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watches in secret as the two discuss the recent events and discovers that Jo caused the accidents so that Rita could seek revenge. When Jo tells Rita that their power will extend to a new community, Rita becomes upset as she believes that she will no longer be unique if there are others like her. In the disagreement, the two begin to chant, and with her powerful new strength, Rita forces Jo to the ground. Back at home, Marilyn confronts Rita and begins to chant, causing Rita to be thrown around the room. Marilyn tells her that it is over and if Rita insists on hurting her father and sister then she will destroy her. It is revealed that
Marilyn also has power as Rita tries to retaliate and the pair chant until Marilyn overpowers Rita, bringing it all to an end. Marilyn comforts a sobbing Rita telling her that it is all over.
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including the opening scene in which the character, Rita, is bullied by her classmates, family issues, and telekinetic revenge. In the final scene in the film, which concerns the showdown between Rita and her mother, Marilyn, Rita uses her power to hurl knives at
Marilyn; although missing her aim, it
341:
Glenn informs Rita that she will be leaving home to attend a private school in London, much to her disapproval, resulting in her acting aggressively. Marilyn sends Glenn and
Kristina away for the night so that she can spend time with Rita. That evening, Marilyn follows Rita to Jo's house where she
328:
Rita comes from a wealthy family but her home life is unhappy. She is not close to her father, Glenn, nor her younger sister, Kristina, who view her as fat and unattractive and criticize her for her looks. Her mother, Marilyn, tries to maintain a balance in the home and is constantly upset by how
535:
The film has been reviewed in several blog posts; in a 2009 blog post for Final Girl, Stacie Ponder said that "This is a made-for-TV effort that's fairly tame even for its time period" and "It's little more than a pleasant 70-minute diversion". Jeffery Berg of the jdbrecords commented that "it's
337:
and
Kristina almost drowns in a swimming pool. Marilyn is initially not convinced that Rita is behind these attacks, but Kristina confirms her suspicions when she reveals to Marilyn that Rita has been visiting Jo Standish, the school gym teacher, and they chant together. Rita had also threatened
332:
It later becomes evident that Rita is dabbling in something dangerous as a number of "accidents" seem to occur; Glenn is almost killed in a hit-and-run incident, leaping out of the way just in time, while
Marilyn's friend, Kathleen, having been ill for some time, suddenly dies due to
580:. The set contains the film's original broadcast ratio of 1.33:1, DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English Subtitles, while special features consist of a new commentary by made-for-TV historian and author Amanda Reyes and a new interview with screenwriter Brian Taggert.
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and Rita struggles to climb. She is opposite snooty classmate Jackie Segall. Jackie climbs to the top and begins to show off in front of the other girls by doing spins. Rita's stare becomes fixated on Jackie which causes her to fall and break her neck, killing her.
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release courtesy of
Worldvision Home Entertainment Inc. in 1984 following its television broadcast, which was rare considering that television films of the time were not picked up for home video distribution. The film received a second VHS release in the U.S. from
33:
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Rita is treated and the rivalry between her daughters. Marilyn becomes furious with Rita when her attitude begins to change. However, she grows more concerned when Rita shows signs of abnormal behaviour and starts chanting following an argument.
442:, where he intended the film to receive a theatrical release. Columbia was impressed with Taggert's writing and his take on the theme of telekinesis. However, the film was slow to get off the ground and during the pre-production process,
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is pretty forgettable stuff. When taken for what it is, it's not a complete waste of time and does have some unintentional chuckles and solid performances propping it up, but it's also just another forgotten 70s TV flick."
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and follows the story of an adolescent girl who seeks revenge on those who ridicule her, while her mother tries to bring an end to her evil acts. It has gained a reputation as being an imitation of the 1976 classic
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pretty preposterous, kind of boring, and sometimes hilarious." When it film was reviewed in a blog post for Horror Movie a Day, it was said that "even as a TV Movie this thing is shockingly dull throughout."
522:
An online review for The Terror Trap stated that the film is "overall, a little slow at times but not bad". The Horror Honeys website review stated of the film: "It's not the perfect revenge film, but it
519:, giggle in the wrong places and, NBC hopes, stay tuned in to learn all about telekinesis." Of actress Lee Grant, she stated, "Grant is too fine an actress for this sort of TV trash".
