Clichéd and underwhelming, but a decent watch in spite of that

The_Void

Witchcraft may not have quite enough about it to ensure it 'classic' status; but it's more than decent effort and certainly a good example of the massively overused 'witch coming back from the grave for revenge' cliché. It has to be said that the film doesn't have a lot of excitement and the story drones rather than leaps from one step to the next; but the film never gets boring either, and experienced horror director Don Sharp (who directed a number of films for Hammer as well as several other genre entries) does a good job of keeping the film interesting enough to ensure that the slow burning plot isn't too big a problem. The plot itself seems to take a bit of influence from Shakespeare's classic Romeo and Juliet and focuses on two families; at war over a century's old feud. The Laniers are accused by the Whitlock's of burying a Whitlock accused of witchcraft alive. This is not good news for Amy Whitlock and Bill Lanier, who have plans to get married. The feud is irritated further by the fact that the Laniers are planning to build on the Whitlock's cemetery...

The film's big name is the excellent Lon Chaney Jr who, while billed as the movie's big star, actually takes up more of a supporting role. However, he still manages to stand out as ever as the sinister patriarch of the Whitlock family. The film is shot in black and white and while it's clear that Witchcraft didn't have much of a budget to go on, the film does look nice and the black and white picture aids in giving Witchcraft a thick, foreboding atmosphere. The film does have a few different things going on at once, which gives it more opportunity to be interesting, though it isn't capitalised on. The Romeo and Juliet style plot is the most annoying example of this as very little is made of it. The film does lack suspense, although it does well with the mystery side of the plot and the way that the film builds up the introduction of the ancient vengeful witch is haunting and unsettling. It is true that Witchcraft is far from great and really could have been much better if more was made of it; but in spite of that, I can't dislike this film too much because it makes for a nice, relaxed viewing and I did have fun watching it.

score 7/10

The_Void 6 January 2008

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1794709/