Line #67 Film/CastADeadlySpell


1	[[quoteright:258:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Cast_a_deadly_spell_5609.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:258:[-If your eyes look upon it, [[GoMadFromTheRevelation you will surely go mad!]]-] ]]
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4	''Cast a Deadly Spell'' is a 1991 horror/noir movie [[MadeForTVMovie made]] for Creator/{{HBO}}. It was directed by Creator/MartinCampbell and written by Joseph Dougherty, and stars Creator/FredWard, Creator/JulianneMoore, Creator/DavidWarner, Creator/AlexandraPowers, and Creator/ClancyBrown.
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6	The plot follows HardboiledDetective [[Creator/HPLovecraft Harry Phillip Lovecraft]] (Ward), in an alternate-universe version of 1948 Los Angeles where magic is real, monsters and mythical beasts stalk the back alleys, zombies are used as cheap labor, and everyone, except Lovecraft, uses magic every day. Meanwhile, cars, telephones and other modern technologies also exist in this world. There's some implication that magic has only recently gained widespread use for whatever reason.
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8	Lovecraft is hired by the wealthy Amos Hacksaw (Warner) to recover the Necronomicon, stolen by persons unknown -- although their motives probably aren't: the book contains the rituals needed to awaken and summon the Outer Gods. Complicating Lovecraft's investigation is his former partner Harry Bordon (Brown), now a crime boss, who is also looking for the book.
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10	A sequel, ''Film/WitchHunt'', was released by HBO in 1994; Creator/DennisHopper replaced Fred Ward as Lovecraft. It more directly parodies the 1950s Red Scare with a counter-revolution against magic use.
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12	----
13	!!''Cast a Deadly Spell'' provides examples of the following tropes:
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15	* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler: Connie]].
16	* AllMythsAreTrue: Everything from {{Unicorn}}s to [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Yog Sothoth]].
17	* ApocalypseCult: The BigBad plans to use the [[TomeOfEldritchLore Necronomicon]] and a [[VirginPower virgin]] [[HumanSacrifice sacrifice]] to summon Yog-Sothoth and the rest of the Franchise/CthulhuMythos deities, which would devastate the world.
18	-->'''Lovecraft:''' What kind of world?
19	-->'''Hackshaw:''' A world of the unburied dead, and a sky dark with ashes. A blasted, maimed planet.
20	* AwardBaitSong: "Why Do I Lie?" by Darlene Koldenhoven.
21	* BadassInANiceSuit: The bad guys all wear such nice suits...
22	* BigBad: [[spoiler:Amos Hackshaw masterminds the first with his apocalyptic schemes.]]
23	* BlankBook: The fake Necronomicon.
24	* BrownNote: Tugwell writes one up in an attempt to assassinate Lovecraft.
25	%%* BuryYourGays: [[spoiler:Mickey and Larry/Lilly.]] -- ZCE
26	* TheChanteuse: When we first see Connie Stone, she's singing a song in Harry Bordon's nightclub.
27	* ChekhovsGunman: Detective Grimaldi's romantic interest for Olivia eventually becomes useful when she is [[spoiler:offered as a sacrifice for Yog-Sothoth]], but is then refused when [[spoiler:the monster realizes that she is no longer a virgin.]]
28	* ChewingTheScenery: Hackshaw
29	* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Lovecraft asks if Lilly met Mickey at "a fag party."
30	* DieselPunk: 1940s technology with Lovecraftian magic.
31	* DoesNotLikeMagic: Lovecraft refuses to use magic because it conflicts with his own moral code, a form of ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules. It seems to be of the Faustian bargain subtype, judging by his "nobody's got a mortgage on my soul. I own it. Free and clear" line.
32	* TheDragon: Tugwell, to Bordon.
33	* DungeonPunk: Lovecraftian magic with 1940s technology.
34	* EldritchAbomination: [[spoiler:Amos Hacksaw]] is attempting to summon Yog-Sothoth, who in turn will summon the rest of the Outer Gods.
35	* EvilFormerFriend: Bordon used to be Lovecraft's partner when they were on the police force.
36	* EvilIsNotAToy: Lovecraft's take on magic.
