Psyched by the 4D Witch

Putting this film on a DVD with "Monstar-a-Go-Go" was really a stroke of genius for this film's reputation, because MAGG is so awful that it makes this poorly-assembled collection of audio and images look GOOD.

Seriously, I put this film on the TV at a party with the sound turned down, and on that level, it had some merit: flaky, trippy, visuals that lent some visual interest in the background. "What the H IS THIS???" asked more than one person. I was forced to go into an explanation, which left the people utterly befuddled and looking as if they had been struck about the head and shoulders with a lead bong.

On that level, I can not recommend PBT4W, but I hope I have at least provided some kind of scenario in which it would not be a net deficit. Use this information as you will.

I watched this movie back to back with "Monster a Go-Go," and haven't been functioning on all brain cylinders since. The plot, or lack there of, was completely incoherent, the camera work was awful, the entire soundtrack was dubbed over after-wards and the acting was down right hideous. Did they think that psychedelic effects, classical music and nudity would be able to get this thing out of the toilet? I guess I know what happened to all of the bad acid in the 60's now, these idiots ate it and decided to make a movie revolving around a witch trying to seduce a young virgin into having fantasy sex adventures. AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH.

Words fail to describe how horrible this film was. I would rather watch a documentary on the making of "Manos the hands of fate" than watching this again. Someone is definitely going to hell for having released this into the general public. I take that back, it wasn't released it escaped.

Please, if you value your sanity, don't watch this.

Psyched by the 4D Witch (1972)

** (out of 4)

Insane little sexploitation flick about Cindy, a female virgin who won't even masturbate even though she wants to experience an orgasm. Wanting to keep her virginity, she learns that her aunt was a witch so she sells her soul to her and Satan in exchange for "Fantasy Fu*ks". This is an incredibly strange and psychedelic film, which works pretty well with the exception that it runs way too long even at just over 80-minutes. There's countless nudity, lesbian sex and other strange doings, which keep the film moving. The film was recorded silent and then voiceovers were added along with a trippy music score, which works pretty well. There's really nothing great about this movie but it ranks among one of the better sexploitation flicks I've seen.

People on drugs made this film. The NHS could save an absolute fortune in communicating their anti-drug message, when really all they need to do is get hold of this film and show it in schools and television. The immediate effect would be to turn children and impressionable adults away from hallucinogenic drugs. To be honest, it might even make Keith Richards think again.

This truly mind-numbing feature is nothing if not a one-off. It tells its silly story via the medium of psychedelic effects. Sounds good? Yeah it sounds alright I agree. But at 80 minutes in length it overstays its welcome by a long way. This would've been OK as a short; it's mind-boggling as a full length feature. There is no synchronized sound; everything is conveyed via a voice-over. This makes it become increasingly hard to pay attention, and you will find yourself slowly losing touch with the bizarre events happening on screen; by the conclusion I expect a lot of you will just be relieved.

In theory this film should be good but it isn't. It's very weird though, so that at least is always something.

EDIT: I watched this again on 27/03/19 and actually rather enjoyed it. How baffling.

This is a silent film with a heavy overlay of narration, provided by several of its fictional characters, and a cool musical soundtrack illegally swiped from LPs. A short list of composers whose works are featured in 4-D WITCH includes: Mussorgsky ("Night on Bald Mountain"), Wagner (the finale of TRISTAN UND ISOLDE, scored for piano and orchestra), Rimsky-Korsakov ("Scheherazade"), and Pink Floyd (the 1968 studio version of "Saucerful of Secrets").

Basically, 4-D WITCH is just a series of erotic events strung together by narrators. I enjoyed the narration of "Cindy," the central character whose flirtation with sexual witchcraft gives the movie its focus. Whoever provided her voice did a great job characterizing Cindy as a "game young innocent." Dial enough 1-900 numbers and you may get to speak with her yourself.

Visually, 4-D WITCH is a mess, with psychedelic light shows, bizarre superimposed images of masks and frightening faces, and occasional straight shots of the characters that serve as "establishing shots" for the special effects. Everybody seems caught up in a psychic whirlpool, from which the only way out is down, down, down.

Despite its interesting and amusing elements, the film's amateurish editing, the incoherence of the "plot" and the random/shuffle nature of the soundtrack all help 4-D WITCH to overstay its welcome long before the final reel starts rolling. The abrupt, unresolved ending would be confusing, were it not a great relief! Someone should convert 4-D WITCH into a "loop" and send it to Abu Ghraib, where it can be put to its best possible use.