The Witchmaker (1969 film)
The Witchmaker (1969), AKA The Legend of Witch Hollow, The Witchmaster, Witchkill, The Naked Witch
Summary
"They came to investigate witchcraft... and found TERROR!" A psychic researcher and his assistants conducting an experiment in a remote cabin-in-the-woods investigate a series of murders of beautiful young women linked to a misfit coven of witches lurking in the swamps of Louisiana.
Details
- Release Date: 1969 (1975 re-release with extra R-rated footage)
- Country/Language: USA, English
- Genres/Technical: Horror (Southern Gothic), Mystery, Suspense
- Setting: 1960s Louisiana
- Runtime: 1 hr 39 min
- Starring: Anthony Eisley, Thordis Brandt, Alvy Moore
- Director: William O. Brown
- Writer: William O. Brown
- Producer/Production Co: LQ/JAF, Las Cruces-Arrow, William O. Brown, L.Q. Jones, Alvy Moore
- View Trailer: (link)
- IMDB Page: (link)
Ratings
MPAA Ratings
- Rated: M/R (equivalent to a PG-PG13/R today)
The 1969 original struggled to be edgy, but managed to (barely) avoid more than some mild violence, brief nudity barely concealed by strategically-placed branches or hands, and mild profanity and relatively tame adult content. The film was re-released in 1975 with some additional R-rated footage that might have still just barely pushed the film into the tamer end of an R rating.
Tentacle Ratings
A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:
- S____ (One Tentacle: Debateably Lovecraftian; has almost no direct connection to Lovecraft's work)
Could be compared VERY loosely with "The Dreams in the Witch House (fiction)" with it's plot of a psychic researcher conducting an experiment (with a handful of other college students and professors) in a witch's cabin in the woods, getting hypnotized into sleep-walking, and joining a satanic cult in which she is induced to sign a sinister contract in her own blood. However, nearly all of Lovecraft's more outre elements have been scrubbed away, and the similarity is hazy at best.
Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.
Reviews
Review Links:
- Review by Scott Ashlin at 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting (2.5/5 Stars) (link)
- Review by Dan Budnik at Bleeding Skull (link)
- Review by Jason M. at CiNEZiLLA (link)
- Review by Dave Sindelar at Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings (link)
- Brett G. at Oh The Horror (link) - "Witchmaker manages to be an unexpectedly interesting take on the witch film... An interesting film that straddles the line between classic horror and contemporary style and shocks, Witchmaker is a cool flick that makes you wish Brown had continued to work in the genre. It’s a film that seemingly works in spite of itself sometimes; our villains (especially Lodge) are sometimes stage-bound and hammy, while our heroes are often left to figure out stuff we already know; without the combined powers of Techniscope and Technicolor, it would have been quite drab."
- Dave Sindelar at Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings (link) - "At its worst, it is muddled and tedious, and whenever it tries to play up the exploitation elements it just gets silly. At its best, however, it is moody, suspenseful and surprisingly soulful; in particular, some of the speeches given to Alvy Moore's character are rather touching..."
Synopsis (SPOILERS)
Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)
A psychic researcher and his assistants, conducting an experiment in a remote cabin-in-the-woods to test the professor's hypothesis that witches were simply misunderstood psychics, has their research derailed to investigate a series of murders of beautiful young women, murders committed by a bizarre twelve-member coven of misfit Louisiana witches and warlocks seeking their thirteenth member - and choosing to convert the team's psychic for the purpose! In an unearned twist ending, the cultists succeed in spite of being tricked by the researchers, but not before the rest of the coven is exterminated by the party's deadly trick.
Notes
Comments, Trivia, Dedication
- Re-released in 1975 under the title "Naked Witch" and rated "R". Contains footage that was not in the original "M" rated release.
- Disconcertingly and amusingly co-stars Alvy Moore, better known as the bumbling county extension agent "Hank Kimball" from the contemporary surreal rustic comedy Green Acres, playing the professor of witchcraft and the occult with many of of the same mannerisms and much the same delivery as the more comedic character, punctuated by some strikingly serious and touching lines.
Associated Mythos Elements
- setting: Southern Gothic
- deity: the devil
- race: Witches
- the coven:
- Luther the Berserker
- Jessie the swamp-witch
- Warlock of San Blas (hooded warlock)
- Fong Quai
- Goody Hale (hooded witch)
- The Hag of Devon
- Felicity Johnson (cat-person)
- Le Singe
- El A Haish Ma
- Amos Hopkins
- Nautch of Tangier
- Marta of Amsterdam
Keeper Notes
- A Miskatonic University expedition (a professor, his assistant, a psychic, a couple other students, and a journalist) journeys to an isolated cabin in the Louisiana swamps to test psychic powers away from the interference of city electricity and crowds gets more than it bargained for when the psychic experiments attract the attention of a bizarre coven of backwoods witches.
