Witch Hunt

R

1994

1 hr. 40 min.

Fantasy

List

20%

5 Reviews

Tomatometer

44%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

Magic and murder connect an actress (Penelope Ann Miller), a private eye (Dennis Hopper), a senator (Eric Bogosian) and a witch in 1950s Hollywood.

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Jeff N

L.A. Confidential meets Harry Potter. A smart tightly woven noir detective story set amidst a back drop that's a satire of the 50's Hollywood and the McCarthy era red scare. The score it got on here is because it was ahead of it's time. This is definitely a time when RT got it wrong. Sad.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/21/24

Full Review

Jithin K

A bizarre movie that for the most part wasn't very impressive but the things it got right were so good for me. It plays out like a film noir set in an alternative 1950s Hollywood filled with magic, paving the way to an old-fashioned Witch Hunt instead of the McCarthy-led one that happened in real life. Being a noir with all these things going on just feels like a parody that is not really funny for most of the runtime. But more than simply being funny it does manage to criticize a lot of the American way of stuff even though it's very very obvious anyway. But the movie made it believable that if the world was like that, the events in this movie could very well occur. Along with that, a lot of very weird choices that really don't lead to anything in the film actually kept my interest throughout the film even though the central plot itself was kind of boring to me. So, in a contrived way, they did manage to engage me and convey some messages, even with all the intentional weirdness and the noir parody tone and acting of the movie.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/31/23

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Audience Member

Loads of fun-great performances--Witch Hunt Casts a Deadly Spell!!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Audience Member

My favorite Dennis Hopper movie. I love everything about this movie the subject matter the styles from the '50's .

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

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Audience Member

Magic and Film Noir collide in this good little made-for-cable film, directed by Paul Schrader. In a world where everyone uses magic, private detective H. Phillip Lovecraft is the only man who refuses to use it. This film is superior to it's predecessor, "To Cast a Deadly Spell", in many ways, although I preferred Fred Ward in the role of Lovecraft over Hopper, but it's strengths are many including excellent direction by Schrader and a terrific supporting performance by the always excellent Julian Sands. This time around, Lovecraft is taking on a Joseph McCarthy-like senator, played by Eric Bogosian, who is leading a literal witch hunt. Bogosian gets the best line of the film, which still seems relevant today, "Let me tell you a little something about 'The People' Phil; you lock any ten of them in a room, they may not elect a leader, but I guarantee they'll pick someone to hate." Definitely worth checking out if you can find a copy.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Decent. Not up to par with the "Cast a Deadly Spell" but enjoyable nonetheless. Can't help but love the Hopper.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

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Paul Schrader

Director

Dennis Hopper

H. Phillip Lovecraft

Penelope Ann Miller

Kim Hudson

Eric Bogosian

Sen. Larson Crockett

Sheryl Lee Ralph

Hypolyta Kropotkin

Julian Sands

Finn Macha

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Howard Waldstein

CBR

It’s an interesting work-for-hire project, worth a watch for its matter-of-fact blending of the fantastical and the mundane.

Jul 18, 2023

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Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Rated: 2/5

Feb 22, 2008

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Rob Vaux

Flipside Movie Emporium

A demonstrably inferior sequel to the wonderful Cast A Deadly Spell

Rated: 2/5

May 13, 2007

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Jul 23, 2005

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Dragan Antulov

rec.arts.movies.reviews

Rated: 4/10

May 15, 2003

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Synopsis

Magic and murder connect an actress (Penelope Ann Miller), a private eye (Dennis Hopper), a senator (Eric Bogosian) and a witch in 1950s Hollywood.

Director: Paul Schrader
Rating: R, TV-MA
Genre: Fantasy
Original Language: English
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo