Spell is a new horror film that will leave you thinking… should I go to bed with the lights on?

The film stars the fabulous Loretta Devine (Waiting To Exhale, Crash) and Omari Hardwick (Power, Sorry to Bother You). And it centers on Omari’s character Marquis.

While flying to his father’s funeral in rural Appalachia, an intense storm causes Marquis to lose control of the plane carrying himself and his family. He soon awakens wounded, alone and trapped in Ms. Eloise’s (Loretta Devine) attic. Eloise claims she can nurse him back to health with a hoodoo figure she’s made from his blood and skin. Unable to call for help, Marquis desperately tries to break free from her dark magic. He tries to save his family from a sinister ritual before the rise of the blood moon.

Loretta Devine is a true stand-out as Ms. Eloise.  While audiences will see this character as pure evil, Loretta will be the first to say she’s really not.  Eloise is a product of her environment and only does what she does because she knows no other way!  The film has an old school horror film feel to it, with traces of Misery and The Hills Have Eyes. 

Award winning actress Loretta Devine is equally at home on stage and on screen. Devine first captured national attention in the role of Lorrell. Lorell is one of the three original Dreamgirls in Michael Bennett’s classic award-winning Broadway musical of the same name.

Film roles soon followed including a poignant turn as a single mother opposite Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett and Gregory Hines in Waiting to Exhale. That earned Devine her first NAACP Image Award for Best Supporting Actress. Devine also won an NAACP Image Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Penny Marshall’s The Preacher’s Wife. Devine received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress for her work in Women Thou Art Loosed. She was featured in the Academy Award-winning film Crash and the hit movie of Dreamgirls. She appeared in the successful Urban Legend franchise and in I Am Sam opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Sean Penn. Some of her additional film credits include appearances in Kingdom Come, What Women Want, Punks, Hoodlums, Down in the Delta and Stanley and Iris.

She currently stars in the Netflix family series, Family Reunion which features an all-black cast and crew. Devine also appeared in a buzzy guest star role on Starz’ P-Valley. With a career spanning three decades, Devine has earned much praise and accolades for her work on both the big and small screen. For her work as Adele on Grey’s Anatomy, Devine earned both a Primetime Emmy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. Her work in Grey’s also got her a Gracie Allen Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Featured Role. The same work got her a nomination for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series from the Critics’ Choice Television Awards. Other awards and nominations for Grey’s include NAACP Image Award and a NAACP Image Award nomination.

In total, Devine has won nine NAACP Image Awards and has received a record twenty-four nominations. Devine has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from both the Pan African Film Festival and the NAACP Theatre Awards. And she got the Thespian Award from the LA Femme International Film Festival.                                                                                                                           

Spell is available in some theaters and on demand on October 30th. 

Bonnie Laufer @movi_boni spoke with Loretta Devine about playing this evil woman and how much fun she had doing so!