1970's "Night of the Witches" was issued on a double bill with the Canadian feature "Dr. Frankenstein on Campus," short lived outfit Medford Films offering what must have been a mind numbing experience for those not already high on acid. Actor Keith Larsen ended his career by directing himself in six vehicles, of which this was the third, cowritten with Vincent Fotre, whose only other genre credits were 1958's "Missile to the Moon" and the English dubbed version of Mario Bava's 1972 "Baron Blood," starring Joseph Cotten and Elke Sommer. Using the pseudonym 'Keith Erik Burt' (his real name was Keith Larsen Burt), he casts himself as Preacher Ezra Jackson, an unrepentant sinner and thief who capitalizes on being a man of the cloth by ogling every female within easy reach, almost immediately as he seduces a pretty Latina while her boyfriend is fishing, then steals their jalopy to lead the cops on a merry chase on dusty mountain roads (shooting in Agoura, California). There are occasional cutaways to a private sanctuary housing a group of flower children who follow the Zodiac and earn their wealth telling fortunes, high priestess Cassandra (Kathryn Loder) leading each 'levitation,' in which some unfortunate soul goes to a better place with a drink of hemlock. It's definitely a clash between two irresistible forces, a supposed Preacher spouting the Gospel, and naive witches who believe they are righteously performing acts of kindness through the will of the stars, with a rock soundtrack of telltale lyrics to provide exposition. The ceremonies tend to drag, too much meandering for no purpose, a relationship developing between witch Athena (Randy Stafford) and handsome Frank Evans (Ron Taft), who seeks to spare her from the authorities while also unloading a million dollar island for cash. There's precious little horror to be found, some amusement yet not a comedy, accurately described as a psychedelic exercise that saw much exposure on television for a decade before vanishing. With a title like "Night of the Witches" it might have been Larsen's attempt to tap into the youth market with a modern update on "The Night of the Hunter," but his preacher was no Robert Mitchum and the acting was nonexistent (current prints are in awful condition).
