Well, what to say about this movie.They had this hot Chinese warrior babe on the cover, so I thought she was going to be a major character, but she doesn't show up until about a third of the way through, there are stretches when they forget her character is in the story like they shoe-horned her in to make the Chinese investors happy or something, and apparently they dubbed her voice. Then she dies in a cheap CGI sequence.Saddest thing. Sarah Douglas as the Red Queen. I remember when Sarah used to be hot, like in Superman II. Now she looks old and horrid.So this village in the middle ages is attacked by witches and really bad quality CGI. And after mind numbingly pointless action scenes, we finally get to the supposed climax of the movie, if you still cared, and at that point, I kind of didn't.

I have made no secret of disliking Syfy's output in general, but despite its awful title Witchville is actually one of the better ones in my opinion. Granted the title is really quite naff, the story is rather standard and didn't particularly surprise me and while I admired its ambition the dialogue is often quite weak and stilted. However, I liked Witchville. The production values are surprisingly not too bad for a low-budget movie, the sets and costumes look as though they were constructed with care, the scenery is beautiful and the effects are more consistent and less crude, the standout being the hellhound attack which did have me biting my nails. The sword-fighting scenes are efficiently done and nicely choreographed, the direction is competent and I too loved Jozefa's stylish entrances. The music is pretty tolerable too, while the acting while far from award-worthy is decent, especially MyAnna Buring. All in all, despite its weaknesses for me it is one of the better Syfy movies. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Sword & sorcery movies are usually set during a fabled, bygone age, in mythical kingdoms populated by dragons, wizards, orcs, goblins, elves and the occasional unicorn. However, from late 2009 onwards a new wave of fantasy/action films has emerged, supposedly set in the 'real world' during medieval times, and depicting witchfinders, knights and Crusaders battling against witches and a demon or two. Examples include SOLOMON KANE, DARK RELIC, BLACK DEATH and SEASON OF THE WITCH.Commissioned by the American Syfy channel, WITCHVILLE (awful title) appears to be an attempt to adapt to this new trend, while retaining most of the trappings of more traditional fantasy fare. Prince Malachi (played by Luke Goss) returns to his homeland after several years away, to discover his father the King is dead and the kingdom is stricken with plague, drought and famine. Learning that a coven of witches are responsible for his nation's plight, Malachi joins forces with a crossbow-welding witch-hunter and a band of warrior-thieves to locate and kill the coven's leader, the Red Queen (Sarah Douglas), unaware that he's actually being stalked by the Queen's lethal enforcer Jozefa (MyAnna Buring).WITCHVILLE's storyline contains no surprises and it is clearly a low budget film, but every penny can be seen on screen, with impressively elaborate costumes and weaponry that seem to be inspired by those in the games ASSASSINS' CREED and WORLD OF WARCRAFT. The movie also boasts effective sword-fighting sequences and more-than-competent direction: Jozefa's entrances throughout the film are especially stylishly handled.A common weakness in Syfy Original movies is the quality of the CGI effects failing to match the ambitions of the script, but thankfully that's not the case here. Special effects are mostly limited to the Red Queen and Jozefa hurling balls of energy at opponents, and the biggest CGI setpiece - an attack by hellhounds - is conducted with real flair.The cast all do what's required of them, without any real noteworthy or stand-out performances, although Buring radiates a particularly strong presence as she prowls through the movie like a red-cloaked Angel of Death.In conclusion, WITCHVILLE is a solid and worthwhile, if unremarkable, addition to the sword & sorcery genre.

"Prince Malachy returns home from the Crusades and finds the kingdom haunted by a dark force after his father's death." The one talent of this director is he/she was able to make a low budget movie look like it had money behind it. It sports some decent choreographed sword fights, and good looking if repetitive special effects.What this movie lacks, is any sort of story or characterization. The characters have hard to pronounce names and do nothing to drive the action along. Several seem to drop out of the movie with no explanation.Myanna Buring is the one person who stands out in this mess. Unfortunately, like Kristanna Loken in T3, she was given almost nothing to work with.SPOILER The fact that she sets the hero free to defeat the Red Queen makes her the one important character in the movie, WHY she does it is a mystery.Yes I watched the movie, King Malachy is the Evil Queens son and Jozefa is his half sister. Jozefa finds this out, and it's enough for her to turn on her own mother and everything she has known in life up till this point? END SPOILER In short, this movie is boring and soulless, and really not worth watching unless you desperately need to waste 90 minutes of your life.Edit: I would like to add "What do you expect from a Syfy original movie?" Is not an excuse for producing such a low quality film.