Magic and murder connect an actress, a private eye, a senator and a witch in 1950s Hollywood.
Acting
Hopper's exhausted noir charm anchors the chaos.
Production
Gloriously artificial 1950s Hollywood backlot aesthetic.
Writing
Schrader's weirdo sequel to a TV movie nobody saw.
Director
Paul Schrader
Dennis Hopper
H. Phillip Lovecraft
Penelope Ann Miller
Kim Hudson
Eric Bogosian
Sen. Larson Crockett
Sheryl Lee Ralph
Hypolita Kropotkin
Julian Sands
Finn Macha
Valerie Mahaffey
Trudy
John Epperson
Vivian Dart (as Lypsinka)
Debi Mazar
Manicurist
Alan Rosenberg
N.J. Gottlieb
Christopher John Fields
Lt. Morris Bradbury
John Durbin
Brackett
Terry Camilleri
Minister
Christopher Darga
First G-Man
Stanley DeSantis
Sidney
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This is Paul Schrader's sequel to a 1991 HBO movie he didn't direct, making it possibly cinema's most inexplicable passion project.
The film literalizes McCarthyism as witch-hunting—then makes the witches real, accidentally creating a 'both sides' allegory that probably wasn't intentional.
US
