Necromancy

The film "Necromancy" (1972) was considerably altered for a re-released version which I'm not sure was ever shown in theaters (it may have been a straight-to-video release). This altered version, re-titled "The Witching"(1981, if I'm not mistaken) is apparently only one of several such versions. Since they are under other titles ("A Life For A Life", "Rosemary's Disciples", etc.), I'm assuming (though I'm not certain) that these have been altered further. However, I have seen both "Necromancy" & "The Witching". While the original film (which is next to impossible to find anywhere-though I was able to track down a copy) is a suspenseful, gothic horror film, various key elements were removed for "The Witching", including: the final scene, which clears up some plot points while adding a final twist to the story; both the opening & closing titles, which were replaced with painfully ordinary sequences; & the original music score, which included a memorable song entitled "The Morning After" (not to be confused with the Oscar-winning song of the same title used in "The Poseidon Adventure", released the same year).The new (completely different) music score is horribly, embarassingly cheesy. The sequence of scenes, in some places, was also changed slightly & there was additional (& badly misplaced) footage added. I can only imagine what liberties have been taken with the more recent altered versions, since seeing for myself what else has been done to the original film would be much scarier than "Necromancy" itself.

A curious low budget horror film, it has two very talented performers at the head of the cast: Pamela Franklin, of 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' and Orson Welles, of many great films. The script does not give either of them the opportunity to maximise their acting potential though, and in fact, the whole story is fairly predictable, quite ordinary or worse. Still, there are a number of atmospheric segments in the film, with fitting music and camera-work setting the mood. It is excessively dark, the odd sound effects are jarring and the cheap special effects do it no good. However, there are some effective moments in the mix. It is not a very good film overall, but it does have some interesting elements. And, for what it is worth, Franklin's acting at times is quite natural.

When you're making a thriller about witchcraft, I believe you should do everything you can to help the audience suspend its disbelief in order for the movie to work. Some pictures ("Rosemary's Baby", for example) have accomplished this; others (like "Necromancy") haven't and the potentially scary material comes across as corny and goofy. This film does have some atmospheric moments, but about half the dialogue is hard to make out (sometimes it's poorly recorded, at other times just incomprehensible) and Orson Welles, who gets top billing, has a role that is so BENEATH him that you have to assume he was desperate for the work. Or maybe he was simply having fun.....(*1/2)

A young couple from Los Angeles (Pamela Franklin & Michael Ontkean) gets an offer they can't refuse and move to a town several hours up north. But why does the dubious mogul of the exclusive community (Orson Welles) want them so bad? Something sinister is going on.

"Necromancy" was made in 1970, but not released until 1972 (although copyrighted 1971). It combines elements of "Carnival of Souls" (1962), "Rosemary's Baby" (1968) and "The Devil Rides Out" (1968); plus it would influence the future "Satan's School for Girls" (1973).

In some ways it's better than those films and in others worse. For one thing, the editing is sometimes off-kilter or inconsistent, especially in the first half, which I don't know if it was done intentionally or if it's simply sloppy filmmaking. A good example is the girl's lighthearted disposition in the car after just being involved in an accident and witnessing firsthand an unconscious person burning alive.

Due to Welles' involvement, the flick was reissued in 1983 under the title "The Witching" with added scenes of full frontal nudity during a ritual featuring Brinke Stevens, plus other changes and a tacked-on ending.

I've seen Pamela Franklin in about six films and she easily looks her best here with a full brunette mane. She was 20 during shooting and would meet her near-future husband on set, the young doctor played by Harvey Jason. They remain married today, over fifty years later.

Pamela didn't speak well of working with Welles, who obviously took the gig for easy cash (and tries unsuccessfully to hide behind a prosthetic nose and fake beard). She said he was dismissive of other actors, summing up her feelings with: "He was not a nice person." By contrast, she worked with Marlon Brando two years earlier on "The Night of the Following Day" and said he treated everyone equal.

Director Bert I. Gordon (known for 1965's entertaining "Village of the Giants") was concerned that he'd have serious issues with Welles when his secretary informed him that he didn't work before 10:00 or after 4:00. So Gordon assuaged Welles with a decadent chef and all his preferred foods & drinks; thus the imposing thespian was quite agreeable, yet this didn't eliminate Pamela's criticisms.

The flick scores well in the feminine department. Besides Franklin in her prime, there's Lee Purcell, who was 23 during shooting, and petite redhead Sue Bernard, best known for her role as the winsome bikini girl in "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" (1965).

The movie runs 1 hour, 23 minutes, and was shot at Los Gatos, California, which is about 35 miles southeast of San Francisco; as well as Samuel Goldwyn Studios in Hollywood.

GRADE: B-/C+

I have a copy of "The Witching", but i'm not sure if it's the same as "Necromancy". The film is very strange itself. It has a bunch of mumbling in the film. When Orson Welles talks, his voice is all mumbly and really is terrible. It also has a lot of nudity, and I don't know how it had a PG rating. It also has a lot of Satanism in the film.

It has rituals and a bunch of strange, wicked things. For me, I think it's okay, but not the best horror film to see. Very odd with the story and really is messed up. It's about a woman and her husband go to a town called Lilith, and no children are allowed there. Because Mr. Cato(Orson Welles) wants it that way.

You better watch the film if it sounds interesting to you. But it contains a lot of nudity and satanism, witchcraft, bringing the dead to the living and the living to the dead, and just messed up.