A pretty girl swims in a dirty-looking Louisiana swamp. Her fun is spoiled by Luther (John Lodge), a murderous warlock with bushy eyebrows. He attacks her, strings up her naked corpse, slashes her throat with a knife, and collects her blood in an urn.
THE WITCHMAKER places psychic researcher Dr. Hayes (Alvy Moore, of GREEN ACRES fame), a handful of his students, and magazine reporter Vic (Anthony Eisley) in Luther's swampy homeland, just as a new spate of killings terrorizes the area. One of Hayes' charges, Tasha (Thordis Brandt), is soon Luther's target -- he wants her to join his witch's coven.
Hayes and Vic argue a lot. The latter makes some good points; namely, how could Hayes justify risking the lives of his students by entering the swamp? When this happens, Hayes constantly reminds Vic who's in charge. However, one by one the students turn up dead, fodder for Luther's blood ceremony. During a fire-and-brimstone ceremonies, Luther conjures a female witch with the power to manipulate Tasha telepathically, forcing her to commit crimes. Other witches and warlocks are brought into the proceedings, resulting in a few mild PG-rated orgies and bacchanals.
Interesting ideas pop up here and there. For instance, in a unique turn the script explains mysticism and witchcraft in scientific terms. The witch ceremonies are staged with an unusually authentic eye for detail. The death scenes of some major characters are also a big surprise.
Mediating against these elements: A gimmick in which a person who wears a garlic wreath is invisible to witches, and terrible electronic "spooky music." score. Hayes and Vic spend a lot of time with their hands in their pockets, theorizing about what might be going on around them. In the unexpectedly exciting finale, our heroes ruin the witches blood ceremony. THE WITCHMAKER is different and interesting in spots, but the pace is slow.
Producers L. Q. Jones and Alvy Moore followed THE WITCHMAKER with two outstanding and strange efforts, BROTHERHOOD OF SATAN (1971) and A BOY AND HIS DOG (1975). In interviews, Jones has dismissed THE WITCHMAKER somewhat, implying the results were interesting but disappointing. By and large, his script is more intelligent than I expected. Technically, though, THE WITCHMAKER suffers from B-movie acting.
On the lighter side, some scenes are infected by a serious love of caffeine. Everyone drinks a lot of coffee, or responds to danger and death by desiring more cups of coffee. The more Hayes and Vic drink it, the more bizarre the dialog becomes:
HAYES: I think our friend Luther is a berserk.
VIC: A berserk? Since when is berserk a noun?
HAYES: Not for hundreds of years.
In addition, a lot of effort was made to keep THE WITCHMAKER away from an R rating, as in one amusing scene meant to be played topless, in which actress Thordis Brandt is directed to run across deserted terrain, awkwardly covering her breasts with her hands.
Completists will note Luther's orgiastic coven includes Sue Bernard, who played the bikini-clad bimbo in Russ Meyer's FASTER PUSSYCAT, KILL! KILL!, and some may recognize the belly dancer as Diane Webber, a former Playboy bunny and the lead in John Lamb's MERMAID OF TIBURON. And Warrene Ott, here playing the leader of the blood ceremony who is splashed with pig's blood in a shocking moment, was the heroine in THE UNDERTAKER AND HIS PALS, an early gore movie.
THE WITCHMAKER places psychic researcher Dr. Hayes (Alvy Moore, of GREEN ACRES fame), a handful of his students, and magazine reporter Vic (Anthony Eisley) in Luther's swampy homeland, just as a new spate of killings terrorizes the area. One of Hayes' charges, Tasha (Thordis Brandt), is soon Luther's target -- he wants her to join his witch's coven.
Hayes and Vic argue a lot. The latter makes some good points; namely, how could Hayes justify risking the lives of his students by entering the swamp? When this happens, Hayes constantly reminds Vic who's in charge. However, one by one the students turn up dead, fodder for Luther's blood ceremony. During a fire-and-brimstone ceremonies, Luther conjures a female witch with the power to manipulate Tasha telepathically, forcing her to commit crimes. Other witches and warlocks are brought into the proceedings, resulting in a few mild PG-rated orgies and bacchanals.
Interesting ideas pop up here and there. For instance, in a unique turn the script explains mysticism and witchcraft in scientific terms. The witch ceremonies are staged with an unusually authentic eye for detail. The death scenes of some major characters are also a big surprise.
Mediating against these elements: A gimmick in which a person who wears a garlic wreath is invisible to witches, and terrible electronic "spooky music." score. Hayes and Vic spend a lot of time with their hands in their pockets, theorizing about what might be going on around them. In the unexpectedly exciting finale, our heroes ruin the witches blood ceremony. THE WITCHMAKER is different and interesting in spots, but the pace is slow.
Producers L. Q. Jones and Alvy Moore followed THE WITCHMAKER with two outstanding and strange efforts, BROTHERHOOD OF SATAN (1971) and A BOY AND HIS DOG (1975). In interviews, Jones has dismissed THE WITCHMAKER somewhat, implying the results were interesting but disappointing. By and large, his script is more intelligent than I expected. Technically, though, THE WITCHMAKER suffers from B-movie acting.
On the lighter side, some scenes are infected by a serious love of caffeine. Everyone drinks a lot of coffee, or responds to danger and death by desiring more cups of coffee. The more Hayes and Vic drink it, the more bizarre the dialog becomes:
HAYES: I think our friend Luther is a berserk.
VIC: A berserk? Since when is berserk a noun?
HAYES: Not for hundreds of years.
In addition, a lot of effort was made to keep THE WITCHMAKER away from an R rating, as in one amusing scene meant to be played topless, in which actress Thordis Brandt is directed to run across deserted terrain, awkwardly covering her breasts with her hands.
Completists will note Luther's orgiastic coven includes Sue Bernard, who played the bikini-clad bimbo in Russ Meyer's FASTER PUSSYCAT, KILL! KILL!, and some may recognize the belly dancer as Diane Webber, a former Playboy bunny and the lead in John Lamb's MERMAID OF TIBURON. And Warrene Ott, here playing the leader of the blood ceremony who is splashed with pig's blood in a shocking moment, was the heroine in THE UNDERTAKER AND HIS PALS, an early gore movie.