Witchcraft (1964)

Freaky Stuff!, 18 October 2007

What a wonderfully creepy and atmospheric film about a witch getting her revenge from beyond the grave. Several centuries ago, Vanessa Whitlock was accused of being a witch and put to death by the ancestors of the Lanier family. Since then, the two families have feuded. As fate would have it, during one of Bill Lanier's building projects, the grave of the accused witch, Vanessa Whitlock, is disturbed. She is set free to finally get back at those she holds responsible for burying her alive.

With its recent release on DVD, I've been excited about the opportunity to see Witchcraft. And while I had hoped I would enjoy it, I never expected it to be this good. In short, I loved it. I mentioned it was creepy and atmospheric – quite honestly, that doesn't begin to describe the sense of unease, the feeling of foreboding, and the numerous frights found in Witchcraft. I admit it – the first time that Vanessa Whitlock pops up in a room where she shouldn't be, I just about jumped out of my seat. I don't know when I last found a character in a movie that actually frightened me like she did. Actress Yvette Rees doesn't do much other than stand about looking menacing, but does she ever do it well. Freaky stuff!

The credits would have you believe that Lon Chaney, Jr. is the "star" of the movie. While he's the big name in the cast, he's hardly the focal point of the story. As much as I hate to admit this, Chaney actually represents one of the few problems I have with the movie. It's not that he wasn't capable of giving a good performance in a horror movie in 1964 (because he's not bad in his limited screen time), but he's horribly miscast. This is a British movie. It feels British, it looks British, and it sounds British. So just what is the decidedly American Chaney doing in the movie? It's just silly.

8/10