Why does that new professor keep getting promoted, since nobody really seems to like him, except for his wife and the female student who has a crush on him? And why is there a sociology department in a medical school? The second question remains a mystery, but the first is soon answered. The careers of the academics (all men) are determined not by any scholarly activity, but by their wives' behind-the-scene use of the dark arts: the better your wife is at witchcraft, the better your career will be. Unfortunately, this very promising premise is wasted in this ham-handed adaptation of Fritz Leiber's novel from the 1940s, 'Conjure Wife'.
We know we're meant to be tense because all the actors start very tense and just ratchet things up from there, with much emoting, yelling of dialogue, and general chewing of scenery. Subtle it ain't. From the beginning the film keeps cutting ominously to a big stone eagle that gives the UK version of the film its title and plays a weighty role in the denouement. But with each cut you feel the director's elbow jabbing insistently in your ribs, so that a technique meant to build tension builds exasperation instead. By the time the eagle has landed, you feel more freed from annoyance than relieved of tension. The US version of the film added a creepily effective introduction with a voiceover to a black screen supposedly casting a protective spell over the audience.
We know we're meant to be tense because all the actors start very tense and just ratchet things up from there, with much emoting, yelling of dialogue, and general chewing of scenery. Subtle it ain't. From the beginning the film keeps cutting ominously to a big stone eagle that gives the UK version of the film its title and plays a weighty role in the denouement. But with each cut you feel the director's elbow jabbing insistently in your ribs, so that a technique meant to build tension builds exasperation instead. By the time the eagle has landed, you feel more freed from annoyance than relieved of tension. The US version of the film added a creepily effective introduction with a voiceover to a black screen supposedly casting a protective spell over the audience.