Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

ihtpsswrds Suspenseful '60s tail of witchcraft, gilded by Lon Chaney, Jr cameo. Little onscreen violence and plenty of ominous characters posed in front of expensive, but faded, wallpaper in fine old English settings. As you would expect, many dramatic moments involve actors starring off to the distance and uttering vague statements wile the music swells in a minor key. In short, a delightful time capsule!

Mr_Ectoplasma "Witchcraft" follows an English family who unearth the grave of a witch who was buried alive three centuries ago. As is par for the course, hell breaks loose, and the witch, who has apparently survived the centuries in her stone tomb, enacts vengeance on the family bloodline who imprisoned her.I had never heard of "Witchcraft" and happened to catch it on late-night television by chance; it's not a particularly well-known film and seems to have been recorded in the footnotes of horror cinema, which is a bit of a shame because it's actually on par with (and actually better than) many of its peers. Cinematographically, there is gorgeous use of shadow and haunting long-shots that are reminiscent of Jack Clayton's "The Innocents." Candles flicker, women roam the darkness in nightgowns, and bats flap their wings. Car crashes occur at the whim of the witch's will. So it's not particularly original—but so what? It's remarkably atmospheric, and that's worth enough.Lon Chaney Jr. plays a sinister descendant of the witch, while Yvette Rees rivals even Barbara Steele as the ice-cold Vanessa Whitlock, the titular witch. There are numerous haunting shots of Rees throughout, including a chilling appearance at the top of a staircase just before she cruelly attempts to claim a victim. The film runs at just under an hour and twenty minutes, and as predictable as the buildup is, the finale is playful and non-stop engrossing.Overall, "Witchcraft" is an admirable effort, exquisitely filmed and punctuated by a handful of chilling moments. As a supernatural horror film, it delivers in terms o f both plot and style. It's familiar material and was so even in its time, but the fact remains that it's done well, and it's damned fun to boot. If black masses in black and white suit your tastes, give this one a go. 8/10.

amosduncan_2000 Seven might be a little generous, but this film represents the end of the line for quality black and white British horror of it's time, a sub genre for "witch" I have great affection. From "Curse Of The Demon" to "City Of The Dead" and "Night Of The Eagle" it's brought me much pleasure- even "The Haunting" (which had a small role for "Witchcraft's Diane Clare) was shot if not set in England. Something of a rarity, "Witchcraft" never turned up much on TV and I don't think was ever on video, the "Midnight Movie" DVD series has rescued many titles this way. I doubt Lon Chaney Jr, (who's drinking problem gave them a very hard time on the set) was the first choice for American Star worked in to give the film overseas distribution potential. His performance is not great but get's the job done and offers some distraction from the too talky plot. What makes the film well worth seeing is some of the visual touches director Don Sharp applies in place of expensive special effects. Indeed, these work better than the big fire at the end of the films rather clumsy climax. All in all, if you enjoy this sort of thing, you are likely to like it.

The_Void Witchcraft may not have quite enough about it to ensure it 'classic' status; but it's more than decent effort and certainly a good example of the massively overused 'witch coming back from the grave for revenge' cliché. It has to be said that the film doesn't have a lot of excitement and the story drones rather than leaps from one step to the next; but the film never gets boring either, and experienced horror director Don Sharp (who directed a number of films for Hammer as well as several other genre entries) does a good job of keeping the film interesting enough to ensure that the slow burning plot isn't too big a problem. The plot itself seems to take a bit of influence from Shakespeare's classic Romeo and Juliet and focuses on two families; at war over a century's old feud. The Laniers are accused by the Whitlock's of burying a Whitlock accused of witchcraft alive. This is not good news for Amy Whitlock and Bill Lanier, who have plans to get married. The feud is irritated further by the fact that the Laniers are planning to build on the Whitlock's cemetery...The film's big name is the excellent Lon Chaney Jr who, while billed as the movie's big star, actually takes up more of a supporting role. However, he still manages to stand out as ever as the sinister patriarch of the Whitlock family. The film is shot in black and white and while it's clear that Witchcraft didn't have much of a budget to go on, the film does look nice and the black and white picture aids in giving Witchcraft a thick, foreboding atmosphere. The film does have a few different things going on at once, which gives it more opportunity to be interesting, though it isn't capitalised on. The Romeo and Juliet style plot is the most annoying example of this as very little is made of it. The film does lack suspense, although it does well with the mystery side of the plot and the way that the film builds up the introduction of the ancient vengeful witch is haunting and unsettling. It is true that Witchcraft is far from great and really could have been much better if more was made of it; but in spite of that, I can't dislike this film too much because it makes for a nice, relaxed viewing and I did have fun watching it.