{{Short description|1986 American horror film by Kevin S. Tenney}} {{About|the 1986 film|the remake|Witchboard (2024 film)|the talking board|Ouija|other uses|Witch board (disambiguation){{!}}Witch board}} {{Distinguish|Witchtrap}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = Witchboard | image = Witchboard.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = [[Kevin S. Tenney|Kevin Tenney]] | producer = Gerald Geoffray | writer = Kevin Tenney | starring = {{plainlist| * Todd Allen * [[Tawny Kitaen]] * [[Stephen Nichols]] * [[Kathleen Wilhoite]] * [[Burke Byrnes]] * [[Rose Marie]] }} | music = Dennis Michael Tenney | cinematography = [[Roy H. Wagner]] | editing = {{plainlist| * Daniel Duncan * Stephen J. Waller }} | released = {{Film date|1986|12|31}} | runtime = 98 minutes<ref>{{cite web|work=[[British Board of Film Classification]]|title=''Witchboard''|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/witchboard-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yodk2nze|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250731043353/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/witchboard-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yodk2nze|archive-date=July 31, 2025}}</ref> | country = United States<ref name=afi>{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/57888|title=Witchboard|work=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]]|publisher=[[American Film Institute]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604153308/https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/57888|archive-date=June 4, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b78b90140|work=[[British Film Institute]]|title=Witchboard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118015738/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b78b90140|archive-date=January 18, 2022|url-status=dead}}</ref> | studio = Paragon Arts International<ref name=afi/> | distributor = <!--Only the distributor for country of origin belongs in infobox-->Cinema Group | language = English | budget = $1.5 million–2 million<ref name=afi/><ref name=carroll/> | gross = $7.4 million<ref name=mojo>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4118513153/weekend/|work=[[Box Office Mojo]]|title=''Witchboard''|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107031627/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4118513153/weekend/|archive-date=November 7, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> }}
'''''Witchboard''''' is a 1986 American [[supernatural horror film]] written and directed by [[Kevin S. Tenney|Kevin Tenney]] in his [[directorial debut]], and starring [[Tawny Kitaen]], [[Stephen Nichols]], and Todd Allen. The plot centers on college student Linda Brewster who becomes entranced into using her friend's [[Ouija]] board alone after it was left behind at her party. She is subsequently terrorized and eventually [[Spirit possession|possessed]] by the spirit of malevolent [[serial killer]] Carlos Malfeitor, who committed a series of axe murders in the 1930s.
Tenney wrote the screenplay while a student at the [[University of Southern California]], inspired after attending a party in which a friend brought a Ouija board for partygoers to use. The film focuses on the notion of "progressive entrapment," the process by which a malevolent entity or [[demon]] takes control of a human being, a theme that was also touched on in ''[[The Exorcist]]'' (1973) after [[Regan MacNeil]] ([[Linda Blair]]) dabbles with a Ouija board. Filming took place in 1985 in [[Los Angeles]], [[San Bernardino, California|San Bernardino]], and [[San Francisco]].
Cinema Group gave ''Witchboard'' a limited theatrical release in the United States on [[New Year's Eve]] 1986. Following favorable box-office returns, the release was expanded in the spring of 1987, and the film went on to gross $7.4 million in the United States. Although the critical response to the film was largely unfavorable, it has attracted a [[cult film|cult following]] since its release,{{sfn|Campisi|2012|p=94}} and was subject to significant [[film studies|critical analysis]] by academic [[Carol J. Clover]] in her 1992 non-fiction book, ''[[Men, Women, and Chain Saws]]''.
Two unrelated sequels, ''[[Witchboard 2: The Devil's Doorway]]'' and ''[[Witchboard III: The Possession]]'', were released in 1993 and 1995, respectively. A [[Witchboard (2024 film)|remake]] directed by [[Chuck Russell]] was released in 2024.
==Plot== At a house party in [[Fairfield, California]], Brandon Sinclair uses his [[ouija board]] with his ex-girlfriend Linda Brewster to contact the spirit of David, who he describes as a ten-year old child with whom he had communicated before. Her boyfriend, Jim Morar, insults David, which provokes him to slash the tires of Brandon's car. The next day, Linda uses Brandon's board that was left behind to contact David, who informs her where her lost engagement ring is. At the construction site where Jim works, his friend Lloyd Salvador is killed by fallen [[drywall]]. When Jim is questioned by Lieutenant Dewhurst at Lloyd's funeral, Linda contacts David about the accident, but he says that he did not cause it.