37	* EvilSorcerer: [[spoiler:Amos Hacksaw, a sorcerer intent on sacrificing his daughter to summon the Old Ones so he can become a god.]]
38	* FallenHero: Bordon, he used to be Lovecraft's partner before turning crime boss.
39	* FantasticNoir: FilmNoir but instead magic is real, monsters and mythical beasts stalk the back alleys, zombies are used as cheap labor, and everyone, except Lovecraft, uses magic every day.
40	* FauxAffablyEvil: Bordon acts friendly and casual even as he's subjecting people to gruesome deaths.
41	* FemmeFatale: What would a FilmNoir pastiche be without one? [[spoiler: It's Connie.]]
42	* {{Gayngster}}: Another FilmNoir staple. Mickey and Larry fit the bill.
43	* GripingAboutGremlins: They cause problems in vehicles, just like "real" gremlins. Their design is an obvious {{homage}} to Creator/JoeDante's [[Film/{{Gremlins}} films]].
44	* GroinAttack: To a gargoyle. And it works!
45	* HardboiledDetective: Lovecraft, complete with narration.
46	* HollywoodVoodoo: The opening scene has a voodoo doll as a murder weapon. Voodoo-style zombies are also used as cheap labor.
47	* {{Homage}}: The gremlins are obviously based on those from the film ''Film/{{Gremlins}}''.
48	* HotWitch: Hypolita Kropotkin.
49	* JailbaitTaboo: Lovecraft chides Grimbaldi over his affair with Olivia (she lost her virginity to him), who's only 16, explicitly calling her jailbait. She brushes the matter off-he's more worried that his wife will find out.
50	* JustDesserts: [[spoiler:Hackshaw is eaten by the creature he summons.]]
51	* KitchenChase: After a restaurant owner tries to put a written curse on him, Philip Lovecraft goes after him into the kitchen to return it. The curse manifests when a demon comes out of a pot on a stove. Lovecraft joins forces with a cook to defeat it.
52	* LovecraftOnFilm
53	* MagicalBarefooter: In the opening scene of the first movie, one can see that Hypolita Kropotkin goes barefoot. She is also a HotWitch.
54	* MayDecemberRomance: Olivia is 16 years old and proclaims that Cleopatra succumbed to passion at 14. Grimaldi is an adult police officer.
55	* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: A stolen book leads to a plan to destroy the world.
56	* MsFanservice: Connie fills out her shiny, green lounge singer dress very nicely and exudes classy, Old Hollywood sexiness in general.
57	* {{Necronomicon}}: The MacGuffin. It wouldn't be a Lovecraftian tale without it.
58	* OccultDetective: Lovecraft is specifically chosen because he ''doesn't'' use magic.
59	* OurDemonsAreDifferent: A big slug-thing with a long, insect-like tongue.
60	* OurGargoylesRock: Hackshaw employs an animate stone gargoyle as a spy and occasional assassin. It's ImmuneToBullets, but not a GroinAttack.
61	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Mostly they hang out in West Hollywoood.
62	* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: They're the reason DaChief hates full moons.
63	* OurZombiesAreDifferent: Zombies are shipped in from the West Indies to serve as manual labor and muscle. They last about three months before they rot away.
64	* PaperMaster: Tugwell.
65	* PerpSweating: Lieutenant Bradbury does this to Lovecraft when he won't cooperate with him. We also see him doing this to an uncooperative werewolf.
66	* PrettyInMink: Connie has a mink coat.
67	* PublicDomainArtifact: The Necronomicon.
68	* RunningGag:
69	** Phil accidentally giving people Mrs. Kropotkin's business card for her dancing school rather than his own.
70	** People makes jokes about Phil's loud tie.
71	** Mrs. Kropotkin takes every opportunity to bemoan the fact that if she had any sense, [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere she'd be packing up and heading to Miami]].
72	* SaveTheVillain: [[spoiler:Lovecraft tries to save Hackshaw when he gets grabbed by Yog-Sothoth at the end. His grip slips.]]
73	* ScaryBlackMan: Being a zombie makes it [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies even worse]].
