'Witchboard' Review: An Awkward But Occasionally Fun Remake
- Shauna Bushe
- Oct 3
- 3 min read
By Shauna Bushe - October 3, 2025
Witchboard is a horror film and remake of the 1980’s cult classic, released in 2024 but marketed as a 2025 film. A cursed Witchboard awakens dark forces, dragging a young couple into a deadly world of temptation, deception and supernatural terror.
What is Witchboard about?
Now, Witchboard might have the same name as the original, but it is certainly very different. Whilst sharing similarities it features different characters and plotline, doomfully becoming something else entirely. We centre on Emily (Madison Iseman) a recovering heroin addict and her fiancé Christian (Aaron Dominguez) an up-and-coming chef with a restaurant opening in New Orleans. Whilst out scavenging for mushrooms in the woods, they unintentionally stumble upon a mysterious board, instantly Emily is taken over by curiosity, and they both take it home. But what they don’t know is that two criminals were hired by a rich eccentric Alexander (Jamie Campbell Bower) to steal it and ended up dying during the process, now he wants it back.
In true horror movie style, the board means bad news and suddenly the unfavourable befalls everyone surrounding Emily, who seemingly can’t leave the board alone. The more Emily interacts with it, the more chaos consumes her reality. So far as seeing visions of a witch from centuries ago named Naga Soth (Antonia Desplat) the original owner of the board who seeks revenge on those that wronged her. Now the witch is attached to Emily and harming everyone close to her, will they be able to stop her for good?
Should lesser films stay hidden?
2025 continues to be a staggering year for Horror films. With original Horror making a strong comeback (Sinners, Weapons) and even legacy Horror sequels having a time to shine (28 Years Later, IKWYDLS). However, there are lesser-known films that fly under the radar, which leads us to Witchboard. Even with the potential to be an attention stealer due to its recognised film director Chuck Russell (The Blob, ANOES: Dream Warriors, The Mask) it’s actually better to leave it in the gutter, and here’s why.
Witchboard has an intriguing set up, full of mystery, tragic backstories, gothic witch trials, a suspicious ex and one charming, but obviously misleading antagonist. Yet with all this interesting concept, the film fails to stick to a consistent tone. Leaving everything to feel messy and underdeveloped. The period piece settings are great visually, but become repetitive flashbacks, disrupting the main story instead of deepening the connection or tension. The attempt at blending the modern restaurant plotline with the witch trials struggles with pacing, instead of delivering a supernatural spectacle it gets weighted down by cheap tricks and gimmicky tropes. We’re all up for a tacky film, something of a popcorn flick, but when it chooses to make all the wrong decisions it’s best to leave it alone.
Dumb characters and predictable horror gags go hand in hand?
Iseman struggles to find her feet in the first half, but midway she does a solid job of portraying her characters decent into madness. Other than that, her development is paper thin. Using her past addiction & the fact she is a descendant of Naga Soth as her only connection to the Witchboard. Dominguez is a lost puppy, running around with his ex, falling into a trap, he makes all the wrong decisions as expected. Campbell Bowers on the other hand, plays the deceptive catalyst very well. With his deep British accent and paired with the white witches, they brought quite the seductive screen presence. Himself and Iseman do share a lot of potential, it’s a shame this film didn’t highlight it to the fullest but hopefully bigger films grab it with both hands. As for the supporting characters, they don’t do much to enhance the film but share a few comedic lines here or there. The stray cat specifically was a major star, appearing at random moments, like to snatch and gnaw on some sou-chef’s hand. Delightfully absurd.
Is Witchboard worth your time?
Witchboard is a polarizing film, containing elements that suffice an enjoyable experience, particularly the Final Destination gag in the kitchen, but that didn’t distract you from the underlying issues leaving you unsatisfied. The time altering/ body swapping twist is good, but with hollow characters the story just ends up losing its connection to the audience. What's more is there are a lot of inconclusive endings, this could mean a sequel but, in the moment, felt puzzling. Consequently, Witchboard just didn’t stick the landing.
'Witchboard' is available now on digital platforms.
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