Linda begins to fall under progressive entrapment, where the spirit terrorizes the user enough to weaken them in order to [[demonic possession|possess]] them. She becomes increasingly preoccupied with communicating with David, and begins to experience nausea and other symptoms, leading her and Jim to believe she is pregnant. Brandon brings over psychic medium Sarah "Zarabeth" Crawford to contact David through a [[séance]], and to exorcise him if necessary. Zarabeth [[Mediumship|channel]]s David, who claims to be a ten-year-old boy. This further leads Linda to become protective of David and her communication with him. After the spirit leaves, a suspicious Zarabeth returns home to research the occurrence, but her throat is slashed before she is thrown through a window and lands on a [[sundial]], impaling her to death. The next morning, Brandon hears about her death and suspects that David killed her, but Jim continues to be skeptical of his claims.
As Brandon leaves to seek information, Jim witnesses Linda violently thrown against the wall, rendering her unconscious. After she is brought to a hospital, doctors confirm Linda is not pregnant as they had suspected. Unnerved, Jim teams with Brandon to conduct research on David. The two find a newspaper article about a ten-year-old boy named David Simpson who drowned in a nearby lake. Jim and Brandon travel to the lake and use another board in an attempt to communicate with David, but soon learn that a different spirit, Carlos Malfeitor, has been terrorizing Linda all along. Seated on a dock, Jim is knocked unconscious when a stack of fishing barrels topples over him, and Brandon is killed by Malfeitor with a hatchet. Upon regaining consciousness, Jim grieves over Brandon's body. That night, he researches Malfeitor's biography, and learns that he was an [[axe murder]]er shot by police in his home in 1930—the same residence he and Linda live in.
After Linda discharges herself from the hospital, she is attacked by Malfeitor. The next day, Jim finds their home in disarray, before a possessed Linda attacks him. Dewhurst enters and accuses Jim of the murders, but Linda strikes him with a [[fire poker]]. Jim brandishes his revolver, and Linda tells him that he is the "portal", taunting him in an attempt to drive him to suicide. Instead, Jim shoots the board before he is pushed through a window and lands on a car.
After the events, Jim and Linda, now free from Malfeitor's influence, resume their lives and marry each other. Their landlady, Mrs. Moses, finds the board while cleaning out the home with her granddaughter, and wonders if it still works. The board is thrown into a box, where its [[planchette]] moves to the word "yes" by itself.
==Cast== {{cast list| * Todd Allen as Jim Morar * [[Tawny Kitaen]] as Linda Brewster * [[Stephen Nichols]] as Brandon Sinclair * [[Kathleen Wilhoite]] as Sarah "Zarabeth" Crawford * [[Burke Byrnes]] as Lt. Dewhurst * James W. Quinn as Lloyd Salvador * [[Rose Marie]] as Mrs. Moses * Judy Tatum as Dr. Gelineau * Gloria Hayes as Wanda * J.P. Luebsen as Carlos Malfeitor * Susan Nickerson as Chris * Ryan Carroll as Roger * Kenny Rhodes as Mike }}
==Production== ===Development=== [[Kevin S. Tenney]] wrote the screenplay for ''Witchboard'' while studying filmmaking at the [[University of Southern California]].{{sfn|Campisi|2012|p=148}} He drew inspiration for the story from a party he attended where a friend brought a [[Ouija board]] for partygoers to use.{{sfn|Campisi|2012|p=148}} While researching the history of the Ouija board, Tenney learned about the notion of "progressive entrapment", an element that figures briefly in ''[[The Exorcist]]'' (1973), in which the young [[Regan MacNeil]] ([[Linda Blair]]) becomes gradually "entrapped" by a [[demon]]ic entity.<ref name="entrapment">{{cite AV media |title=Progressive Entrapment: The Making of Witchboard |display-authors=etal |medium=[[Blu-ray]] featurette |publisher=[[Scream Factory]] |year=2014 |oclc=1242988985 |people=Tenney, Kevin S.; Kitaen, Tawny; Nichols, Stephen; Allen, Todd; Wilhoite, Kathleen}}</ref>{{sfn|Campisi|2012|p=148}} As some elements of the script were based on incidents he had heard of while researching experiences close friends and others had with Ouija boards, he believed the material would resonate with viewers being based in facts, despite it being fictitious.<ref name=entrapment/> Though Tenney never believed in the board himself, he admitted the board was "creepy".<ref name=entrapment/>
