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Rather humdrum movie fare here about an ancient witch, once laid to rest by being buried alive, but now out and about due to a developer's plan that bulldozes an ancestral cemetery. Vanessa Whitlock, the aforementioned witch, is back out to get the family that drove her to her grave and took the Whitlock manor and money. This movie is nothing really new in terms of plot and story, but, with an almost British cast, is done somewhat competently in terms of direction and acting. The biggest problem is that very little happens to aid any real suspense. Director Don Sharp is effective but the scenes tend to plod on. There are some bright parts with an interesting tomb underneath the house, but the lighting is too dark through much of the picture. Lon Chaney stars as the leading surviving member of the Whitlock clan and is a warlock himself practicing the "old" religion. Unfortunately for the viewer, Chaney is not in the picture very much. He is really the best part of the film and still an acting force at this stage in his career. He had little opportunities in the 60s to flex his acting muscle as his types of films had become passé, and his lifestyle of boozing had taken its toll. You can see that time had not been to kind to him, but he still has enough screen presence to demand the viewer's attention. This is a very difficult film to find in any condition, and it would be nice if it were given some consideration for a DVD-quality remastering if possible. As I said, the film itself is not great in any way, but Chaney is there and that is enough for me.
score 4/10
BaronBl00d 19 December 2005
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1242620/ |
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3-3-2021 04:54:13