THE LAST SACRIFICE (2024)

4 stars

Intermission – Official Selection at Sitges Film Festival

It seems in the 60s and 70s, Britain was a hotbed of witches covens and Black Magic ceremonies – it was also a time when a sub-genre in horror emerged, the folk horror, a branch that is still explored by filmmakers today.

This fascinating documentary takes a look at what was going on during that period and more specifically at the mysterious murder of one Charles Walton. An apparently harmless old man who was battered to death with a stick, having been pinned with a pitchfork and with a sign of the cross cut on his chest! The film looks at how this case, which was never solved, may have inspired writers and directors of the sixties and seventies and more specifically how what happened fed into the story of THE WICKER MAN (1973), which has many parallels.

Was this the last ritual killing in Britain? Who would have committed such an heinous crime, which became tabloid fodder. Detective Fabian investigated it – he was known for the TV series ‘Fabian of Scotland Yard’ which made him famous. Others tried to crack the mystery of what had happened, as this presentation explores the various theories put forward.

As the tale unfolds, it surveys the rise of witchcraft and black magic with clips from TV shows and films of the time like LEGEND OF THE WITCHES (1970) and SECRET RITES (1971). The director also cleverly uses clips from lots of different films plus stock footage, to paint a picture of this mystery. So we get SATAN’S SLAVE (1976), TWINS OF EVIL (1971), THE WITCHES (1966), BLOOD ON SATAN’S CLAW (1971) and WITCHFINDER GENERAL (1968), plus others, to illustrate this unsolved killing. It also encompasses more recent offerings – KILL LIST (2011), MIDSOMMAR (2019) and MEN (2022).

Directed by Rupert Russell (son of a certain famous auteur), this a talking heads exploration, which includes Professor Ronald Hutton, Simon Read, the ubiquitous Jonathan Rigby, Leila Latif, Dr Diane Rogers and others. The approach is a bit scattershot and the editing does get a touch frenetic at times, however, overall this keeps your interest throughout. Stick around during the credits as there is an amusing mid credits epilogue.

This is currently playing film festivals but I assume this will eventually see the light of day on digital or disc.

Steve Kirkham