One of the central themes of the film was the "[[bromance]]" of Jim Morar and Brandon Sinclair, whose friendship involved a [[love triangle]] with the character of Linda Brewster.<ref name=entrapment/> Tenney viewed the film as being about the board, who he sees as a character, forcing Jim to reflect on his relationships with Linda and Brandon, the latter of whom he had a falling out with. Once he knew this was the story, it was easy for him to work it around with the incidents he had researched about.<ref name=entrapment/> In writing the characters, he drew from his own background to make them "three-dimensional," and thought it would be interesting to see Jim's disestablished friendship with Brandon come back together.<ref name=entrapment/> The character of Jim was based on Tenney himself, and he wrote him to be a construction worker from when he, his brother Dennis Michael Tenney, and their friend James W. Quinn worked in construction before moving to [[Los Angeles]].<ref name=entrapment/> He stated in interviews that despite it being a horror film, he sought to create a character-driven story.<ref name=entrapment/>
When Tenney's friend, Rolan Carol, had to drop out of university due to financial issues, he found a job at a commodities firm where the owner, Walter Josten, was getting bored of commodities.<ref name=entrapment/> Rolan mentioned Tenney's script to Josten, who had an interest in filmmaking.<ref name=entrapment/> Tenney and his friend, Gerald Geoffray, then pitched the film to Josten, who was impressed by the idea, and agreed to help finance the project.<ref name=entrapment/> Tenney dropped out of his program at the University of Southern California, four units shy of earning his [[master's degree]], to begin shooting the film.<ref name=entrapment/>
===Casting=== Todd Allen was cast as Jim, as Tenney felt he was the only one that was true to the role.<ref name=entrapment/> Initially, Allen was worried that he lost the role when he saw Tenney laughing while sitting in the auditioning room, but he made him laugh because it reminded him of the way he talked and acted.<ref name=entrapment/> He received the benefit of returning with the filmmakers to read the actresses that auditioned for the role of Linda, which [[Tawny Kitaen]] had read when he was not there.<ref name=entrapment/>
Casting producer Rebecca Boss and Tenney found Kitaen ideal for the part as everyone the latter knew at his office, who were all male, noticed her the most.<ref name=entrapment/> She had flown to [[New York City|New York]] prior to shooting so Tenney called up her agent about making a deal, and she flew back to arrive on set when filming began.<ref name=entrapment/> When she met Allen, they both became very intimate with their relationship.<ref name=entrapment/> Tenney saw that she brought an "appeal" that affected everyone at the time, which was something he initially did not see.<ref name=entrapment/>
Photographer J.P. Luebsen was hired to play Carlos Malfeitor, the villain, when he met Tenney through a friend at an [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]] party.<ref name=entrapment/> Whenever he was on set, Kitaen mentioned to him about being completely distant so that she could build herself up to be terrified of him.<ref name=entrapment/> Other cast members include Quinn, Kenny Rhodes, and [[Kathleen Wilhoite]]. Although Wilhoite was the first to audition for Sarah "Zarabeth" Crawford, she initially did not respond to Tenney about the part, but later accepted it when they re-met.<ref name=entrapment/> Rhodes stated that ''Witchboard'' was the only film in his career where he did not recall auditioning.<ref name=entrapment/> The costumer gave him a [[bandanna]] to "toughen up" his character Mike, which he kept as he was a [[Bruce Springsteen]] fan.<ref name=entrapment/>
===Filming=== [[File:637 S Lucerne LA.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|Filming took place partly at the historic Higgins-Verbeck-Hirsch Mansion in Los Angeles.]] Though set in Tenney's hometown of [[Fairfield, California|Fairfield]] in [[Northern California]], financial restraints mandated that the film be shot in [[Southern California]].<ref name=wade/> [[Principal photography]] took place in the summer of 1985, at the Higgins-Verbeck-Hirsch Mansion in [[Windsor Square, Los Angeles]], and [[Big Bear Valley]] in [[San Bernardino]], California. Additional photography occurred in [[San Francisco]].<ref name=tcm>{{cite web|work=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|title=''Witchboard''|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302032612/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/96026/witchboard|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/96026/witchboard|archive-date=March 2, 2021}}</ref> Filming at [[Big Bear Lake]] occurred in August 1985, as well as at the Big Bear public library.<ref name=grizzly>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56663383/1985-8-29-ouija-being-filmed-locals-used/|date=August 29, 1985|title=Explosion on Big Bear Lake...film next summer|last=Olson|first=Steve|work=[[Big Bear Grizzly|The Grizzly]]|page=A7|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Three days of filming were completed with an unnamed cinematographer, mainly the film's opening party scene.{{sfn|Wagner|Byrne|2025|pages=28, 30}} The producers subsequently chose to replace the cinematographer with [[Roy H. Wagner]], who shot the remainder of the film.{{sfn|Wagner|Byrne|2025|p=28}}
