The Witching of Ben Wagner

TV Movie
1987
G
1h 36m

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

227

YOUR RATING

Justin Gocke and Bettina Rae in The Witching of Ben Wagner (1987)

Drama Romance

Ben Wagner and his family are moving to a new town. On the shores of Lake Ontario, he meets Regina. Strange things start to happen whenever she is around. He wonders if the rumors are true: ... Read allBen Wagner and his family are moving to a new town. On the shores of Lake Ontario, he meets Regina. Strange things start to happen whenever she is around. He wonders if the rumors are true: could she come from a family of witches?Ben Wagner and his family are moving to a new town. On the shores of Lake Ontario, he meets Regina. Strange things start to happen whenever she is around. He wonders if the rumors are true: could she come from a family of witches?

Director
- Paul Annett
Writers
- Mary Jane Auch
- Malcolm Marmorstein
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

227

YOUR RATING

Director
- Paul Annett
Writers
- Mary Jane Auch
- Malcolm Marmorstein
Stars

2User reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 nominations

Trivia
Justin Gocke was born 1/31/1978, so if "The Witching of Ben Wagner" were released in 1987 as appears to be commonly believed, then Justin would have been 8 or 9 years old during the film shoot, portraying a 14-year-old 9th grade student excelling in basketball. Since the film was copyrighted 1990-02-15 with Motion Picture copyright # PA0000512633 based on a videocassette submitted 1990-02-01 by claimant Witching Inc., the film would have been released without a copyright in 1987. A Disney Channel promotional video on U-Tube announces "The Witching of Ben Wagner" will premiere as a ten episode series on Saturday, July 7, which coincidentally occurs in 1990. If the film were shot in late 1989, then Justin would have been 11 years old portraying a 14-year-old 9th grade basketball player, which would be more believable (though still uncommon in the movie industry). Videos of the various 1990 episodes can also be found on U-Tube that begin with titles "The Witching of Ben Wagner (1987) Part 1" or Part 2 or so forth, begging why the year 1987 was inserted.

Alternate versions
An edited version of 'The Witching of Ben Wagner' was released by Feature Films for Families on DVD with the title 'Ben Wagner' and with a 1:29:24 (89m 24s) run time containing a 26 second Feature Films for Families logo clip added at the very beginning and a 13 second Feature Films for Families contact screen added after the closing credits, leaving 88m 45s of the original 96m film. This means about 7m 15s was cut from the original film. The DVD was released in 2003: both the DVD jacket and the main menu on the DVD show " ©2003 Rekab Sudskany".

User reviews2

Review

Featured review

5/10

Mild message movie

"The Witching of Ben Wagner" is not "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," if that's the vibe you're seeking. If you're looking for a lesson, though, you've come to the right place. At least it's a worthy lesson. The problem is, "Witching" not only lacks magic, it lacks charm. The sole exception is the little girl playing Regina, who is uncannily pretty. The rest of the cast is pretty mediocre, starting with the little boy playing Ben and ending with Sylvia Sydney (the "name" actor on board), who as Regina's grandmother is creepy--and not in a fun way. The sets meanwhile are glaringly cheap (the elaborate paneling on the front door of the family's ramshackle "Victorian" is obviously painted on). Meanwhile the locations are quite beautiful. Too beautiful. The "witches" seem to be living in a national park. Which of course is exactly what the place is.

Overall, "Witching" isn't terrible. Undemanding kids will probably enjoy it.