Highly Overrated But Still Good

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Teenager Rita is harassed by her classmates for being withdrawn and overweight. At home, her father and younger sister treat her like utter garbage; her mother seems to understand her to some extent, though not entirely. But Rita is, unbeknownst to them all, honing her own supernatural skills that jeopardizes anyone who comes in her path.This made-for-television romp from the golden age for TV horror films riffs on "Carrie" in multiple ways, even imitating key moments from the 1976 film. Yes, so "The Spell" is a cash-in. But what else is there to say about it? More than one may think. It is not exactly a well-made film: It's choppily-edited and the narrative is a bit heavy-handed. The bulk of the film is really made up of twisted family melodrama, which would be rather boring if it weren't the most utterly bizarre family dynamic ever filmed.I honestly did not realize until about thirty minutes in that the protagonist, Rita, was a blood relative of the family; not only does she look nothing like her on screen parents and sibling, but she is treated by virtually every member of her family like an unwelcome cousin, twice removed—maybe even worse—and for no immediately decipherable reason. They just simply despise her, and her resentment continues to grow (and with frankly good reason). The relationships on which the film is predicated are utterly strange and do leave the audience somewhat adrift, as there is virtually no likable character from beginning to end.The performances here are memorable, with Lee Grant playing the stern but sometimes-empathetic mother; a young Helen Hunt plays Rita's perfect little sister, and Susan Myers (who, for the record, is not at all overweight) is memorable in the lead role, delivering some surprisingly chilling scenes; her performance at times reminded me of Tina Romero's in "Alucarda," mixed with a bit of Linda Blair from "The Exorcist." There are a handful of scare scenes here that are dated by contemporary standards, though one is so bizarre and unexpected it's almost disturbing. The twist ending is mildly clever, though fairly perceptible by the time the film has rolled into its final act, and the whole thing ends rather abruptly (not uncommon for television films of this era).Overall, "The Spell" is an amusing film that I personally found utterly absorbing, largely because its core melodrama was so perplexing. It's a fun, frivolous viewing experience for fans of seventies television horror as it does capture the era effectively, and there is a handful of sideshow attractions to be had. Perhaps the most memorable element of it all though is the fact that most of its runtime consists of an introverted teenage girl being groundlessly flanked by not only her peers, but her entire family. The seventies were a strange time, I guess. 7/10.

I just watched it on THIS channel! I thought it was very good for its time and for TV. It is not comparable to a movie like Carrie. It has same concept, but not the same in comparison as for them being on movie and other on TV. TV is going to be no more than TV14. Carrie was made for theaters and video. All these people saying its a rip off of Carrie, how lame is that. I already explained the difference, now get off calling movies crap when they aren't the same. This site is not to just come here and put movies down because they did not like it. It is to review it. I see so many people come on here and they just put movies down. I look at their profiles and that is all they do too. Just because this movie had it as the girl and mother had special power to control things with their minds does not mean it is a Carrie rip off. I see so many slasher movies, but no one calls those after other slashers rip offs of other slashers. So learn to enjoy movies. Just because you are bored of watching does not mean other people will be. I leave the choice for people to choose whether they want to watch it, and not come in here say I hate it, and say it in a certain way to persuade others not to see it. Enjoy this movie. I thought it was fine for TV.

Odd that Academy Award-winning actress Lee Grant and talented television director Lee Philips would get involved in this: a small-screen variation on Brian De Palma's "Carrie", a boob-tube imitation that is strictly for boobs (and children, like myself in 1977, who weren't allowed to see R-rated "Carrie" in the theater). The young girl is plain and overweight but finds in the occult a release to her frustrations (what a great lesson to all the plain, overweight teenagers of the world!). Incidentally, there were other "Carrie" clones right about this time: "Jennifer", "Ruby", De Palma's own "The Fury" (guess he couldn't get enough of that telekinesis). This one stoops to low means of occult-related revenge, and shame on Philips for wasting his--and our--collective time.

This is similiar to Carrie but I actually thought it was better. It's tough for me to remember because I saw it when I was so young.The premise is similar to Carrie, high school girl develops powers and uses thos powers to make things happen. That said, it varies from Carrie a little though I don't want to say to much or I'll give it away.This is sort of "Carrie" meets "The Craft". The people who like that type of movie will like this. I don't know how one canm even see this, it is from quite awhile ago and I have been eager to find info on it for years-thanks IMBD!!But if you like movies like this and can find it-watch it. It's less brutal then Carrie(if I;m remembering right-it HAS been awhile!). And I think some may like it just as much as Carrie.