The film was shot under the working title ''Ouija'', but had to be re-titled during production after board game conglomerate [[Parker Brothers]], who owned the trademark name "Ouija", attempted to prevent one of their boards from being used or mentioned in the film.<ref name=entrapment/> The [[Professional liability insurance|errors and omissions]] carrier did not approve of the filmmakers having already shot footage using one of their Ouija boards, requiring the production company to put up $50,000 [[Bond (finance)|bond]] to prevent any potential litigation. Though there was no lawsuit, Walter Josten stated that this should have been cleared before they started filming.<ref name=entrapment/> The film's production company received the insurance to change the title to ''Witchboard'' and were allowed to pay the bond, as well as to integrate the board footage with an alternate board footage as shown when Jim and Brandon are at Big Bear.<ref name=entrapment/> However, the filmmakers were divided about the title change, with many preferring ''Ouija'' while others felt that ''Witchboard'' was a "cooler" title.<ref name=entrapment/>
Shooting the shower scene was difficult for Kitaen as she did not trust Tenney nor the camera crew to shoot the scene, but had faith in cinematographer Wagner to do it when she saw his wedding ring.<ref name=entrapment/> According to Tenney, Kitaen only agreed to film nudity in the presence of married men.{{sfn|Wagner|Byrne|2025|p=35}} The crew used effects when the spirit turns on hot blazing water in the shower that Linda was trapped in, using [[sugar glass|breakaway glass]]ed shower doors, and a fog machine to represent the hot water's moisture.<ref name=entrapment/> Kitaen became more comfortable when the set was cleared to only the director and second-camera loader assistant, but this was a big uproar as all of the men had to temporarily leave the set.<ref name=entrapment/>
On set, there were numerous running gags that Wagner was mostly involved in.<ref name=entrapment/> In one, Kitaen devastatingly believed on-set that her poodle was accidentally run over by the props truck, but she was relieved to find that the dog was safe and it was only a gag prop with hair similar to her dog that was laid on the road.<ref name=entrapment/> At the time, they used another gag whereas since Kitaen was dating [[O. J. Simpson]] at the time and he visited her on set occasionally, they would call the production office under a pseudonym to speak with her.<ref name=entrapment/> Other gags involved rocking Kitaen's trailer back and forth, flipping the outhouses upside down with actors inside, and locking the crew in rooms where they could not get out to set on time.<ref name=entrapment/>
There also, however, was a fair share of eerie occurrences on set. Some of the crew, mostly those that had come in earlier, had significant problems inside the 637 Lucerne Blvd house such as the crew bumping into objects that were not there, as well as objects that moved that no one else around could have moved during that time frame.<ref name=entrapment/> Wagner especially felt a strong presence at the staircase where someone was walking behind him, and numerous occurrences where the cast and crew heard whispering and talking.<ref name=entrapment/>
The last scene shot was of Jim being pushed out of the window, which was done in one take at a distant park, using a built replica of the window. Since there was a crane arm behind Allen, he could not flail his arms around and instead blocked it out with his shoulders.<ref name=entrapment/>
===Effects=== The filmmakers hired Tassilo Baur to handle the [[special effect]]s for ''Witchboard''. The nightmare sequence of Linda being decapitated by Malfeitor was shot with a stand-in ducking their head, with a [[Styrofoam]] head connected to a poll placed on top with a wig that matched Kitaen's hairstyle. Luebsen was nervous about using a real axe since he was swinging it very close to the stand-in.<ref name=entrapment/> Baur explained despite they used a real axe, they had also used prop axes for safety reasons as well as to improve their performances.<ref name=entrapment/> Baur also had some props that were hinged so that they precisely hit a specific spot.<ref name=entrapment/>
Allen was initially dismissive that the scene where Lloyd throws a carpenter's hatchet near Jim's head did not work well, but Tenney reassured him.<ref name=entrapment/> The scene was originally planned to be shot with an FX man shooting the hatchet directly, but it was the film's cinematographer Roy H. Wagner that suggested they shoot it in reverse, thus also showing the scene to Allen to see how he can act it out in reverse if it was real.<ref name=entrapment/> They also had the fake hatchet put into a piece of balsa wood, and they yanked it out with a wire.<ref name=entrapment/>
