Superstition - Imprint Films Limited Edition

Superstition feels like America’s attempt at recreating a Lucio Fulci film. And, like a Fulci film, it has its highs, its lows, and everything in between. The story, such as it is, is a loose framework to allow all manner of creatures to go bump in the night and terrify their viewing audience.

The film begins with two horny teenagers parked in front of an old, dilapidated house, off the beaten path. It’s lonely, isolated, and very scary. Therefore, it is a perfect place to be alone, in the dark, and make out. They’re scared off by a couple of other prankster teens, who are then brutally dispatched by a supernatural entity that microwaves one of their heads, and cuts the other one in half when they try to escape through a window. It’s these kinds of movies that I live for.

Not long after, we learn that the house belongs to the church and after this incident, they plan to clean the place up and allow one of their ministers to live there. With someone from the church now keeping an eye on the place, maybe horny teenagers will stop coming by and being brutally murdered, they hope. But as the renovation progresses, the body count begins to mount. Buzzsaws shoot off on their own, skipping across the floor, and lodge in the chests of unsuspecting passersby. A ghoulish figure drags people to a watery grave. And anyone who ventures into the basement is never to be seen again.

And still, the construction continues unabated. No one seems to notice, or care, that the fine folks populating this house by a haunted lake are going missing until it’s late. We learn, through a few brief expositional scenes, that a witch had been executed for heresy in the 1600s and her vengeful spirit haunts the surrounding area. She wants revenge for the brutal murder and has exacted it, again and again, at every turn.

Superstition is a ton of fun. It’s clearly capitalizing on the success of films like The Amityville Horror but it has a very Italian splatter flick feel to it, the way its plot employs a kind of dreamlike logic to it. The story doesn’t matter here. It’s merely an excuse to set up one elaborate death after another. And in that modest task, it succeeds. While it never quite reaches the feverish highs of a Lucio Fulci movie, it’s fun in its own right. The performances, too, are much better than what is typical of films of this type. Star James Houghton puts on a naturalistic performance with a natural charm and swagger that helps carry the picture. 

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Superstition arrives on Blu-ray in a single-disc release housed in a standard case with a removable slipcover, sporting the same artwork on both the removable cover and the case. When playing the Blu-ray disc, it loads to a home screen menu, giving viewers the option to play the feature, toggle subtitles, or jump right into supplemental features.

Superstition makes me feel nostalgic for a time when low-budget horror films were shot on film. Shooting on film required a kind of technical expertise that helped the entire production have at least that foundational skill to carry principal photography. Obviously, not every low-budget movie shot on film was good, and many of them were as terrible as whatever direct-to-streaming dreck is produced today, but that baseline skill to shoot a scene at night and light for shadows, it's a lost art.

The film's aesthetic is divided into two unique looks. The non-spooky scenes with even, flattering lighting look pristine and even a bit modern in their transfer. They're very sharp and detailed with a deep focus and clarity. The spooky, suspenseful sequences, on the other hand, are dirty and grimy and look like something ripped from a grindhouse feature, replete with ragged dirt splotches. I loved the contrast between the two, like the supernatural elements exist in their own realm that encroaches upon the everyday reality our heroes exist in.

Imprint's Blu-ray comes equipped with an LPCM 2.0 stereo mix, so this is going to be a front-only soundstage, but it does feel very full and lively. Superstition has an active, wall-to-wall sound design from one side to the other. The bass-heavy score from David Gibney pulses and growls through the subwoofer and creepy sound effects like cackling witches and ghostly figures explode from the mix with a fantastic fury. The dialog level is mixed above the action so it's always clear and audible. My only "complaint"--which isn't a complaint, as much as an FYI--is that the audio is mixed a little low. I had to turn it up two, maybe three clicks on my sound system higher than I typically do. When I did, there were no further issues of clarity. Just make sure to turn your volume back down before watching another movie.

Imprint's release of Superstition on Blu-ray has some new features and some legacy ones from a previous release courtesy of Shout! Factory. All told, there should be enough here to keep fans of the film entertained and provide a decent insight into its production history.

• Audio Commentary - Justin Kerswell, author of "The Teenage Slasher Movie Book"
• Season of the Witch: Supernatural Slashers (HD 15:44) - Video Essay by author and editor-in-chief of Diabolique Magazine, Kat Ellinger
• Lake of Fire (HD 30:09) - Interview with actor James Houghton
• That Crazy Witchcraft (HD 23:57) - Interview with director James Roberson
• TV Spot 
• Theatrical Trailer 

Superstition is a very fun movie that feels akin to Italian splatter features that were coming out at around the same time, with a uniquely American production to them. While the film falls apart a little bit in its final reel, succumbing to some story doldums, it does have a wild ending and a terrific lead-up all the way there. Imprint's release, with great audio and video, and some very good special features, comes Recommended. Horror fans ought to have a blast with this one.