in Italy in 1982. Frank Moreno, the president of Almi Pictures, promoted the film similarly to how he promoted Almi Pictures release of House by the Cemetery. This included giving the film a trailer with what he described as "a sense of humor" and having "Brother Theodore do the voice over in order to attract a secondary audience. Superstition received a brief release theatrically on the West coast of the United States before being released directly to home video in January 1985. Critical response In a review published by the New York Daily News, Superstition was negatively compared to The Amityville Horror (1979), and it was noted: "Like many contemporary fright films, Superstition substitutes escalating gore for suspense. It's also a victim of the bloated running time required to justify its single feature. Had [it] been cut as effectively as its characters, sliced to say, 70 minutes... it might have attained, despite its weak script, the lofty level of watchable." Lou Cedrone of The Baltimore Sun panned the film, writing: "There isn't much mystery to Superstition... There is much pain, boredom and violence—but mysterious it, is not." Cedrone also criticized the film for its featuring the murder of a thirteen-year-old boy. The Boston Globes Jay Carr deemed it a "how-much-can-you-take? splatflick," adding that director Roberson "invests its low-grade guignol with more urgency than it deserves and I hope he gets a shot at something better." The Hackensack Records Lou Lumenick similarly criticized the film's violent content, describing it as a "schlocky slasher film... incorporating elements of Poltergeist, represented by an orgy of modestly spooky special effects in the final reel." Critic Joe Bob Briggs alternately praised the film for its gore effects, awarding it three out of four stars. AllMovie described the film as a "Flamboyant, giallo-style gore effects are the only highlight of this otherwise pedestrian supernatural horror film" Home media Superstition was released on DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 2006. On April 16, 2019, Scream Factory released the film for the first time on Blu-ray. References External links 1980s slasher films 1982 horror films 1982 films American haunted house films American supernatural horror films American independent films American slasher films Films about witchcraft Films shot in California Films shot in Los Angeles Supernatural slasher films 1980s American films