Witchcraft(1964) Movie Review

Trailer here.

Witchcraft is a 1964 horror movie directed by Don Sharp and starring Lon Chaney Jr.,Jack Headley, Jill Dixon and Viola Keats.

The movie begins with graves being destroyed by a bulldozer. A new development is being built on the site of an old graveyard. A man called Morgan Whitlock(Chaney Jr.) is unhappy about this. He vows to stop it. Bill Lanier(Headley) is in charge of the development with his brother Todd(David Weston).Whitlock's niece is called Amy(Diane Clare) and she is in love with Todd. The families have been rivals for generations. Morgan doesn't approve of Amy seeing Todd. Bill has a partner called Myles Forrester(Barry Linehan) who gave the order to destroy the graves. Bill is angry about it. Bill wants them moved back. He looks around and hears a noise. He sees a particular gravestone and there is a symbol on it. He takes it home and shows it to his wife, Tracy(Dixon). There is a matching symbol on the fireplace in his house.

Bill talks to his grandmother, Malvina(Marie Ney) who informs him that it was on Vanessa Whitlock's grave. She was a witch and she was buried alive. The symbol is a witch's circle. Vanessa has come back. Todd tells Tracy that the Whitlocks owned everything in the area years ago. Bill's ancestors had Vanessa killed and that is why the Whitlocks hare the Laniers. Vanessa has a doll of Myles and she causes him to drown in the bath. Inspector Baldwin (Victor Brooks) arrives to speak with Bill. The police thinks that Forrester was murdered. They suspect Morgan. He has the doll of Forrester. Bill and Todd's aunt Helen(Keats) knows that it is a witches doll. Todd visits Amy and he asks her to stay with them. She can't because of Morgan but decides to come. Helen isn't happy about it. She thinks that the Whitlocks are a coven.

That night, Vanessa visits Helen and Tracy and Bill hear a scream. Helen decides to drive to London . A doll of her is in the car. Bill tells Malvina about Helen and she senses that Helen is iin danger. She asks Bill to follow her. Vanessa caused Helen to crash her car and die.  The police suspect no foul play in her death. Amy has a fever. Todd and Bill have to go to London. Bill is worried about leaving Tracy alone in the house. Amy doesn't want to go home but she says that she has to. They find a frog on the fireplace. Bill becomes hypnotised and almost drives the car off of a cliff. Todd stops him in time. Bill can't explain it. Tracy sees Amy in the crypt and goes to see what she is doing. There is a coven in there and they are sacrificing a child. Amy seems to be a part of it. Tracey disturbs them.

Malvina gets out of her wheelchair and she is going downstairs but Vanessa causes her to fall down the stairs. Tracy is captured by the coven. Malvina is not dead. Todd and Bill arrive back and Todd looks for Amy. She pretends that nothing has happened. Morgan throws Todd out of the house. He says that Vanessa is coming back. Bill searches for his wife. He speaks to Malvina and she tells him that Tracy was in the crypt. Todd and Bill search. They find her and free her. She has been drugged. They see the coven and run. The coven chases them. Bill locks them into the crypt. Vanessa turns up. Tracey fills them in on what happened with Amy. Morgan accuses Amy of betrayal. He and Vanessa are going to kill Todd. Amy stops them. She sets Vanessa on fire but ends up burning herself. Todd tries to save her, but cannot. The coven burns also. The Laniers survive. 

This is an enjoyable movie with a good cast and a fun storyline. I liked it and I recommend it . I will give it a 5/10.

Knife of Ice(1972) Movie Review

Trailer here.

Knife of Ice is a 1972 giallo movie directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Carroll Baker, Evelyn Stewart and George Rigaud.

A woman called Martha(Baker) is waiting at the train station for Jenny(Stewart), her cousin. Martha is mute. They drive off but the car breaks down. The driver goes off to get help. The two women are alone. They eventually get home and Mrs. Britton, the housekeeper meets them. Uncle Ralph(Rigaud) meets them also. Martha's parents died in a rail accident fifteen years ago. She hasn't spoken since. Dr. Laurent shows up. He is working with Martha. Jenny hears some glass breaking and she goes to investigate it. A vase is broken and the door is open. A killer is there. A girl called Christina comes to visit. Jenny is missing. Martha finds her dead body under the car. The police are called and they question everyone.

The doctor is under suspicion. The police think that it is a maniac. Another woman was killed in the area. Martha sees a strange man watching her. He drops some jewellery. The police find a necklace which looks like a devil symbol. It belongs to the man.They think that Martha could be next to die. Uncle Ralph is an occult expert and he tells Martha that the necklace is linked to a devil cult. The doctor thinks that something doesn't make sense. He says that the gate was closed so how did the killer get in. The housekeeper spots a devil symbol on a tree then she goes missing. The doctor shows up with blood on his pants. He dismisses it and says it is from a patient. Mrs. Britton shows up dead. Uncle Ralph tells Martha that she needs to leave for her own safety.

 

Martha is with Uncle Ralph when the lights go out. The driver is lurking in the house. The police arrive and check on Martha. Someone tried to attack her. The police search for this strange man. They manage to catch him. He is a Satanist. He is a hippy and he has broken into the doctor's office looking for drugs. They think he might be the killer but he is proved not to be. Martha can't say that it was him who attacked her. She is playing with Christina when she disappears. She ends up being killed. The police show up to investigate the final movements of Christina. Uncle Ralph has a heart attack and dies. We see that he is not really dead, though. Martha is alone in the house. She runs off while someone chases her. She runs into the graveyard. It turns out that Martha is the killer. Uncle Ralph confronts her. Martha killed Jenny, the housekeeper and Christina because of her jealousy and her fear of being caught. She is led away as she regains her voice.

This is a good mystery film. There are a lot of twists and turns which is always the way in these giallo movies. This one was interesting and the ending was good. I don't think that I figured out who the killer was until the end. I recommend this one as a good thriller. I will give it a 5/10.