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in which Carrie kills her mother by launching flying knives through the air. Many films which have been considered imitations followed this, some of which include,
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Kathleen Hughes is listed in the credits as playing the character of
Fenetia. However, Hughes is actually referred to as 'Kathleen' in the film.
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an interesting snapshot of the era and there are far worse ways to kill an evening". Chris
Hartley of The Video Graveyard mentions that "
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as several similarities are present, while it has fallen somewhat under the radar over the years and is considered a "forgotten film".
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557:. It has been released on VHS in several European countries including Finland and Spain. It has never been made available on
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became acclaimed and widely successful, which resulted in the film being converted into a teleplay for a network television
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was the first to do so and although claimed that the script was written prior to King's novel, many similarities appear in
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went into production in the mid 1970s, when writer Brian
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Educational
Institutions in Horror Film: A History of Mad Professors, Student Bodies, and Final Exams
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Educational Institutions in Horror Film: A History of Mad Professors, Student Bodies, and Final Exams
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format in North America on September 5, 2017 via Scream Factory, a subsidiary of
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1187:"Compared to this, Carrie was an Angel: 5 Unforgettable Carrie Knock-Offs"
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Rita Matchett is a shy 15-year-old girl often picked upon for being
456:. Taggert claimed that he completed his script for the film while
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864:"Prime-time network TV listings for Sunday February 20, 1977"
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It was available for streaming in the United Kingdom via
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is teased and picked on by her classmates, which is how
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as "The Big Event" Movie of the Week. It is directed by
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was broadcast on NBC on February 20, 1977 at 8:00 pm.
744:"The Spell (1977 TV Movie) Technical Specifications"
476:premiered on NBC three months after the release of
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1000:. Horror-movie-a-day.blogspot.com. March 14, 2013
643:(1978). Other films with a similar theme include
464:. Both films open with similar scenes: Rita in
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1023:"The Spell (1977 TV Movie) Company Credits"
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978:. jdbrecords.blogspot.com. October 5, 2012
830:(Documentary). bandsaboutmovies.com. 2020.
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772:"Out of the Frying Pan and into the Mire"
722:"The Spell (1977 TV Movie) Release Info"
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480:, it was seen by some as an imitation.
933:. Thevideograveyard.com. June 10, 2013
794:"The Spell (1977) – Clip 2: Kathleen"
7:
908:"What If Carrie Was Kind of a Dick?"
667:— by Andrew L. Grunzke (April 2015,
655:(1984, another Stephen King movie).
1607:English-language horror drama films
956:. Finalgirl.rocks. October 18, 2009
574:20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
16:1977 television film by Lee Philips
1537:American supernatural horror films
800:(ScreamFactoryTV). August 14, 2017
602:, an adaptation of Stephen King's
515:, she wrote, "You will shudder at
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1241:Speculative fiction/Horror portal
1189:. Flashbak.com. November 12, 2014
338:Kristina to keep quiet about it.
1567:American horror television films
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844:. Blu-ray.com. December 18, 2017
637:(1982), and to a lesser extent,
1547:Films about magic and magicians
1522:1970s supernatural horror films
293:. It touches on the subject of
954:"Day 18: Nothing is forgotten"
1:
1577:Films directed by Lee Philips
399:Doney Oatman as Jackie Segall
1587:1970s English-language films
1552:American films about revenge
357:Susan Myers as Rita Matchett
1562:American horror drama films
615:is much like the ending to
369:as Kristina 'Kris' Matchett
248:February 20, 1977
37:Original promotional poster
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1602:American high school films
1454:Wanted: The Sundance Woman
1414:The Girl Most Likely To...
