Hollywood rarely uses the concept of parallel or alternative universes, because that would require extra creativity and extra budgets for creating worlds that are still recognisable yet alien to the audience. 1991 TV film Cast a Deadly Spell tried to circumvent this problem by presenting alternative past where world of magic was in cohabitation with the noir world of 1940s Los Angeles. Although relatively obscure, that film had its sequel in 1994 with Witch Hunt, fantasy thriller directed by Paul Schrader.
While the previous film was set in 1940s, this one is set one decade later. The protagonist of the film is H.P. Lovecraft (played by Dennis Hopper), cynical private investigator from Los Angeles. He is viewed as an eccentric by most of his colleagues and friends because of his refusal to use magic as the investigative tool. That doesn't stop actress Kim Hudson (played by Penelope Ann Miller) from hiring him to check on fidelity of her husband, film producer N.J. Gottlieb (played by Alan Rosenberg). Routine job ceased to be routine when Gottlieb gets killed in circumstances that indicate use of magic for murderous purposes. In the meantime Los Angeles is visited by U.S. Senator Larson Crockett (played by Eric Bogosian), leading crusader in the fight against magic as "un-American" activity.
While the previous film had novel idea of combining two genres, this one goes in somewhat different direction and uses fantasy/noir setting to comment on one of not particularly bright chapter of 20th Century US history . It isn't very hard to see how the whole subplot of "Hollywood magic as anti-American activity" serves as metaphor for 1950s witch-hunts of alleged Communists in Hollywood. Paul Schrader, screenwriter most famous for his works in which he described darker chapters of American story, is given the job of director, but it seems that the combination of light-hearted fantasy and serious history lesson represents a challenge beyond his abilities. The actors are more than fine, including Dennis Hopper who replaced Fred Ward from previous film. Composer Angelo Badalamenti, on the other hand, ruins suspension of disbelief with his anachronistic use of synthesisers, thus leaving impression of Witch Hunt as cheap and quickly made TV film that didn't fulfil its potentials.
RATING: 4/10 (+)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on May 15th 2003)
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