recurring character of Lilith (Brinke Stevens), who then sets about teaching the mortal women the all-important lesson that "witches burn."

The script is not strong. Most of the plot is just flagrant audience manipulation to insure a surprise at the end. The performances are equally weak. Add to that that fact the bimbos are almost always fully clothed, and there is not much to like about this film.

 

DVD INFO

  • Bad movie, good DVD! The DVD is amazingly thorough for such a weak film, with deleted scenes, a still gallery and three complete commentaries which show Debbie Rochon to be quite smart and incisive, and not a bimbo at all.

NUDITY REPORT

The only nudity is from Tina Krause, who shows breasts in a shower scene.

The Critics Vote ...

  • No major reviews online. The IMDb page has many reviews from genre sites. 

 

The People Vote ...

The meaning of the IMDb score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics, or a C- from our system. Films rated below five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one and a half stars from the critics or a D on our scale. (Possibly even less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

Our own guideline:

  • A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre.
  • B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. Any film rated B- or better is recommended for just about anyone. In order to rate at least a B-, a film should be both a critical and commercial success. Exceptions: (1) We will occasionally rate a film B- with good popular acceptance and bad reviews, if we believe the critics have severely underrated a film. (2) We may also assign a B- or better to a well-reviewed film which did not do well at the box office if we feel that the fault lay in the marketing of the film, and that the film might have been a hit if people had known about it. (Like, for example, The Waterdance.)
  • C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by people who enjoy this kind of movie. If this is your kind of movie, a C+ and an A are indistinguishable to you.
  • C means it is competent, but uninspired genre fare. People who like this kind of movie will think it satisfactory. Others probably will not.
  • C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie, but genre addicts find it watchable. Any film rated C- or better is recommended for fans of that type of film, but films with this rating should be approached with caution by mainstream audiences, who may find them incompetent or repulsive or both. If this is NOT your kind of movie, a C- and an E are indistinguishable to you.
  • D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. We don't score films below C- that often, because we like movies and we think that most of them have at least a solid niche audience. Now that you know that, you should have serious reservations about any movie below C-. Films rated below C- generally have both bad reviews and poor popular acceptance.
  • E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre.
  • F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

 

Based on this description, this film is a D, at best.

Return to the Movie House home page