‘Crucified, blinded and buried… Now she’s back!’
The Haunting of Morella is a 1990 American romantic horror film about a witch who is sent to death only to return from the grave, seventeen years later, to possess her daughter’s body.
The movie was directed by Jim Wynorski (CobraGator; Sorceress; Chopping Mall) from a screenplay by R.J. Robertson (House IV; Transylvania Twist; Not of This Earth), loosely based on a short story by Edgar Allan Poe.
The movie stars David McCallum, Nicole Eggert, Lana Clarkson and Maria Ford.
Plot:
A witch is put to death in Colonial America, leaving her husband and infant daughter behind. Seventeen years later, the daughter has grown up and stands to inherit money set up by her mother’s family. Now that the stage is set, the mother wants to return to life by taking over her daughter’s body…
Reviews:
“Big on nudity and light on thrills, The Haunting of Morella isn’t a premiere Poe/Corman pairing (the material was previously covered in Tales of Terror), but when the film finally begins to issue macabre highlights, it finds its B-movie footing.” Blu-ray.com
“The performances are good given the material, with Lana Clarkson and David McCallum as the standouts. It might not be high cinematic art, but this winds up as a enjoyable, nudity laced romp. If you like naked girls and demon possession, you should give The Haunting of Morella a chance.” Marc Fusion
“The scares are limited to some amusing bits of gruesome makeup and stage blood, such as a flashback showing Morella bathing in blood (complete with an Eggert body double) and a lengthy, colorful nightmare scene clearly designed to pay homage to the older Price films. However, if you love late ’80s and early ’90s Corman films, this one delivers plenty of disreputable fun…” Mondo Digital
” …a drab, poorly shot effort that, unlike Corman or Bava’s films, completely fails to transcend its low budget. Morella’s crypt looks exactly like the Styrofoam it’s made out of, the costumes are bland and ill-fitting, the actresses’ underwear is laughably anachronistic…” Vanity Fear
“The premise of the film, while predictable and low budget progresses at a decent pace, the actresses are beautiful and there’s enough campy absurd moments that make the film mildly entertaining. While I prefer my B-movies “made in Italy”, in terms of American camp anything Roger Corman is attached to is usually about the best in entertaining crap…” Voluptuous Vinyl
YouTube reviews:
Buy on DVD from Amazon.com
Choice dialogue:
Gideon: I still cannot bring myself to utter that name.
Coel: “One more feeding, my love, and you’ll be fully resurrected.
Morella: My flesh needs sustenance, and your life shall fill that need.
Dr Gault: Are you locking up early?
Guy: Yes.
Dr Gault: When a young man who’s enterprising closes his business at this hour, there can be only one of two reasons: He’s either ill or he’s in love.
Guy: I’ve never felt better in my life.
Guy: Dr Gault. I heard the Ashtons had a blessed event.
Dr Gault: Yes: Twins. Unfortunately, my fee is not doubled in such cases.
Cast and characters:
David McCallum … Gideon
Nicole Eggert … Morella/Lenora
Christopher Halsted … Guy
Lana Clarkson … Coel
Maria Ford … Diane
Jonathan Farwell … Doctor Gault
John O’Leary … Quintis
Brewster Gould … Miles Archer
Gail Thackray … Ilsa [as Gail Harris]
Clement von Franckenstein … Judge Brock
R.J. Robertson … Reverend Ward
Deborah Dutch … Serving Girl
Technical specs:
1 hour 22 minutes
Aspect ratio: 1.78: 1
