Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

mark.waltz Don't go into this Italian film expecting anything resembling a Hammer horror movie. It is deliberately slow, erotic, moody and gripping. Once you get past the pacing, you will find this an interesting piece of foreign cinema that is more a subtle erotic thriller than a masterpiece of horror. The luscious looking Rosanna Schiaffino is the subject of lust by Richard Johnson, hired to work at the mysterious castle by her mother, the aging beauty Sarah Ferrati in archiving the erotic works of her late husband. It appears that Ferrati has a secret, and as Johnson becomes more involved in their world, he is consumed by his passions that are other worldly in their obsession for Schiaffino. Along the way, there's a battle to the death with Gian Maria Volontè, Schiaffino's obsessive paramour, and claims from an aging female art collector about Ferrati that creates more mystery. I don't watch many foreign films, but the dubbed copy of this I was able to locate made it easy for me to get into, and I found it compelling once certain aspects of the characters were revealed. As it reaches its spell binding conclusion, I was all the more intrigued, especially with the final few minutes where everything from before that was slow and confusing literally had my mind bursting metaphorically into flames. Horror doesn't always need to be scary or spooky or gross. This works on its own merits and is as intriguing as a stranger's wink, although after seeing this, a stranger's wink might make me think twice before responding to it.

Bezenby This is a strange one. Richard Johnson (whom you might know from Martin Clunes' Doc Martin) is a lover of many women in Rome (a fanny rat, as they say). The thing is, he's getting the feeling that there's this creepy old woman following him around the place. After trying to track her down several times he responds to an ultra specific advert in a magazine looking for a librarian who exactly fits his description - you guessed it -the library is in a creepy old mansion in the middle of Rome and the old lady is seemingly the only inhabitant.The old lady wants him to transcribe all her dead husband's writing and sort the library out and even live in the house. Richard thinks she's full of crap and is halfway out the door when the old lady's daughter Aura makes an appearance, which coincides with Richard reconsidering the job while making eyes at Aura (and she seems up for it!).Aura's up for it only if Richard takes the job, moves in, doesn't mind all the dead cats lying about, ignores the dead husband in the casket and gets rid of the previous transcriber who appears to have gone mad. That sounds like a good idea to Richard, who seems to be thinking with his 'lower brain' as it were.But this is also where things start getting really weird, because Aura also seems to be stringing along the other transcriber, playing mind games with Richard, and Richard's also having to put up with the old lady seemingly spying on him all the time.Is this film sufficiently coffee table? It seems to want to be a horror and an art-house film and some sort of serious battle of the sexes type film, but the only character you can really care about is the other transcriber, Fabrizio, played by Volonte as a very broken man. Richard is too much of a jerk to like, and even gives Aura a good punching at one point. There's rather a lot of blah in this film, but Damiano does through in a lot of strange shots and images too which keeps things from bogging down to much in dialogue. Much stuff involving shadows, darkness, and a very strange interaction between Aura and the old lady too.Don't get me wrong though, it's an okay film, but lacking in the more cerebral aspects, like boobs and gore. This is a long long way from Richard Johnson's late eighties Italian film Ratman, that's for sure!

