Death Spa

Death Spa (known in Europe as Witch Bitch)[1] is a 1989[2][3] American horror film directed by Michael Fischa and starring William Bumiller, Brenda Bakke, Merritt Butrick, Ken Foree, Karyn Parsons, and Vanessa Bell Calloway. Butrick's role in the film was his last before his death, while Parsons's role marked her feature film debut as an actress.[4]

Death Spa
VHS cover
Directed byMichael Fischa
StarringWilliam Bumiller
Brenda Bakke
Merritt Butrick
Ken Foree
Robert Lipton
Karyn Parsons
Vanessa Bell Calloway
CinematographyArledge Armenaki
Release dates
  • December 1, 1989 (1989-12-01) (Japan)
  • October 15, 1990 (1990-10-15) (United States)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$750,000

Synopsis

After Michael Evans's wife Catherine Avery Evans, a recent suicide, possesses the computer at her late husband's high-tech health club, she begins to use the club's exercise machines, dumbbells, and other equipment to murder members.

Cast

Production

According to director Michael Fischa, "the health craze had blossomed in LA. [Health clubs] came up like mushrooms. So quickly that they went out of business. So we thought, basically, we turn it around and we have a ghost in our health club. That could be a fun scenario".[1]

Home media

The film was first released in Japan in 1989 on video, before being released directly to VHS in the United States in 1990, and was released on a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack in 2014.[5]

In 2014, Death Spa was featured on an episode of Red Letter Media's "Best of the Worst" series along with High Voltage and Space Mutiny.[6]

In 2015, Death Spa was featured on an episode of the popular podcast How Did This Get Made?, featuring Horatio Sanz as the guest.[7] They ridiculed several aspects of the film, such as the 80's workout gear, the paranormal-transgender villains, and whether or not serving sushi in a place of exercise is sanitary.

Actress Karyn Parsons made her screen debut in Death Spa, and was subsequently brought in to audition for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air after an NBC executive saw the movie on late-nite cable.[8]

References
  1. Harris, Blake (30 October 2015). "How Did This Get Made: Death Spa (An Oral History)". /Film. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  2. Collis, Clark (30 October 2015). "Death Spa is the best-worst Halloween movie of all time". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  3. Rife, Katie (10 April 2015). "Gore Verbinski is making a movie about a killer spa". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  4. Hale, Ann (3 June 2014). "Film Review: Death Spa". Pop-Break. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  5. "Death Spa Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  6. Best of the Worst: High Voltage, Death Spa, and Space Mutiny, retrieved 2020-01-28
  7. "HTGM: Death Spa". Earwolf.
  8. "How'd Karyn Parsons Get Her Gig On 'Fresh Prince'?". NPR.


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