Overview

• Chuck Russell co-wrote and directed this New Orleans-set update, expanding the original’s spirit-board mythology with a 17th-century witch backstory.
• Madison Iseman stars as Emily alongside Aaron Dominguez, Melanie Jarnson and Jamie Campbell Bower in a key campy turn as an occult expert.
• Reviewers commend several inventive, macabre set pieces but say the film fluctuates awkwardly between serious drama and tongue-in-cheek horror.
• Critics argue the depiction of Wicca is muddled and call out an uneven mix of practical effects and conspicuous CGI.
• Marketing has emphasized the remake’s red-band gore as it seeks to establish its own identity ahead of tomorrow’s theatrical release.