Call it good cult fodder. Call it dated. Call it crazy. I say there should be more of it.
This "70's horror flick" comes complete with psychedelic dream sequences, devil-worshiping, terrifying morally bankrupt characters, and even a little campy acting. I've read it all--reviewers calling it dated, shoddily made, badly acted, wandering, and unfocused. However in my eyes, it is still a gem in spite of some of these things, and indeed because of some of them. Since the crazy 19th century came along, many an artwork has dealt with the supernatural, witchcraft, satanism, dreams and reality, etc. BUT very few works of art ever tell it in a style that reflects it. Very few films about the occult draw the viewer/listener/reader in so close that they realize they almost understand and are living in the strange world they view, and they are TERRIFIED as a result. This movie, and others like it, seek to do just that. Unfortunately, some techniques--like psychedelia--have become dated, though they are attempts at bridging the distance to the viewer with strange, maybe entrancing, maybe hypnotizing sounds and images. But were the first primitive musical notes thrown out? Were our first movies deemed a waste of time by the whole world? No, some chose to progress in the art, and the results have expanded our knowledge of ourselves. We shouldn't let a couple, now "dated," attempts be the end of it. We should keep trying to tell terrifying stories in a terrifying way. We should keep describing insanity, the diabolical, and the metaphysical using methods that get at the heart of the feelings, the other-worldy realities, the utterly foreign aspects of our world and of ourselves. At least, they were foreign until now! For this reason, and in spite of some true camp, this "weirdly" edited, acted, and directed story gets a 7 out of 10.
This "70's horror flick" comes complete with psychedelic dream sequences, devil-worshiping, terrifying morally bankrupt characters, and even a little campy acting. I've read it all--reviewers calling it dated, shoddily made, badly acted, wandering, and unfocused. However in my eyes, it is still a gem in spite of some of these things, and indeed because of some of them. Since the crazy 19th century came along, many an artwork has dealt with the supernatural, witchcraft, satanism, dreams and reality, etc. BUT very few works of art ever tell it in a style that reflects it. Very few films about the occult draw the viewer/listener/reader in so close that they realize they almost understand and are living in the strange world they view, and they are TERRIFIED as a result. This movie, and others like it, seek to do just that. Unfortunately, some techniques--like psychedelia--have become dated, though they are attempts at bridging the distance to the viewer with strange, maybe entrancing, maybe hypnotizing sounds and images. But were the first primitive musical notes thrown out? Were our first movies deemed a waste of time by the whole world? No, some chose to progress in the art, and the results have expanded our knowledge of ourselves. We shouldn't let a couple, now "dated," attempts be the end of it. We should keep trying to tell terrifying stories in a terrifying way. We should keep describing insanity, the diabolical, and the metaphysical using methods that get at the heart of the feelings, the other-worldy realities, the utterly foreign aspects of our world and of ourselves. At least, they were foreign until now! For this reason, and in spite of some true camp, this "weirdly" edited, acted, and directed story gets a 7 out of 10.