Warlock Moon (1973)

A young girl mets a boy, they take a trip to the country, and they wind up meeting a creepy old woman who lives in a closed-down resort.

Director:

Bill Herbert

Writer:

Bill Herbert

Stars:

Laurie Walters, Joe Spano, Edna MacAfee

Cast

Cast overview:
Laurie Walters	...	Jenny Macallister / Ghost Bride
Joe Spano	...	John Devers
Edna MacAfee	...	Agnes Abercrombi
Harry Bauer	...	Hunter
Charles Raino	...	Sheriff
Ray K. Goman	...	Deputy Luther (as Ray Goman)
Steve Solinsky	...	Axman
Richard Vielle	...	Axman
Michael Herbert	...	Lecturer
Joan Zerrien	...	First Girl

Storyline

Young lovers John and Jenny decide to go for a drive in the countryside one day when they happen upon the remains of a long-abandoned resort spa. After doing some exploring, they find that an elderly couple is still living in the crumbling building. They tell the youngsters that the resort was shut down long ago because it was the headquarters of a satanic cult that performed cannibalistic rituals on unsuspecting visitors, and then invite the pair to stay for dinner. Will John or Jenny make it back to civilization alive? Will anyone believe their story?

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Plot Keywords:

spa | cult | ritual | old woman | san fernando valley california | 

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Taglines:

The blood cult that left no escape!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 September 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blood Spa

Filming Locations:

Berkeley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sweet Blindness Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min 83 min (DVD) 89 min (original)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Soda Spring Spa was actually the Arroyo Del Valle Sanatorium, a treatment center for tuberculosis in Livermore, California which opened in 1918. With TB cases in decline, the sanatorium was closed in 1960 and sat vacant for more than a decade before the movie was filmed. The ruins were cleared in 1999, and Camp Arroyo was constructed on the site.

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Goofs

John only unhooks the first two buttons of his shirt. Suddenly all of the buttons are unfastened.

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Quotes

Jenny Macallister: What kind of meat is this, Mrs. Abercrombi? Is it beef?
Agnes Abercrombi: No.
Jenny Macallister: Well then, lamb or pork?
Agnes Abercrombi: No.
Jenny Macallister: What is it then?
Agnes Abercrombi: It's an old family recipe. I call it hunter's stew. It'd spoil all the fun if I told you how I made it.

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Crazy Credits

The finale plays out under the end credits and the film concludes after the credits have ended. The filmmakers later stated the credits were devised as such so viewers would be forced to read them.

User Reviews

Modest, but curiously diverting horror item.

A young woman is taken for a long scenic drive by a new male friend. As the day grows shorter, they happen upon a seemingly condemned resort which turns out to be occupied by a strange, but welcoming, beldame. The young couple agrees to stay there overnight, and learn the horrible history of the old spa...as the woman's story has it, the resort was once a relaxation retreat for the world's elite and powerful, but was closed down after several sacrificial ritual murders committed by a group of Devil-worshipers. Well...predictably, there is similar carnage in store for the new guests, little of which registers as entirely interesting or especially horrifying.

WARLOCK MOON opens with a pretty strong scene, but the promise of a movie as good as that is sadly quashed by a marginal story which is paced poorly and never really gets off the ground. Still, it's mighty quirky in a weird low-budget way which may well appease fans of obscure flyball horror flicks.

5/10...perhaps not a classic, but a worthy watch on late-night television.