Spirits (1990) (USA)

aka Haunting of Heron House 

⭐️⭐️1/2

Father Anthony Vicci (Erik fuckin’ Estrada) has lost his standing with the church thanks to succumbing to sin and getting his bang on with a woman. He joins a group of psychic investigators as they look into the hauntings at the infamous Heron house before it’s torn down. Robert Quarry heads the expedition as Doctor Dick Wicks (Richard if you’d like to remain civil) with a hand-selected small team. A bitchy psychologist, a lovely psychic (Brinke fuckin’ Stevens) and a historian flesh out the team looking to gain some proof of psychic phenomenon. The place’s disturbing history involves the building’s construction by a black magic practitioner who had a penchant for virgin sacrifice. He disappeared after offering up a politician’s daughter to his dark lord. The house was then the site of multiple family massacres and violent debauchery. Psychic Amy picks up on all of this, impressing Dr. Wicks and the historian but getting nothing but eye rolls from the psychiatrist. Claims of the house possessing the guilty parties have been debated but this debate will be settled for good once the evil within the walls starts to work its insidious magic. Father Vicci is seduced by a succubus in the form of a sexy nun (sultry Michelle Bauer… at least she doesn’t take off her habit) and is then seemingly challenged by whatever evil is haunting the Heron house. Vicci’s crisis of faith and the supernatural bullshit blowing up around him lead him to the Heron house to offer some assistance to the team (a little late in the game) and do battle with the demons calling the Heron house home. Ya see, that woman he broke his vows for all them years back was Mrs. Heron and shortly after she went nuts and slaughtered her family. So yeah, his guilt makes sense, even if it is hitting hard a decade after the fact. There’s plenty of investigating with little splashes of demonic terror and Erick Estrada looking all serious as he struggles with his sins. She may not be the best actress but I could watch Brinke Stevens read my freshman year poetry for hours on end. I’ve always loved the woman. Everything else is a bit lame and feels like it’s holding back from diving deep into its exploitative elements. It’s gets fun but spends a bunch of time circling around the drain when it could have embraced its own level of stupid and gone balls to the wall… even if it is on a budget. Still liked it more than I hated it and the rubber-masked monster that shows up at the climactic exorcism is running right on my frequency of garbage. WHERE THE HELL WAS HIS HALLOWEEN-STORE-ASS THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE RUNTIME?!