MARK OF THE WITCH (shown at FrightFest as ANOTHER) opens with a coven giving birth to a baby. The next we see of young Jordyn (Paulie Redding) is at her 18th birthday celebrations as her strange aunt Ruby (Nancy Wolfe) makes a suicide tempt chanting, “It’s time, it’s time!” What follows is a whirlwind of madness and witchcraft and Jordyn learns of her real family as well as the consequences that come with it. 

 

A marriage of THE OMEN and SUSPERIA is evident as director Jason Bognacki blends the story of the possessed/reborn with a visual aura that makes much of MARK OF THE WITCH as dreamlike as the events surrounding its central character. Unfortunately, while Bognaki’s inspiration is stamped all over this production, the execution doesn’t quite pull together. 

 

Much of the films visual presence is so cheaply edited it feels as if it was made using a free software package for Windows 95. Which is a shame as this often overshadows some of the most tense scenes. When in the midst of a power struggle, good versus evil, the best that could be thought up is a firefight in a bedroom. Even Maria Olsen as the evil doer is painstakingly overshadowed by a script that does neither its cast nor its story any justice. 

 

While the effects can be easily overcome, the cumbersome narrative is much harder to ignore. Jumping from scene to scene and excusing random events as black outs, it’s never clear as to what really is going on and as you begin to piece it all together, something absurd happens. Even as the clear battle becomes even more escalating, the intention of the director is never received. Sometimes less is more and in this case, less visual flair and more narrative would have done the movie some justice. 

 

It’s unfortunate that Redding is beautifully charming in the lead role but even her innocence can’t save this from the hellish feature it is.