Spell (2020) was a valiant effort from Mark Tonderai that ultimately fell flat
It was a valiant effort from Mark Tonderai, but ultimately fell short (Image courtesy of impawards.com) Mark Tonderai's one of those directors that flies under the radar with lukewarm shows and colder movies (aside from Twelve Monkeys). Generally emerging once every few years with a studio-backed movie, Tonderai manages to just barely keep his head above the water with many of his projects. Add Spell to his wiki list of movies that fail to deliver and you've got a spiderweb-lined cupboard full of disappointment. Spell is about Marquis, a prominent lawyer in the big city that flies his family to Kansas for the wake of his late father. While traveling there, their plane is caught in a thunderstorm and crashes. When he wakes up, he's in the home of a family of black hillbillies that practice hoodoo (voodoo is the religion, hoodoo is the magic). Unbeknownst to him, they're keeping him there for nefarious reasons to benefit themselves. Spell is just a jumble of confusion...