HOME |  CULT MOVIES | COMPETITIONS | ADVERTISE |  CONTACT US |  ABOUT US
 
 
 
Newest Reviews
American Fiction
Poor Things
Thunderclap
Zeiram
Legend of the Bat
Party Line
Night Fright
Pacha, Le
Kimi
Assemble Insert
Venus Tear Diamond, The
Promare
Beauty's Evil Roses, The
Free Guy
Huck and Tom's Mississippi Adventure
Rejuvenator, The
Who Fears the Devil?
Guignolo, Le
Batman, The
Land of Many Perfumes
Cat vs. Rat
Tom & Jerry: The Movie
Naked Violence
Joyeuses Pacques
Strangeness, The
How I Became a Superhero
Golden Nun
Incident at Phantom Hill
Winterhawk
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Maigret Sets a Trap
B.N.A.
Hell's Wind Staff, The
Topo Gigio and the Missile War
Battant, Le
Penguin Highway
Cazadore de Demonios
Snatchers
Imperial Swordsman
Foxtrap
   
 
Newest Articles
3 From Arrow Player: Sweet Sugar, Girls Nite Out and Manhattan Baby
Little Cat Feat: Stephen King's Cat's Eye on 4K UHD
La Violence: Dobermann at 25
Serious Comedy: The Wrong Arm of the Law on Blu-ray
DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery and More on Blu-ray
Monster Fun: Three Monster Tales of Sci-Fi Terror on Blu-ray
State of the 70s: Play for Today Volume 3 on Blu-ray
The Movie Damned: Cursed Films II on Shudder
The Dead of Night: In Cold Blood on Blu-ray
Suave and Sophisticated: The Persuaders! Take 50 on Blu-ray
Your Rules are Really Beginning to Annoy Me: Escape from L.A. on 4K UHD
A Woman's Viewfinder: The Camera is Ours on DVD
Chaplin's Silent Pursuit: Modern Times on Blu-ray
The Ecstasy of Cosmic Boredom: Dark Star on Arrow
A Frosty Reception: South and The Great White Silence on Blu-ray
You'll Never Guess Which is Sammo: Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon on Blu-ray
Two Christopher Miles Shorts: The Six-Sided Triangle/Rhythm 'n' Greens on Blu-ray
Not So Permissive: The Lovers! on Blu-ray
Uncomfortable Truths: Three Shorts by Andrea Arnold on MUBI
The Call of Nostalgia: Ghostbusters Afterlife on Blu-ray
Moon Night - Space 1999: Super Space Theater on Blu-ray
Super Sammo: Warriors Two and The Prodigal Son on Blu-ray
Sex vs Violence: In the Realm of the Senses on Blu-ray
What's So Funny About Brit Horror? Vampira and Bloodbath at the House of Death on Arrow
Keeping the Beatles Alive: Get Back
   
 
  Sorcerers, The I Get Enough Of That At Home
Year: 1967
Director: Michael Reeves
Stars: Boris Karloff, Ian Ogilvy, Catherine Lacey, Elizabeth Ercy, Victor Henry, Susan George, Dani Sheridan, Ivor Dean, Gerald Campion
Genre: Horror, Science FictionBuy from Amazon
Rating:  8 (from 2 votes)
Review: A disgraced medical hypnotist (Boris Karloff) invents a machine that enables himself and his wife (Catherine Lacey) to live the experiences of Michael, a young man (Ian Ogilvy) who the machine has placed under their command. But Michael is driven to more extreme acts for their pleasure...

Director Michael Reeves and Tom Baker wrote this weird, downbeat British shocker from an idea by John Burke. Karloff stars in one of his traditional misguided scientist roles, creating a scientific miracle that is fatally misused (well, it wouldn't be much of a horror movie if it wasn't). But in this story, harsh reality of real life has encroached on Karloff's fantasy world, making this far less cosy than some of his earlier mad scientist horrors.

Not only is youth wasted on the young, The Sorcerers says, but it wouldn't do the old much good either. While Karloff has the best intentions for his machine, his wicked wife (Lacey is very effective indeed) pushes Michael to acts of violence culminating in murder. Oddly, sex doesn't seem to be on the agenda - maybe they couldn't get that past the censor in 1967, or perhaps it wouldn't fit in with the deeply pessimistic tone of the film which sees people at their worst.

It's a cheaply made film, but its low budget works in its favour, giving the events an immediacy and a grittiness that a higher budget gloss would have lost. Karloff's invention consists of a control panel, some flashing lights, a slide projector, a reel-to-reel tape recorder and a pair of elaborate headphones, but it does the trick. Ogilvy convinces as the bored, thrill-seeking young man who gets more than he bargained for.

Many film fans would say that Witchfinder General was Reeves' best film, but I think The Sorcerers was his finest. It's a nihilistic and nasty world that the characters inhabit, making this a few years ahead of its time - if only Reeves had lived to see the dawn of punk in Britain. Also with: a good car chase, and one of the bleakest endings in British horror cinema. Music by Paul Ferris.
Reviewer: Graeme Clark

 

This review has been viewed 10254 time(s).

As a member you could Rate this film

 

Michael Reeves  (1944 - 1969)

Promising British writer-director who first found work in Italy, on Castle of the Living Dead. The She Beast was his next credit, and two minor classics of bleak horror followed: The Sorcerers and Witchfinder General, which many regard as his masterpiece. Tragically he died of an overdose in his mid-twenties, before he could start work on his next film, The Oblong Box.

 
Review Comments (0)


Untitled 1

Login
  Username:
 
  Password:
 
   
 
Forgotten your details? Enter email address in Username box and click Reminder. Your details will be emailed to you.
   

Latest Poll
Which star probably has psychic powers?
Laurence Fishburne
Nicolas Cage
Anya Taylor-Joy
Patrick Stewart
Sissy Spacek
Michelle Yeoh
Aubrey Plaza
Tom Cruise
Beatrice Dalle
Michael Ironside
   
 
   

Recent Visitors
Enoch Sneed
Darren Jones
Mark Le Surf-hall
  Louise Hackett
Andrew Pragasam
Mary Sibley
Graeme Clark
  Desbris M
   

 

Last Updated: