Necromancy

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Necromancy

Cheapjack shocker has Los Angeles couple pulling up stakes after the wife suffers a miscarriage; her husband has been offered a lucrative job in the rural town of Lilith, but her freaky premonitions foretell an unhappy experience, especially with fat cat Orson Welles overseeing the community and its devil-worshipping residents (all under 30). Pamela Franklin has the central role, and she's an interesting presence even if she's been directed to stare at the other actors (and into the camera) as if under a spell. Writer-producer-director Bert I. Gordon should have taken his cue from William Castle after Castle bought the rights to "Rosemary's Baby" but allowed outsiders to take the reins. Gordon's plot, despite its familiar occult trappings, does have some interest, but the presentation is inept. *1/2 from ****

I watched this film under the title "Necromancy" it aka "The Witching". I do not know the differences between the two titles. I do know that watching this one as "Necromancy" was a pretty good, not great but not awful. Little things will happen from the start of the film but really won't get going until about 25 minutes into it - as far as lots of actual witchcraft going on or is Lori Brandon going mad, dreaming up the witchcraft? I won't ruin the film for first time viewers, but I can tell you it's a bizarre film that will have you wondering if it's real or all in Lori's head. It's a surreal film that I found worth the hour watch - not great but a fun watch! 5/10

Writer/producer/director Bert I. Gordon, known best for his various '50's giant-monster-on-the-loose sci-fi epics, does his rendition of ROSEMARY'S BABY. The action takes place in a small, sinister village that specializes in the manufacturing of occult toys. Orson Welles is the madman at the center of the terror who is plotting to give his dead son life again. Pamela Franklin is the pert and pretty young woman gradually being lured into the dark and mysterious world of the supernatural. Despite prominent billing, Welles makes a fairly brief appearance. The cast handles the tiresome material well, and this is probably the closest Gordon has come to making a good film. But, keep in mind, it's not really a good film, but an absurdly entertaining diversion for those who think they can take it. A slightly longer version of the movie called THE WITCHING contains several minutes worth of frontal nudity, and contains an early appearance by scream queen Brinke Stevens.

When you're making a thriller about witchcraft, I believe you should do everything you can to help the audience suspend its disbelief in order for the movie to work. Some pictures ("Rosemary's Baby", for example) have accomplished this; others (like "Necromancy") haven't and the potentially scary material comes across as corny and goofy. This film does have some atmospheric moments, but about half the dialogue is hard to make out (sometimes it's poorly recorded, at other times just incomprehensible) and Orson Welles, who gets top billing, has a role that is so BENEATH him that you have to assume he was desperate for the work. Or maybe he was simply having fun.....(*1/2)

A curious low budget horror film, it has two very talented performers at the head of the cast: Pamela Franklin, of 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' and Orson Welles, of many great films. The script does not give either of them the opportunity to maximise their acting potential though, and in fact, the whole story is fairly predictable, quite ordinary or worse. Still, there are a number of atmospheric segments in the film, with fitting music and camera-work setting the mood. It is excessively dark, the odd sound effects are jarring and the cheap special effects do it no good. However, there are some effective moments in the mix. It is not a very good film overall, but it does have some interesting elements. And, for what it is worth, Franklin's acting at times is quite natural.