The scene where Lloyd is killed from fallen [[sheetrock]] was cut repeatedly, mostly due to Quinn's comedic personality on-set repeatedly making Allen laugh.<ref name=entrapment/> Since they used a dummy for the sheetrock to fall and when it fell, it caused the dummy's legs to slightly fling up, which made Quinn hysterically laugh.<ref name=entrapment/> When the sheetrock fell down, it caused a very loud noise to which Allen's reaction on screen was real, as he felt it sounded almost equivalent to a gunshot.<ref name=entrapment/> Baur, accompanied with special-effects assistant Mick Strawn, practiced dropping the sheetrock from a floor above with sheets of fake-sheetrock and two actual ones on both sides, and did this until they could drop it reliably to make it look convincing.<ref name=entrapment/>
==Release== The film's production company, Paragon Arts International, held a special early screening of ''Witchboard'' exclusively for residents of Big Bear, California—where the film was partially shot—at the [[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox Studios]] lot in [[Culver City, California|Culver City]] on February 26, 1986.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/big-bear-grizzly/177850288/|work=[[Big Bear Grizzly]]|date=March 6, 1986|title=Big Bear on big screen|p=2|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Cinema Group gave the film a 15-screen [[limited theatrical release]] on December 31, 1986, in several mid-sized U.S. cities, including [[Anchorage, Alaska]];<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/anchorage-times/177850721/|work=[[Anchorage Times]]|title=Opens Wednesday: Witchboard|date=December 28, 1986|p=B-7|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> [[Buffalo, New York]];<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news/177850753/|work=[[The Buffalo News]]|title=Witchboard|date=December 30, 1986|via=Newspapers.com|p=C-5}}</ref> [[Columbus, Ohio]];<ref name=afi/> [[Coeur d'Alene, Idaho]];<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-coeur-dalene-press/177850598/|work=The Coeur d'Alene Press|title=Starts Wednesday at... Showboat Cinema: Witchboard|via=Newspapers.com|date=December 30, 1986|p=2}}</ref> [[El Paso, Texas]];<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/el-paso-times/177850796/|work=[[El Paso Times]]|title=Witchboard – Exclusive Engagement Starts Wednesday|date=December 28, 1986|via=Newspapers.com|p=9-E}}</ref> and [[Spokane, Washington]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116044246/|work=[[Spokane Daily Chronicle]]|date=December 31, 1986|title=Luxury Theatres|via=Newspapers.com|page=21}}</ref> Due to the favorable box-office returns in these smaller markets, Cinema Group expanded the film's theatrical release to 1,100 screens nationwide on March 13, 1987.<ref name=afi/><ref name=entrapment/>
[[The Samuel Goldwyn Company]] acquired the film for international distribution,<ref name=afi/> and released it theatrically in England in May 1987.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116043660/|work=[[Formby Times]]|title=Cannon Southport|date=May 7, 1987|page=12|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116281869/|title=Leisure Guide: Cinemas|via=Newspapers.com|work=[[Liverpool Echo]]|date=May 8, 1987|page=31}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116282023/|work=[[Accrington Observer]]|title=At the Cinema|date=May 8, 1987|page=12|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
===Home media=== ''Witchboard'' was released on [[VHS]] in the United States by Continental Video on June 17, 1987,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116282437/|work=[[New York Daily News]]|title=Coming Attractions|page=114|date=June 16, 1987|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and sold approximately 80,000 units that year.<ref name=wade>{{cite web|work=[[Daily Republic]]|title='Witchboard,' by Fairfield's Kevin S. Tenney, debuted 30 years ago|last=Wade|first=Tony|date=March 10, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108012800/https://www.dailyrepublic.com/all-dr-news/solano-news/local-features/local-lifestyle-columns/witchboard-by-fairfields-kevin-s-tenney-debuted-30-years-ago/|url=https://www.dailyrepublic.com/all-dr-news/solano-news/local-features/local-lifestyle-columns/witchboard-by-fairfields-kevin-s-tenney-debuted-30-years-ago/|archive-date=January 8, 2023}}</ref> By the end of the year, it had charted at number 18 on the U.S. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' Top 40 Video Rentals, between ''[[Stand by Me (film)|Stand by Me]]'' and ''[[Something Wild (1986 film)|Something Wild]]''.<ref name=wade/> It was released on VHS in the United Kingdom through [[Guild Home Video]] in the fall of 1987.<ref>{{cite news|date=September 11, 1987|page=74|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116282321/|title=Mystery of the harem|last=Grabham|first=Eddia|via=Newspapers.com|work=Aldershot News}}</ref>
