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Welcome back to Creepy Catalog’s daily horror digest. I only had time for one movie last night, and it’s… just okay. I do have some good daily news and trivia for you though!
Movie of the Day: Whisper of the Witch
Today’s movie is Whisper of the Witch, a supernatural murder mystery. I really didn’t expect much from this movie based on the trailer and descriptions; The promos felt rather generic and nondescript. I suppose in a way the promotional material was effective, because the movie largely feels the same way, generic and nondescript.
Whisper of the Witch opens with a group of four teenagers entering an abandoned mansion. They all hear something in the house, and one of the boys ends up getting pulled into a dresser by an unseen force. He’s soon found dead, and a detective named Paul begins investigating what happened. It’s revealed almost immediately that Paul had a similar experience in the same house when he was a teenager (one of his friends was hurt by something in the house), and he’s driven to find the source of the problem. But what are his true motivations?
The movie isn’t bad, but it’s not good either. It’s just not very interesting. There are moments scattered throughout with some spooky imagery, but that’s really as good as it gets. There are a few jump scares, and there is some supernatural horror, but the main focus of the movie is on the mystery. As a mystery, it’s kind of bland. A big part why the mystery isn’t completely effective is because the characters are flat. I also think the obvious and not-great dubbing is part of the problem. Or, it’s at least a hurdle towards full investment in the story.
Star Rating: 2 out of 5
As a supernatural mystery Whisper of the Witch is too uninspired, and it begins to get unnecessarily convulsed towards the end. If the characters were stronger, or if the horror elements were more robust, it might have helped the bland plot. But as it stands, I can’t recommend Whisper of the Witch. If you do want to check it out, it’s streaming as a digital rental on Prime Video.
In the News
- Bill Mosely, Kane Hodder, Michael Berryman, Trina Parks, and Casper Van Dien have been cast in Spawn of the Living Dead, a movie written by John A. Russo. Russo co-wrote the original Night of the Living Dead, and when he and George Romero split over creative differences, Russo got to keep the “Living Dead” part of the title for future films. Spawn of the Living Dead will be about scientists experimenting on zombies to figure out what started the 1968 plague. (Deadline)
- Chain Reactions, a Texas Chain Saw Massacre documentary, will open in limited theaters in the United States on September 19th. It will then expand to a wider release on September 26th. (Deadline)
- Victorian Psycho, an upcoming psychological horror film starring Maika Monroe, has been picked up by Bleeker Street for release in 2026. (IndieWire)
Birthdays
Courtney Gains was born on August 22nd, 1965. Courtney’s most memorable role in horror was his first, as Malachai in Children of the Corn (1984). Since then he’s amassed well over 100 credits in film and television, with a sizable portion of his roles being in horror. He was featured in the horror-adjacent comedy The ‘Burbs (1989), and in recent years he’s appeared in low-budget horror movies like Hellblazers (2022), Candy Corn (2019), Corbin Nash (2018).
Also born on August 22nd, in 1981, is Ross Marquand. Ross is best known in horror for his role as Aaron in The Walking Dead. He was also in the recently released psychological thriller Descendent about a man who might have been abducted by aliens.
Naomi Ackie was born on this day in 1991. Noami’s darkest films include the thriller Blink Twice and the upcoming DCU film Clayface.
More birthdays on August 22nd:
- Rick Sloane (1961) – Writer and director of Hobgoblins (1988) and Blood Theatre (1984)
- Miho Kanno (1977) – Tomie Kawakami in Tomie (1998)
- Jorge Diaz (1983) – Hector in Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014)
Events on This Day
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 was released in US theaters on August 22nd, 1986. Director Tobe Hooper brought overt violence and dark comedy to the forefront in this sequel. On its own, fans seem to be somewhat divided on their opinions about this entry in the franchise. But in the context of the rest of the TCM sequels, it’s definitely one of the better ones. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is streaming on Tubi.
On August 22nd, 1986, Night of the Creeps was given a limited theatrical release in the United States. Written and directed by Fred Dekker (The Monster Squad, Robocop 3), Night of the Creeps is a fun sci-fi horror-comedy movie about alien slugs turning people into zombies. It didn’t do much at the box office, but it’s gained a cult following in the years since its release on home video. It’s available to rent on Prime Video.
Thank you as always for reading. Keep an eye out for today’s new releases which we’ll be posting about soon!
