Have you ever been to the horror section of your video store and seen all those WITCHBOARD movies lined up and wondered what they're about? I have, so when I turned on Cinemax the other night and one of them was on, I eagerly watched. At first I was hesitant...anything which has a series of movies that long usually sucks, except for maybe the first one (see the TRANCERS series for an example). But as I started watching this one, I was pleasantly surprised...that is, for about an hour or so.

WITCHBOARD: POSSESSION begins with a down-and-out guy named Brian, downtrodden because he lost his job as a stock trader. He needs to do something soon or he would be supported by his wife, Julie. He forms a friendship with his landlord, who soon pulls out a fancy Ouiji board. The Ouiji tells Brian: "COJ," which Brian interpret's as the stock "California Orange Juice," although, given that this movie is a couple years old, should have been "Catch O.J." (Simpson). If you've recovered from my acerbic wit, we can continue.

Of course, the Ouiji was right and O.J. prices went berzerk. Unfortunately, so does the landlord who, stating he has cancer, jumps to his death. Brian is quick to "inherit" the Ouiji and discovers that he should invest in Coffee. He gets a quick cash loan of $50,000 for a 24-hour period from some shady bankers who require $62,500 back the next day! Coffee prices, however, spiral downward and Brian is unable to bring that much money back with him. So, instead, he brings the Ouiji, whose magical powers kill the bankers in an awesome scene of nastiness which shows that there are still innovative ways to kill people.

Shocked, Brian attempts to burn the Ouiji, but instead, in a really surprising plot-twist, gets electrocuted to death. We see his spirit rise and go into a mirror. Then the paramedics and Julie arrive and deem Brian dead, but then he starts shaking and comes back to life.

From this moment on, Brian is a changed man. The coffee investment pulls in $500,000, he starts wearing his hair back, being more romantic with Julie, is basically a slicker guy. At first Julie is happy about the change, but soon she notices some differences from the old Brian. For instance, this one starts flirting with her best friend. Before long, the audience discovers that Brian is trapped in mirrors (?) and the landlord's spirit is possessing his body.

Now, up until this point, I really enjoyed WITCHBOARD: THE POSSESSION. The murders were cool, there were some interesting plot twists, it slyly changed protagonists from Brian to Julie about half-way through, all good horror stuff. But, then, it lost me. It turned to a ridiculous thing about voodoo dolls, powerful rings, and the like. Worst of all, these low-budget horror movies find the need to end with a huge special effects fest. Unfortunately a low-budget movie is exactly that, which is why the special effects, as in WITCHBOARD: THE POSSESSION, usually suck the big one. Man, the last time I saw special effects this shoddy it was in those LAND OF THE LOST movies with the claymation dinosaurs.