WITCHBOARD directed by Chuck Russell

A robbery at the New Orleans Museum of Natural History goes awry, and the object of the theft—a circular “pendulum board” that predates the Ouija by centuries—is discovered by Emily (Madison Iseman, ANNABELLE COMES HOME). She and her fiancé Christian (Aaron Dominguez, ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING) are getting ready to open a restaurant, and at first Emily thinks the board is simply a mysterious and possibly valuable antique. Then it helps her find a missing engagement ring, and Emily becomes fascinated by the board’s spiritual powers. As she falls under the board’s sway, Christian calls on occult expert Alexander Baptiste (Jamie Campbell Bower, STRANGER THINGS)—who has his own connection to the board’s history, and his own dark secrets.

A remake that finds its own direction away from Kevin S. Tenney’s cult-favourite original, 2024’s WITCHBOARD distinguishes itself from the very start by establishing a new mythology and a fresh look for the titular totem. Director/co-writer Chuck Russell (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS, THE MASK, ERASER), who helmed the bravura reboot of THE BLOB in 1988, gives his take on the occult icon its own atmosphere via the New Orleans setting (largely filmed in Montreal) and brings a sumptuous baroque sensibility to the visuals. Russell and Greg McKay’s script leans deep into the history of the pendulum board, employing 17th-century flashbacks to flesh out its origins while setting up a major story twist in the film’s second half.