[[Anchor Bay Entertainment]] released the film on [[DVD]] in August 2004, which is now out of print.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=611196|title=Witchboard|work=[[DVDEmpire.com]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721132936/https://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=611196|archive-date=July 21, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> On February 4, 2014, Scream Factory, a subsidiary of [[Shout! Studios|Shout! Factory]], released the film on [[Blu-ray]] and DVD as a multi-format combination set.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/witchboard?product_id=3115|title=Witchboard|publisher=[[Shout! Factory|Scream Factory]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104204505/https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/witchboard?product_id=3115|archive-date=November 4, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Reception== ===Box office=== The film grossed $95,435 in the United States during its opening week of [[New Year's Eve]] 1986,<ref name=mojo/> and went on to earn a total of $416,336 over the following four weeks.<ref name=afi/> The film grossed $2.7 million during its wide opening weekend in March 1987.<ref name=carroll>{{cite news|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|title=Bewitched by movie biz|last=Carroll|first=Margaret|date=April 1, 1987|page=97|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22052474/chicago_tribune/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Through its course, the film's final box office gross was $7,369,373.<ref name=mojo/>
===Critical response=== ====Contemporary==== John H. Richardson of the ''[[Los Angeles Daily News]]'' criticized the film's performances and writing, noting, "There's very little tension and almost no slice-and-dice. The few gore effects are terrible ... The only thing that makes you want to forgive ''Witchboard'' is the clumsy earnestness of its execution."<ref>{{Cite news|work=[[Los Angeles Daily News]]|title='Witchboard' is short on gore, long on bore|author=Richardson, John H.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22052287/the_greenville_news/|page=13|date=March 21, 1987|via=''The Greenville News'' at Newspapers.com}}</ref> [[Caryn James]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' criticized the film as "cheaply made," writing, "The very best I can say is that ''Witchboard'' should encourage struggling film makers. Watch it and think, I can do better than that!"<ref name=NYT>{{cite news|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Love Triangle in 'Witchboard'|author=James, Caryn|author-link=Caryn James|date=March 15, 1987|page=001061}}</ref> Desmond Ryan of ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' similarly panned the film, referring to it as "luridly fake" and "a timid "exorcise" in inanity."<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|title='Witchboard' is a dull 'exorcise' in inanity|author=Ryan, Desmond|date=March 16, 1987|page=12|via=''[[The Dispatch / The Rock Island Argus|The Dispatch]]'' at Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22052125/the_dispatch/}}</ref> ''[[The San Bernardino Sun]]''{{'}}s William Wolf praised Kathleen Wilhoite's performance in the film, noting that she "injects some personality into the role, however trashy it is. That's more than you can say for the rest of the cast and the characters they play."<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The San Bernardino Sun]]|author=Wolf, William|date=March 15, 1987|page=F4|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22052351/the_san_bernardino_county_sun/|title='Witchboard' should be called Witch-bored}}</ref> David Inman of ''[[The Courier-Journal]]'' awarded the film one out of four stars, but conceded, "For folks who like their scares straight and their movies without much else, ''Witchboard'' provides exactly that."<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Courier-Journal]]|author=Inman, David|title='Witchboard': Movie review|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22052430/the_courierjournal/|via=Newspapers.com|date=March 14, 1987}}</ref> Henry Edgar of the ''[[Daily Press (Virginia)|Virginia Daily Press]]'' also panned the film as being unintentionally humorous, commenting that it "is so awful it unintentionally qualifies as a comedy by taking itself so seriously you can't help laughing."<ref>{{cite news|author=Edgar, Henry|work=[[Daily Press (Virginia)|Daily Press]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22052445/daily_press/|date=March 14, 1987|page=32|title=Nothing's good in 'Witchboard,' but it's almost funny by accident|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The ''[[Montreal Gazette]]''{{'}}s Bruce Bailey awarded the film one-and-a-half stars and criticized it for its lack of originality, noting that it "boldly goes where everybody else has gone before."<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Montreal Gazette]]|date=March 14, 1987|page=H-5|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22052237/the_gazette/|author=Bailey, Bruce|via=Newspapers.com|title=Witchboard boring no matter how you read the signs}}</ref>
