Michael_Elliott
The Haunting of Morella (1990) ** (out of 4)Based on the Poe story, Morella (Nicole Eggert) is put to death for being a witch but before dying she passes off a curse in front of her husband and baby daughter. Seventeen years pass and the daughter (also played by Eggert) begins to have strange visions and soon a possession begins.Jim Wynorski's THE HAUNTING OF MORELLA deserves a lot of credit. It was a Roger Corman produced cheapie but you have to give it credit for at least looking like an authentic period piece. I must admit that I was really shocked to see how good the film looked. More times than not these low-budget movies update the setting to where they don't have to worry about costumes and other things like that but that's not the case here. I thought the director did a very good job at delivering a nice atmosphere and the setting was perfect.As far as the film goes, I wouldn't call it a complete success but there are enough interesting moments to make it worth sitting through. As you should expect from the director, the horror elements often take a back seat to the nudity and sexuality. There's plenty of both here but the horror elements aren't too bad for what they are. There are a couple bloody moments that will have fans of the genre happy.David McCallum offers up a good performance in his role. Eggert is simply okay in her part. Lana Clarkson stands out in the role of the friend and you've also got Gail Thackray in a small part. THE HAUNTING OF MORELLA isn't a complete success but it's certainly entertaining enough to make it worth watching.
The_Void
At the start of The Haunting of Morella, I wondered why it's won itself so many negative reviews. The film has a great Gothic atmosphere, and while the story is highly derivative of a great many other films; it fits well with the tone of the film and leads you to believe that you're in for something decent. However, it soon became clear why this film isn't well liked - and that's because it doesn't really go anywhere. The story is based on a short by the great Edgar Allen Poe, and follows the burning of a witch somewhere in America. She leaves her husband and daughter behind, but promises to return several years later. She plans to do this, of course, by taking over the body of her newly matured daughter. The Gothic atmosphere soon becomes little more than a slight distraction from the dull central plot, and by the end; the film was actually reminding me of a bad music video. Chopping Mall proved that Jim Wynorski isn't the best director, and this film does nothing to disprove that; as the action is dull and sluggish, and a good potential for a nice horror flick is wasted. Overall, this film may appeal to Poe completists (although I doubt it), and everyone else should stay clear!
gschrive87
On my list of top ten worst movies of all time, it's debatable between Superman III and The Haunting of Morella, but I'd put this as #1 worst. Stupid movie. Not only morally bankrupt, but from what I have understood, bore no resemblance whatsoever to the Edgar Allen Poe story. They seemed to keep adding character after character to the point where it became difficult to keep all of the characters straight. I went with a group of friends, and we resoundingly agreed that this one stunk. The plot was so convoluted that I couldn't even follow what exactly was going on half the time. This seemed like a bad B movie that they stuck Edgar Allen Poe's name on to give it some clout, but Poe would probably turn over in his grave on this one.
Huntress-2
Not a bad version of Poe's short story. There seemed to be some lesbian overtones I didn't catch in the book, but that's okay. Beautiful women and a fairly spooky plot. I liked it.
AD