426:as Schoolmate (uncredited)
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222:Charles Fries Productions
30:
1557:1970s horror drama films
1430:The Red Badge of Courage
414:Robert Gibbons as Waiter
1572:Films about telekinesis
555:GoodTimes Entertainment
1597:Films about witchcraft
1330:British Film Institute
1119:. Terrorfantastico.com
578:MGM Home Entertainment
544:In the United States,
507:In an early review by
335:spontaneous combustion
225:Stonehenge Productions
1527:1977 television films
1494:Windmills of the Gods
910:. Thehorrorhoneys.com
572:, under license from
1592:1970s American films
1542:Films about bullying
1283:United States portal
446:'s similarly themed
384:James Greene as Stan
218:Production companies
1422:The Stranger Within
1095:"Spell, The (1977)"
1073:"The Spell Blu-ray"
888:. Theterrortrap.com
774:. February 21, 1977
564:It was released on
354:as Marilyn Matchett
273:which premiered on
268:made-for-television
266:is a 1977 American
179:Matthew F. Leonetti
151:Executive producers
1582:NBC original films
1486:Samson and Delilah
1470:On the Right Track
1400:Films directed by
1365:TCM Movie Database
1184:Muir, John Kenneth
1166:. amzprime.maft.uk
1045:"The Spell (1977)"
998:"The Spell (1977)"
976:"under your spell"
886:"The Spell (1977)"
842:"A CARRIE Wannabe"
769:Van Horne, Harriet
669:Palgrave Macmillan
585:Amazon Prime Video
1517:1977 horror films
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1269:Television portal
866:. Ultimate70s.com
513:New York Magazine
509:Harriet Van Horne
454:Movie of the Week
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460:was writing
458:Stephen King
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210:Running time
193:Camera setup
169:David Manson
124:Gerald Fried
99:Susan Myers
24:
18:
1402:Lee Philips
1255:Film portal
1164:"The Spell"
1139:"The Spell"
1117:"The Spell"
931:"The Spell"
652:Firestarter
649:(1978) and
548:received a
472:opened. As
388:Wright King
379:James Olson
373:Jack Colvin
295:telekinesis
279:Lee Philips
271:horror film
114:James Olson
110:Jack Colvin
86:Lee Philips
82:Directed by
1532:1977 films
1511:Categories
1341:Letterboxd
1217:1349500437
1025:. IMDb.com
746:. IMDb.com
724:. IMDb.com
704:References
640:Laserblast
604:1974 novel
540:Home media
431:Production
411:as Fenetia
367:Helen Hunt
318:overweight
291:Helen Hunt
281:and stars
252:1977-02-20
213:86 minutes
146:Production
106:Helen Hunt
74:Written by
1462:The Spell
1360:The Spell
1347:The Spell
1336:The Spell
1325:The Spell
1314:The Spell
1303:The Spell
1292:The Spell
1170:March 22,
848:April 26,
828:(Blu-ray)
634:Evilspeak
612:The Spell
608:The Spell
546:The Spell
529:The Spell
517:The Spell
500:Reception
494:The Spell
474:The Spell
466:The Spell
436:The Spell
352:Lee Grant
283:Lee Grant
263:The Spell
159:Dick Berg
96:Lee Grant
48:(Finland)
25:The Spell
1478:Mae West
1353:TV Guide
1308:AllMovie
646:The Fury
631:(1978),
625:(1978),
622:Jennifer
561:format.
489:Premiere
381:as Glenn
165:Producer
120:Composer
92:Starring
58:(Sweden)
1446:Dynasty
1363:at the
1328:at the
798:YouTube
628:Patrick
566:Blu-ray
484:Release
420:as Ross
405:as Hugh
396:as Jill
390:as Rian
250: (
245:Release
235:Network
141:English
53:(Spain)
46:Kirous
1497:(1988)
1489:(1984)
1481:(1982)
1473:(1981)
1465:(1977)
1457:(1976)
1449:(1976)
1441:(1975)
1433:(1974)
1425:(1974)
1417:(1973)
1215:
1193:May 4,
1148:May 3,
1123:May 3,
1101:May 3,
1079:May 3,
1054:May 3,
1049:Amazon
1029:May 3,
1004:May 3,
982:May 3,
960:May 3,
937:May 3,
914:May 3,
892:May 3,
870:May 4,
804:May 4,
778:May 3,
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728:May 3,
675:
617:Carrie
600:Carrie
593:Carrie
478:Carrie
470:Carrie
462:Carrie
449:Carrie
305:Carrie
185:Editor
68:Horror
684:Notes
302:film
197:35 mm
64:Genre
1297:IMDb
1213:ASIN
1195:2018
1172:2019
1150:2018
1125:2018
1103:2018
1081:2018
1056:2018
1031:2018
1006:2018
984:2018
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939:2018
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894:2018
872:2018
850:2018
806:2018
780:2018
752:2018
730:2018
673:ISBN
576:and
511:for
346:Cast
312:Plot
289:and
1350:at
1339:at
1317:at
1306:at
1295:at
559:DVD
550:VHS
275:NBC
239:NBC
202:CFI
1513::
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