Writing for the ''[[Great Falls Tribune]]'', Eleanor Ringel noted that the film begins as a "fairly efficient horror movie ... but after a careful, unnecessarily complicated buildup, the film falls apart."<ref>{{cite news|title='Witchboard' falls apart|work=[[Great Falls Tribune]]|author=Ringel, Eleanor|via=Newspapers.com|date=March 29, 1987|page=28F|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22052527/great_falls_tribune/}}</ref> ''[[The Miami News]]''{{'}}s Deborah Wilker echoed a similar sentiment, noting that, "midway through this nonsense, you give up hoping that ''Witchboard'' will emerge as one of those so-bad-it's-good horror flicks. At first the potential seems to be there, but as it unfolds, ''Witchboard'' becomes just plain dopey."<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Miami News]]|author=Wilker, Deborah|title='Witchboard' misses point|date=March 14, 1987|page=9|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22052378/the_miami_news/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Malcolm Johnson of the ''[[Hartford Courant]]'' similarly criticized the film, writing that it "plumbs new depths of tedium and incompetence ... unfortunately, none of this is quite flamboyant enough to rise to the heights of camp."<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Hartford Courant]]|author=Johnson, Malcolm L.|title='Witchboard' is lacking spirit|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22052159/hartford_courant/|date=March 18, 1987|via=Newspapers.com|page=C5}}</ref>
Alternately, Candice Russell of the ''[[Sun-Sentinel]]'' favorably compared the film to ''[[Poltergeist (1982 film)|Poltergeist]]'' (1982) and ''[[Rosemary's Baby (film)|Rosemary's Baby]]'' (1968), praising it as an "intense, atmospheric chiller [that] breeds suspicion of things unseen and misunderstood... The payoff for the mayhem isn't much, but the events leading up to it more than suffice. ''Witchboard'' scares, as intended."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116282717/|work=[[Sun-Sentinel]]|date=March 13, 1987|last=Russell|first=Candace|title=Supernatural thriller avoids familiar traps|via=Newspapers.com|page=7}}</ref> Rick Bentley of ''The Town Talk'' also gave the film a favorable review, referring to it as "a cut above average" and "not afraid to make fun of itself."<ref>{{cite news|author=Bentley, Rick|work=The Town Talk|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22052191/the_town_talk/|page=C-9|via=Newspapers.com|title='Witchboard' a Cut Above Average}}</ref> Michael Wilmington's review of the film for the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' noted that it "is smarter, and better acted, than much of its bloody competition," but "not crazy or original enough to stand too far above them."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-03-16-ca-6370-story.html|title=Standard Stuff In 'Witchboard'|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|author=Wilmington, Michael|date=March 16, 1987|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108011307/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-03-16-ca-6370-story.html|archive-date=January 8, 2023}}</ref> Ted Mahar of ''[[The Oregonian]]'' similarly praised the film for its restraint in depicting gore, adding that its characters' "relationships and backgrounds are important, and a certain intelligence and wit pops up now and then."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oregonian/174280972/|work=[[The Oregonian]]|date=March 18, 1987|last=Mahar|first=Ted|p=C5|title='Witchboard' better than many gory films|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
Reviewing the film following its British theatrical release, Tim Fernandez of ''The Southport Observer'' described it as "fairly routine stuff by horror standards, but certainly capable of conjuring up a shock or two if you've got a sufficiently vivid imagination."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116282124/|last=Fernandez|first=Tim|title=Lingering nightmare|page=13|date=May 8, 1987|via=Newspapers.com|work=The Southport Observer}}</ref>
