THE SORCERORS (1967)

3 stars

88 Films. Blu ray. 12th August

Another in 88 Films Tigon Collection. It was one of only three films directed by Michael Reeves before his untimely death in 1969 at the age of 25 – the other two being THE SHE BEAST (Revenge of the Blood Beast) and the classic WITCHFINDER GENERAL. Whilst THE SORCERORS isn’t quite up there with the latter it is a well constructed horror with a tinge of science fiction.

Boris Karloff plays Professor Marcus Montserrat – a practitioner of medical hypnosis it seems, who, alongside his wife Estelle (Catherine Lacey), has created equipment that hopefully will enable them to control people and experience vicariously what they are going through at a distance.

We meet Mike Roscoe (Ian Ogilvy) at a groovy nightclub with his girlfriend Nicole (Elizabeth Ercy) and friend Alan (Victor Henry). Mike is becoming bored with the whole scene and decides to go for a walk on his own – he meets the professor at a late night eatery. “I could offer you an unusual evening”, declares Montserrat. Sounds like fun… what could possibly go wrong?

Back at their house, Mike is connected up to quite a contraption – following a somewhat protracted sequence with light and sound, in a very 60s manner, the couple can now control their subject with their minds and send him on his way to see if they can do so from afar. When he goes back to the club they can both feel and hear what is happening to Mike. How much can they influence him to do…

Estelle becomes more and more empowered, enjoying the indirect thrills, including making Mike break into a store and steal a fur for her and speeding along on a motorbike – whereas her husband becomes weary, as he wanted to use it for the greater good and not just for their own ends. Interestingly Karloff was originally cast as the villain of the piece but the actor wanted his character to be more sympathetic, so the emphasis changed to his wife, with Lacey having fun with her role.

Of course, inevitably the manipulation turns to darker territory as Estelle craves more excitement…

Back in the dim and distant past I seem to remember seeing a large colour picture from the film’s finale in the pages of Denis Gifford’s seminal Horror Movies and being intrigued by it. Of course, back then it was difficult to see, whereas now you can enjoy this sparkling new Blu Ray… youngsters of today don’t know how lucky they are!

Karloff and Lacey are great in their roles as their battle of wills plays out and Ian Ogilvy, a close friend of the director, is fine in his part. Reeves shows here, along with WITCHFINDER, that he would likely have become a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately we will never how that would have played out. Whilst this is somewhat dated, it’s still an enjoyable diversion. Look out for Susan George in an early appearance.

Steve Kirkham

EXTRAS

4 stars

Audio Commentary by Film Journalists William Fowler & Vic Pratt

Audio Commentary by Film Critics Kim Newman & Sean Hogan

Can’t Get You Out of My Head – Ian Ogilvy on The Sorcerers (23 mins): He talks about working with Reeves on Revenge of the Blood Beast in Italy. Moving on to working on this film and being proud of sharing screen time with Karloff and how much fun he was. His friendship with Reeves as schoolkids and making short films and how his friend loved filmmaking. Also about Elizabeth Ercy and a very young and exuberant Susan George.

Black Magic Camera – Interview with Assistant Cameraman Don Lord (8 mins)

Controlling the Cuts – Interview with Editor David Woodward (13 mins)

Trailer and Stills Gallery

Reversible sleeve featuring another fabulous new artwork by Sean Longmore & original poster