Superstition | 1982 | USA | James W. Roberson

Riffing on the success of The Amityville Horror and witch-related shockers like Norman J. Warren’s Terror, James W. Roberson’s Superstition is sometimes known as simply The Witch. Unsurprisingly, the film follows a small rural home with a pond whose history has been besmirched in musings of witchcraft and murder. After several accidents result in local deaths, the house is taken over by Reverend George and his wife and kids, despite clergymen’s involvement thus far proving dangerous. It soon becomes clear that a wrongfully executed woman drowned in the pond as a witch has returned to haunt the property, fatally assailing anyone nearby who dares to venture close by. The plot is certainly not unique and takes elements from other films quite unashamedly, though the energy and frenetic dynamism of the screenplay’s many death sequences prove it to be a fun ride. This would unfortunately also be its downfall in the UK as the bloodshed proved too much for authorities.