The Calling Witch
The brief
Wilson's supernatural thriller feels like a Stephen King adaptation that forgot to bring the scares, settling instead for predictable jump moments and overly familiar haunted house beats. Golombek and Eddey have decent sibling chemistry, but they're stuck wandering through creaky corridors while waiting for a witch that's more annoying than terrifying. The literary angle could've been clever, but it gets buried under generic horror tropes that feel lifted from better films. Skip this unless you're desperate for background noise or really love the cast - anyone looking for actual chills should rewatch The Babadook instead.
The verdict
If you're a casual horror fan who enjoys familiar haunted house atmospherics and strong sibling dynamics, this delivers decent background entertainment with solid performances from Golombek and Eddey. If you're seeking genuine scares or fresh takes on supernatural horror, you'll find yourself bored by predictable jump scares and tired tropes that better films have done far more effectively.
Watch with
- 👥 Horror fans seeking something familiar
- ⚠️ Those wanting genuinely scary films
Heads up
- Jump scares throughout (frequent)
- Supernatural terror and haunting (moderate)
- Characters in peril (moderate)
Credits
- Director
- Mark Wilson
- Cast
- Danika Golombek, Grayson Eddey, Nathalie Söderqvist, Marcus DeAnda, Zachary Cowan, Greg Lutz, Hilary Barraford
Official synopsis
A brother and sister are terrorized by what seems to be their late-author mother's most sinister literary creation
The Double
Make a night of it
Pair this with Over Your Dead Body (2026)
Both explore literary horror becoming terrifyingly real through family trauma.
Total runtime: 1h 38m + 1h 45m = 3h 23m
