Witchcraft (1964)

            “After she was condemned they took her out and buried her alive…”  Good evening ghosts and ghouls, and welcome to Wicked Wednesday (a bit late, but better late than never I always say).  I only had time to review one film this evening, but it was pretty wicked! Witchcraft, directed in 1964 by Don Sharp, is a witchy tale of disruption and revenge.  This is a black and white film, and I simply adore black and white for horror – it gives the medium a darker…eerier feel than those in color do.  This film is no exception, with the majority of the beginning of the film shot in a graveyard with curling fog and creepy tunes.  The premise of the film is that an English town is ‘clearing’ a local graveyard by bulldozer, and they disturb the grave of an old witch (Vanessa Whitlock, portrayed by Yvette Rees), who then wrecks havoc on the town.

            The witch begins by utilizing a voodoo doll (called a ‘devil doll’ in this flick) to drown Mr. Lanier.  Another doll is found by the townspeople and there’s much discussion about whether or not it is witchcraft and if such a thing even exists.  She then appears in Helen Lanier’s bedroom at night, pulling at her covers.  It appears she attempted to kill Helen as well, only Helen woke up and screamed before anything else happened.  Another voodoo poppet appears to be attached to the back of her car as well, which causes her to think she’s driving normally as she drives herself right off of a cliff.  I rather enjoyed this particular use of voodoo dolls; it was original conceptually and was filmed well.  When Bill Lanier almost drives off the same cliff, he finally begins to realize that something supernatural might be going on (he was on the side of skeptic to begin with).  Finally, viewers find that this isn’t just the one witch but an entire coven of witches that are working their magic underneath the Lanier house.   

            Now I cannot say this film has the best cinematography I’ve ever seen for black and white films, but it isn’t by far the worst.  Some of the lighting is done well and some of it isn’t.  I will say that it’s definitely not a Hitchcock-level film.  The soundtrack is also not extremely great, though I do enjoy it in some parts.  And when they choose to forego the music in favor of clocks ticking and church bells chiming, those sounds aide in the ambiance and overall tone of the film – making up for any cheese that might be going on in the soundtrack.  Vanessa Whitlock never actually makes a sound throughout the entire film, she just walks creepily toward people, and makes hand gestures.  This is reminiscent of silent film, where most of the acting was done with the eyes (facial expressions) and the body.  It’s done well in this movie for the most part, though some of is it boarder-line cheesetastic.

It is pretty impressive to see blonde Amy challenge the witch and burn her alive (as apparently she should have been 300 years prior, instead of buried alive).  The house burns to the ground, of corpse, and Amy fails to make it out alive.  There was actually a decent Body Count in this film with five total deaths (I didn’t expect so many from a 1960s film).  Number of killers? Two.  Boob Count? Zero. Cheap Thrills? None. Actual Chills? None.  Raven’s Scream Meter Says: 2.5 out of 5 Screams.  Was decently made for an older film, but needed a little pizzazz when it comes to the acting.  Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the review, and please feel free to discuss below!  Xx ~ Raven