Witchcraft

Scarecrow-88

Lon Chaney Jr is mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore! Land developers make a big mistake when they bulldoze through the Whitlock cemetery unearthing the final resting place of witch Vanessa(Yvette Rees, never uttering a word..she's photographed to creepy effect and doesn't need dialogue)who rises from her casket ready to murder Laniers. A long feud between the Anglo-Saxon, Satanist witch coven Whitlocks, still practicing the old ways within the old crypt(located near what used to be their home now owned by the Christian Laniers)and the Laniers has been continuing for quite a long time. The Laniers came into the area condemning the Whitlocks and their devil-worshiping ways claiming their land and homes. Vanessa was condemned of consorting with Lucifer and buried alive as punishment(her tombstone has the "witch's circle" etched into the stone claiming a pact with Satan). Morgan Whitlock(Lon Chaney Jr, not in it but maybe fifteen minutes, if that long)lets his angered voice be heard against the Laniers and partner Myles Forrester(Barry Linehan)for developing through the Whitlock cemetery. The Whitlocks use "devil dolls" as weapons of destruction against the Laniers harming them through a type of hypnotic suggestion that causes Myles to drown and Aunt Heleb Lanier(Viola Keats)to drive off a cliff. Vanessa herself "pushes" Grandma Lanier(Marie Ney)down the stairs without ever touching her physically. Todd(Lainer)and Amy(Whitlock)are the Romeo and Juliet of the film, stuck in a difficult position as their families bicker and quarrel. Amy(Diane Clare)is barked at by Uncle Morgan not to consort with Todd(David Weston)or the Laniers. Former Tennis pro, Tracy(Jill Dixon)will be in great peril as husband developer Bill(Jack Hedley)and Todd(both almost killed the way Helen was)leave for meetings with business associates. The witches, led by Morgan, plan to use Tracy as a sacrifice when she follows Amy into the secret worship chamber of the crypt..there are four witches' sabbats every year and the coming Friday of the film would be "roodmass" where they give a sacrifice to their Lord Satan.

This little sinister quickie, directed with style and atmosphere by Don Sharp, is quite fun. It just flies by, though, and is over before you know it. Interesting seeing Chaney Jr in one of those black robes chasing after Laniers who have disturbed their coven's perfectly set-up ceremony to Satan. As in many a Hammer film(for which Sharp has directed a few), certain buildings go up in flames. Good cast, too. My favorite scenes contain the witch Vanessa as she pops up out of nowhere ready to harm the Laniers, such as the bedroom scene where she appears at Helen's bedside(..and in the back seat of her car right before it drives off the cliff).

score 8/10

Scarecrow-88 17 October 2007

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1748319/