User Reviews

The version of this film I watched on Amazon Prime was called MARK OF THE WITCH. I'm glad I didn't pay for it. It's a cheap and event-free indie horror about a young woman who descends into a world of black magic on her 18th birthday. The budget is non-existent which means that this is mostly made up of conversations and cheap ritualistic paraphenalia. The problem is that the director is too concerned with making his shots arty instead of telling a substantial story.

The soft lighting, the slow moving "action" shots are there to make the actress appear ethereal. The director apparently thinks this is a full length music video as opposed to a horror film. The majority of the positive reviews I have read refer to how she is "so pretty" as opposed to her acting ability- which is godawful! Although she must have hit the casting couch, she isn't the only one with sub-par acting skills- the majority of the other cast members must have bribed the director for roles in this sad flick. There are many other horror films that were released in 2016 that are much better than this garbage. Do not even rent!

SPOILER: Jordyn (Paulie Redding) is an orphan raised by a woman who kills herself on her 18th birthday. Jordyn's birthday wish is find out who her real parents are, which is a bitch when you are the devil's daughter. Now this is not new. The Dark Lord has had an unholy daughter for a while now, as they give birth to another and then another because they can. And the woman has to be naked to give birth because the child comes out of her mouth.

Not to give too much away, but there are two Jordyns, a good one and evil one, just like there were two Kirks (The Enemy Within) except that was simply a transporter malfunction and not something designed by the Unholy Master. Jordyn has these out of body, out of focus episodes and a non-Asian roommate named Kym (Lillian Pennypacker) also spelled with a "Y" so you know its like real Magick with a "K."

In one scene Jordyn talks to Aunt Ruth (Nancy Wolfe) without a "y" and it is clear she needs a big helping of Jesus and an even greater helping of acting lessons. Aunt Ruth's confrontation with Maria Olsen was the epitome of a bad scene with idiotic special effects and terrible lines and deliveries. About all the scenes with Aunt Ruth were not entertaining. Using a cheap voice enhancer for a demon's voice is ineffective and only makes a film look sadly low budget. It is only effective on Saturday morning cartoons.

Now I did like the Bird scene with the eye etc. and the baby/mouth special effect although I am not sure why that was done or what it was supposed to represent.

Guide: sex and nudity (Paulie Redding or double)

This film which is also titled 'Mark of the witch' is awful both the story line and actors are bad bad, it didn't make sense at all and not scary in the least.

It will make you just want to switch it off. It started with a bunch of cloaked figures and a baby then it's 18 years later and the girl is celebrating her 18th birthday there's a strange woman who I thought could be her grandma but you never get to know this. There was a woman who could have been a witch and the girls mother she kept appearing looking like a tramp with horrible teeth and long stained nails.

I didn't really understand this film because it was a piece of nonsense from start to finish so avoid it at all costs. Sometimes the cover of the DVD looks like it could be good but all I can say is looks can be deceiving.

Paulie Rojas stars as Jordyn, a delicate young orphan celebrating her 18th birthday. This celebration opens up a journey of apparent demonic possession as Jordyn attempts to learn the truth about the mother who abandoned her all those years ago.

The very stylised slow-motion imagery and set-pieces contain some eerie moments, such as glimpses of a hooded figure watching Jordyn as the chemists where she works, but the onslaught of further jaunts into the supernatural threaten to become tediousness because of their determination not to progress the narrative in any way.

I love films that strive to do something different to tell a familiar story. I am also very fond of certain 'arthouse' films. 'Mark of the Witch' ticks both of those boxes, but unfortunately soon becomes dull viewing, with a plethora of threatening predictions directed towards Jordyn. Jason Bognacki deserves kudos for his immersive directional skills, and whilst I embrace the fact that arty films such as this dwell more on style than substance, his script for this might have benefitted from a few more actual incidents rather than a relentless see of beautiful looking obfuscation.

A young woman called Jordyn learns that she may be the spawn of Satan soon after she celebrates her eighteenth birthday.

Soon she starts to have strange visions and encounters and becomes embroiled in a world filled with possession and desire as she learns her role in ensuring her family's curse continues........

Anybody who is a fan of Argento's work will know all about the wonderful genre that is Giallo horror. Try explaining what it is to someone without coming across as a total snobbish film lover is a whole different kettle of Inferno.

Giallo makes the insane sublime, the horrible ever so sexually charged, and after seeing movies such as the aforementioned Inferno, you wonder what on earth you watched, and what kind of mind it sprung from.

Mark Of The Witch is a film much like that, beginning in the most uncomfortable way, and not letting up for the proceeding eighty minutes. And then it finishes, without so much as a warning.

A mix of The Omen, and the work of Noé and Argento, the film doesn't conform to normality by having your atypical three acts, we follow Jordyn from each bizarre scenario, to the next, and all the while, not any character appears to be what they are.

It looks beautiful, to give the film it's biggest compliment and it's Giallo's biggest cliché, it's like looking at a work of art. The camera work is beautiful, adding a depth of mystery and subliminal eroticism to the movie.

My only gripe is the scenes between the aunt and the mother are something right from a really bad episode of Buffy. But it only adds to the charm.

But it's not for everyone, and I fear that many people will be mislead by the cookie cutter DVD cover for the film that is obviously aimed at the masses rather than the eclectic market it should be aimed at.

But who knows, some will find a gem of a movie hidden in there, but I fear that many casual horror fans will dismiss it for being action and scare lite.

But it's not always about that. This is about a girl coming of age, and the split personality side of the story is about choosing which path to follow for he rest of your life, the light path, or the dark.

After all, there is something pretty life affirming and mystical about your eighteenth birthday, a lot believe that when you turn that age, your life is set,and what you do in the next few weeks will beset in stone for your eternity.

It's an amazing achievement of a film, one that will get under your skin for days.