74	* [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules Screw The Magic, I Have Rules]]
75	-->'''Connie Stone:''' Dammit, Phil, everybody's gotta compromise!\
76	'''Lovecraft:''' That's what I keep hearing.\
77	'''Connie:''' And what makes you so special?\
78	'''Lovecraft:''' What makes me special is I'm my own man. When I started out I said there were things I'd do and things I wouldn't do. A lot of guys start out like that, and a lot of them sell out along the way. But the more who fall, the easier it gets. "See, look, everybody compromises, everybody cheats, everybody uses magic." So they empty their ideals out of their pockets and get down to the job of sticking it to their neighbors before they stick it to them, because that's the way it's done. To all of which I say nuts. My collar may be a little frayed, and maybe I need a shoeshine. But nobody's got a mortgage on my soul. I own it. Free and clear.
79	* SearchingTheStalls: As Mickey is trying to escape Tugwell in the train station, he goes into the bathroom and tries to hide in the last stall. Tugwell uses a magic spell that lights a fiery trail to him and blows him out of the stall.
80	* SexyBacklessOutfit: Connie's shiny green dress.
81	* ShoutOut
82	** Lovecraft calls a gargoyle "Creator/LonChaney."
83	** Also, Lovecraft's former police chief is named [[Creator/RayBradbury Bradbury]].
84	** And [[Creator/HPLovecraft Harry Phillip Lovecraft]] himself is named after a certain horror writer whose influences can be detected in this story.
85	** The nightclub is called "[[Literature/TheDunwichHorror The Dunwich Room]]".
86	** The gremlins are basically [[Film/{{Gremlins}} Mogwai]].
87	* SmugSnake: Bordon and [[spoiler:Hackshaw]], since their plan horribly fails at the end.
88	* TheSociopath: [[spoiler:Amos Hackshaw, a sorcerer who is willing to sacrifice his own daughter and summon the Old Gods to destroy the world so he can become a god in return.]]
89	** Considering that he’s a former detective turned ruthless crime boss who is perfectly fine with having people murdered in horrible ways, and is knowingly and willingly working with the above in exchange for power, it’s safe to say that Harry Bordon is one as well.
90	* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler:Olivia Hackshaw, the teenager who was going to be a VirginSacrifice, lost said virginity to [[ChekhovsGunman the cute idiot cop who has appeared on various scenes throughout the film]]. Cue her father Amos [[LaserGuidedKarma getting torn apart by a pissed-off Old One]].]]
91	* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Connie's defence of her life takes on this edge after Lovecraft's [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules Screw The Magic, I Have Rules]] speech:
92	-->'''Connie:''' I'm not gonna apologise for my life.\
93	'''Lovecraft:''' I didn't ask you to.\
94	'''Connie:''' I'm happy the way things are.\
95	'''Lovecraft:''' Glad to hear it.\
96	'''Connie:''' You gotta look ahead. You can't drag around the past. There's nothing you can do about it!\
97	'''Lovecraft:''' Sounds like you got a real good grip on things.\
98	'''Connie:''' ''[Breaking]'' Dammit, Phil, why'd you have to walk back into my life?\
99	'''Lovecraft:''' Why'd you walk out of mine?
100	* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: [[spoiler:Olivia lost her virginity, so she loses her spot as a VirginSacrifice. Her father discovers this at a very bad moment for him.]]
101	* UnSorcerer: Lovecraft, who has sworn off the use of magic.
102	* UrbanFantasy: 1940s Los Angeles with magic.
103	* UtilityMagic: People are seen using magic to light their cigarettes and retrieve files.
104	* VirginPower: Olivia uses her "power" to hunt Unicorns. Also, the Old Ones can only be summoned by using a virgin as part of the ritual.
105	* VirginSacrifice: The BigBad's plan requires one.
106	* WeaksauceWeakness: As Lovecraft demonstrates, zombies may be strong tough, but they're easily out-maneuvered through lateral movement.
107	* WhiteMagic: Kropotkin the witch landlady specializes in it.
108	-->"I have henbane, mandrake root, EyeOfNewt... and Mercurochrome."
109	* YouHaveFailedMe: [[spoiler:Bordon to Tugwell.]]

Context Film / CastADeadlySpell