====Retrospective==== In the years since its release, ''Witchboard'' developed a [[cult following]].{{sfn|Campisi|2012|p=94}} {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|50||18|consensus=|access-date=January 16, 2026|ref=y}} {{Metacritic film prose|45|5|ref=yes|access-date=July 19, 2025}} ''[[TV Guide]]'' awarded the film three out of five stars, describing it as "an ambitious horror film [that] rejects graphic violence and instead spins a spooky tale of the supernatural... First-time feature director-writer Kevin S. Tenney imbues his picture with a surprisingly slick sense of style and employs some clever camerawork when the narrative warrants it, refusing to bore the viewer with the endless evil-point-of-view shots favored by so many other horror directors."<ref name=TVGuide>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/witchboard/review/123022/|work=[[TV Guide]]|title=Witchboard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020062845/https://www.tvguide.com/movies/witchboard/review/123022/|archive-date=October 20, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[JoBlo.com]] writer Cody Hamman praised the film's screenplay in a 2022 retrospective on the film, writing: "The script Tenney wrote is so good, it’s shocking that it was his first one," and commended the film's "unsettling atmosphere throughout, a feeling of building dread."<ref name=Hamman>{{cite web|url=https://www.joblo.com/witchboard-1986-revisited-horror-movie-review/|work=[[JoBlo.com]]|title=Witchboard (1986) Revisited|last=Hamman|first=Cody|date=May 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602024204/https://www.joblo.com/witchboard-1986-revisited-horror-movie-review/|archive-date=June 2, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Themes== ''Witchboard'' was subject to significant critical analysis in [[Carol J. Clover]]'s horror [[film studies]] book ''[[Men, Women, and Chain Saws]]'' (1992), in which she argued for the film's complex treatment of gender politics.{{sfn|Clover|1992|pages=67–107}} Clover also noted themes of [[Homosociality|homosocial]] affection exemplified in the friendship between the two lead male characters, Jim and Brandon, with Linda, their mutual love interest, "at once a barrier and a conduit" between them.{{sfn|Clover|1992|p=91}} "But if the devil tells a literal lie, he tells a figurative truth. Jim may not be the designated "portal," but he has been, in the film's own language, opened—to the supernatural and to the past and present truths of his own feelings."{{sfn|Clover|1992|p=92}}
==Sequels and remake== The film spawned two sequels, ''[[Witchboard 2: The Devil's Doorway]]'' (1993) and ''[[Witchboard III: The Possession]]'' (1995).{{sfn|Paszylk|2009|p=186}} In 2024, a remake [[Witchboard (2024 film)|of the same name]] was released.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Navarro |first=Meagan |date=July 22, 2023|title=''Witchboard'' – New Trailer for Remake Teases Chuck Russell's Return to Horror |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3770309/witchboard-new-trailer-for-remake-teases-chuck-russells-return-to-horror/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250701093143/https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3770309/witchboard-new-trailer-for-remake-teases-chuck-russells-return-to-horror/|archive-date=July 1, 2025|url-status=live |website=[[Bloody Disgusting]]}}</ref>
==See also== *[[List of ghost films]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==Sources== {{refbegin|30em}} *{{cite book|last=Campisi|first=Gabriel|year=2012|title=The Independent Filmmaker's Guide to Writing a Business Plan for Investors|edition=2nd|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn= 978-0-786-49021-9}} *{{cite book|last=Clover|first=Carol J.|author-link=Carol J. Clover|year=1992|title=Men, Women, and Chainsaws|title-link=Men, Women, and Chainsaws|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, New Jersey|isbn= 978-0-691-00620-8}} *{{cite book|last=Paszylk|first=Bartłomiej|year=2009|title=The Pleasure and Pain of Cult Horror Films|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn= 978-0-786-45327-6}} *{{cite book|last1=Wagner|first1=Roy H.|author1-link=Roy H. Wagner|last2=Byrne|first2=Wayne|year=2025|title=Roy H. Wagner: A Cinematographer's Life Beyond the Shadows|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=978-1-476-69379-8}} {{refend}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title}}
{{Witchboard}} {{Kevin Tenney}}
[[Category:1986 English-language films]] [[Category:1986 films]] [[Category:1986 horror films]] [[Category:1986 independent films]] [[Category:1980s supernatural horror films]] [[Category:1980s ghost films]] [[Category:1980s slasher films]] [[Category:1980s exploitation films]] [[Category:American exploitation films]] [[Category:American ghost films]] [[Category:American independent films]] [[Category:American supernatural horror films]] [[Category:American thriller films]] [[Category:American slasher films]] [[Category:Films about board games]] [[Category:Films about construction workers]] [[Category:Films about witchcraft]] [[Category:Films about spirit possession]] [[Category:Films directed by Kevin S. Tenney]] [[Category:Films set in the San Francisco Bay Area]] [[Category:Films shot in Big Bear Lake, California]] [[Category:Films shot in California]] [[Category:Films shot in Los Angeles]] [[Category:Films shot in San Francisco]] [[Category:1986 directorial debut films]] [[Category:1986 American films]] [[Category:English-language independent films]] [[Category:English-language horror films]] [[Category:Ouija]] [[Category:American serial killer films]]