Scarecrow-88 I had just recently revisited Wise's The Haunting, starring Richard Johnson in a role as dedicated, wonderfully humane "ghost hunter", so I realized just what kind of talent the man really has seeing him in a completely different role as a successful ladies' man, always moving from one sexual relationship to another, being pursued by a batty old former beauty, Consuelo(Sarah Ferrati)living within a ramshackle mansion which seems modeled after her..both setting and owner have lost their luster, beauty now deteriorating. Johnson is Sergio, a "historian"(..he has a profession, but it plays second fiddle to his ongoing duties chasing tail)sought by Consuelo for more than his skills at translation and setting her husband's old library, falling to waste and crawling rats, in order. Sergio is the kind of male used to getting what he wants until growing tired of whoever he's dating. But, Sergio, who doesn't seem that interested in the job, and less so with Consuelo who is hideous and ugly to him, finds a reason to remain when he meets Aura(Rosanna Schiaffino; a stunning Italian beauty of the 60's, with perfect curves and soft skin)who seduces him by merely walking and moving around a room..she has that effect on people, and would me as well. Sergio would be taking the position of Fabrizio(Gian Maria Volontè), a slightly off-kilter man who seems a little distraught, absolutely obsessed with Aura, almost to the point of quiet madness. Very protective of her, Fabrizio wishes for Sergio to leave, but seems awfully distracted with her designs to perhaps release him for the new man who presents a threat to their relationship. Sergio, quite a caveman desiring to snatch Aura away and have her for himself, will soon come to blows with Fabrizio, with tragic results. With a cover-up ensuing thanks to Aura and Consuelo's threatening not to absolve him for an accidental murder, Sergio will find himself at the mercy of them..he desires Aura to the point that he'd do anything to embrace her, a blissful passionate union results, but Consuelo doesn't wish for their happiness to last. Sergio finds that Aura is controlled by Consuelo, a form of witchcraft she uses to enslave men and he is caught in her web. Will Sergio ever get to have Aura when that horrifying wretch controls her comings and goings? Or, will he remain in an emotionally tortured state awaiting Aura's return, at the mercy of Consuelo? I watched a rather bad quality print, and believe the film is definitely worthy of a proper transfer. To see this in a pristine form, with quality sound and properly enhanced visual quality, "The Witch" might capture a wider audience. Director Damiano Damiani(Amityville-The Possession)crafts quite a tale of obsession and desire with quite a cast at his disposal. Johnson delivers in spades regarding a direct change during this film going from confident, manipulative male, quite able to conquer the beautiful supply of female populating the city, to a shriveling worm, weak-in-the-knees and pleading for his Aura..completely controlled and under his paramour's spell. Ferrati looks like a witch, and has all the right features at creating an older jealous woman yearning to have the looks that would attract the men that were once cowering at her feet, making life miserable for those who now wish for Aura, a goddess manifested from her dark power to bring those like Sergio to a place of disquiet and agony. Interesting idea that Schiaffino's beauty is used as a weapon against men for they are overwhelmed by her outer qualities than the person herself which might just be the moral of the story..being eclipsed by a Helen of Troy and willing to go to any lengths to inherit her, we find ourselves heading for a downfall. The film like Schiaffino's character is quite a tease, not giving us what we truly desire. That in itself also works within the story, men want Aura, but never truly *have* her. Volontè has a much smaller role, but he is incredibly vital to the story because he represents what Sergio will soon become once he has taken Aura to bed. He's our example of what Aura's power will slowly do to any man who finds themselves in her trap, swept away by lust. I think this is where Damiani's true strength lies, establishing Schiaffino as a ravishing creature, only available to the men in her circle when Consuelo decides so. Schiaffino is often shown disrobing(..Damiani never shows her nude flesh to my chagrin)with the director just giving us a taste of her smooth skin, the camera often moving away as her clothes come off. We are carried away like Sergio because Schiaffino has that kind of on screen allure that draws you to her. Damiani wisely often closes his camera in on Aura as she works her magical grip over her victims. Schiaffino has that kind of face that enchants and a body to match. The film is what I'd definitely call a sleeper, probably will often be discovered either by chance or word-of-mouth. The director takes his time so this film might not work for everyone, but the use of darkness(..for which Aura often appears in and out of)within the dying setting and the psychological elements within the story might just compel those willing to hang in there. My favorite scene would have to be when Aura makes Sergio unbutton/undress her with his teeth, no touching with the hands. This is a good example of achieving an erotic response without divulging actual sexual occurrences.

Tom Fowler Italy put out some interesting horror films in the 1960s and, as Italian horror is the best in the genre as far as mood and psychological drama is concerned, The Witch is worth viewing if for no other reason.Which is not to say it is a masterpiece because it is not. The pacing is a bit slow even by the standards of the time and the English dubbing is in places atrocious. The main character Sergio, played by Richard Johnson, (the only American in the cast), is male chauvinistic to the extreme, but to be fair we must remember that not too many years ago this was thought to be a desirable quality in any self-respecting male. But even with these shortcomings I found this to be a very interesting and disturbing film, as good horror should be. The Witch also benefits from being shot in black and white, something I wish more of today's directors would realize about these types of stories and take advantage of when filming said stories which depend upon dark mood. Sergio has noticed an old woman (Consuela, played by Sarah Ferrati) who seems to be around him and near all the time and is quite surprised to learn that it was she who placed an ad in the local newspaper for somebody to chronicle her deceased husband's papers, which are quite erotic in nature. Sergio has doubts about this but accepts the job when he meets Consuela's' beautiful daughter Aura, ably portrayed by Rosanna Schiaffino, a dark-haired beauty who reminds somewhat of the great Italian horror actress Barbara Steele. The remainder of the story is the three-sided psychological duel between Aura, Consuela and Sergio. Sergio, very much a man of the world, surrenders his soul and self respect when he murders Aura's current lover in order to win the right to stay in the old woman's house to be near Aura. Only, the old woman has other plans, for she is a witch and can force Aura to come and go at will. For all practical purposes Consuela and Aura are one and the same person, and Consuela has been enamored of the handsome Sergio for a long time. I won't give the ending away, will say only that Sergio at long last re-asserts himself, hopefully to rebuild the pieces of his broken life. We are led to believe at film's end this is quite possible, probable even.Some reviewers have stated this is a film about woman hating. I do not agree as the degradation and destruction of Sergio psychologically are the main elements of the story. I would say it is a film about the hatred of men, not women.You probably won't find this one anywhere although I have been pleased to see a number of obscure films hit the market this year on DVD at very reasonable prices. My VHS copy came from Sinister Cinema. If you do find it, happy viewing. For students of obscure horror films, it is a can't miss.