Don’t let the title of this movie fool you; this is NOT the romantic comedy I originally thought sitting down to watch it. Yet I suppose it does have it’s more touching moments. While the basic concept of this film isn’t completely new, there are some fresh twists on the idea. Can a witch movie still scare us? It can if David P. Barton, director of this Tempe Productions film, has his way. 

J.B., Hollis and Eric are three local boys out cruising for a good time. Eric is being treated to hearing the legend of the local witch, Abigail, for the first time. Hardly scared by the tale, Eric wagers that the old gal doesn’t scare him. The chance to prove himself never arises, as the guys leave after being greeted at her house by a rather odd, animal-like character, appropriately called Jackal Boy, who of course curses them for trespassing. When will people learn? 

Jackal Boy vandalizes their vehicle after a chance meeting at the local bar. Which leads to a brutal beating at the hands of the fellas. Jackal Boy, whose real name is Pox, turns out to be more of an animal than originally thought. Pox’s mother, the witch Abigail, seeks vengeance on behalf of her boy. She finds the gang and casts a spell on them. After the nightmares and sore ridden sickness passes, the guys hatch a plan. Convince two of the local stoners to vandalize her house. Easy enough, right? Does anything go as planned in horror movies? They stray from the plan and end up killing Abi’s precious cat, which turns out to be the very worst thing they could have done. The old woman mixes up a potion and bathes in it. We get to see just a little more of the old lady in the buff than I personally care to recall, but after the bath she emerges as an attractive, young evil witch and uses her newfound beauty to her immoral advantage. 

While the movie wears its budget on it’s sleeve so to speak, it is a rather well done picture. While it isn’t particularly frightening, there is an underlying story that moves continuously throughout the film, enhanced by some good performances from the indie veterans. The characters start out seeming to be cookie cutter replicas but get developed in due time, which is no small feat taking the film’s running time of 72 minutes into account. There are some elements borrowed from other movies that do add another layer to the story.  

After Abi turns into her younger self, she finds the three men she seeks revenge on and has a night of marathon sex with all of them. Now that’s justice. The encounter gives birth, quite literally, to three demon creatures in a rather stomach churning scene. The woman buries the newborns in a hole in the ground. This immediately brought the movie PumpkinHead to mind. The three monsters set out after the boys while Abi still toys with the unknowing bunch. 

The gore is kept to a minimum, which is not what I expected from this movie considering director Barton is also a seasoned make-up effects artist. Overdone cheesy effects are usually the downfall of lower budgeted movies, and the restraint shown here definitely lends itself to a more dignified movie. There are cool effects still, the creatures are the films make-up highlights and like I said before, the birthing scene is not something to watch before, during or directly after eating large meals. The movie has its limits, but definitely pushes them in an effort to provide some good witchcraft related fun.