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# Movie Review: Spell (2020)
- URL: https://there-might-be-cupcakes-podcast.ghost.io/movie-review-spell-2020/
- Published: 2021-09-12T23:26:16.000Z
- Updated: 2025-02-03T15:55:14.000Z
- Author: Carla Pettigrew
- Tags: Newsletter, #Migrated-1738597973835, #Import 2025-02-03 15:53

[Link to Letterboxd review](https://letterboxd.com/claradox/film/spell-2020/): No spoilers. Five stars.

An almost entirely black cast explores the racial politics within the black community through the lens of hoodoo. Beautifully done and terrifying.

Loretta Devine’s best role by far; she was stunning.

I am really looking forward to seeing what the director [Mark Tonderai](https://letterboxd.com/writer/kurt-wimmer/genre/horror/) and the screenwriter [Kurt Wimme](https://letterboxd.com/writer/kurt-wimmer/genre/horror/)[r](http://I am really looking forward to seeing what the director Mark Tonderai and the screenwriter Kurt Wimmer do next in the horror genre, and I will be purchasing a copy of this movie.) do next in the horror genre, and I will be purchasing a copy of this movie.

[Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/spell%5F2020) (disagrees with me)

[IMDb entry](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10736580/)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6d/f5/6df583d7-3da2-455c-b104-e0c5ab8c796a/content/images/2025/02/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fac42f773-f1cb-4c51-93e7-c930e9eb988b_960x540-jpeg.jpg)

Heads up: This is body horror. This is *not* [boo without goo](https://there-might-be-cupcakes-podcast.ghost.io/episode-10-boo-without-goo/). There are scenes that are most definitely not for the squeamish, especially if (mild spoiler) you have issues with [food](http://theremightbecupcakes.com/food/) or if you have a phobia with something penetrating you, as in stepping on something. You have been warned.

[8 Ritualistic Horror Movies to Watch After Spell](https://www.cbr.com/8-ritualistic-horror-movies-like-spell/)

The ones I recommend: [The Skeleton Key](https://amzn.to/3nrQg44) (2005) and [The Serpent and the Rainbow](https://amzn.to/3C4o0Zd) (1988; Wes Craven)

The book [The Serpent and the Rainbow ](https://bookshop.org/a/6560/9780684839295)by anthropologist Wade Davis

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6d/f5/6df583d7-3da2-455c-b104-e0c5ab8c796a/content/images/2025/02/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fb6f712c4-f144-482c-9bfa-33cdd62ffb37_850x520-jpeg.jpg)

Serious books about this religious practice, both by those who study it (the Kail book) and those who practice it (the other three):

[Hoodoo in the Psalms: God’s Magick](https://bookshop.org/a/6560/9781789042061) by Taren S

[Old Style Conjure: Hoodoo, Rootwork, and Folk Magic](https://bookshop.org/a/6560/9781578636228) by Starr Casas

[Staubs and Ditchwater: A Friendly and Useful Introduction to Hillfolks’ Hoodoo](https://bookshop.org/a/6560/9780976758181) by H. Byron Ballard

[Stories of Rootworkers & Hoodoo in the Mid-South](https://bookshop.org/a/6560/9781467139892) by Tony Kail

The post [Movie Review: Spell (2020)](https://there-might-be-cupcakes-podcast.ghost.io/movie-review-spell-2020/) appeared first on [There Might Be Cupcakes Podcast](https://there-might-be-cupcakes-podcast.ghost.io/).

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