Rainey Dawn I watched this film under the title "Necromancy" it aka "The Witching". I do not know the differences between the two titles. I do know that watching this one as "Necromancy" was a pretty good, not great but not awful.Little things will happen from the start of the film but really won't get going until about 25 minutes into it - as far as lots of actual witchcraft going on or is Lori Brandon going mad, dreaming up the witchcraft? I won't ruin the film for first time viewers, but I can tell you it's a bizarre film that will have you wondering if it's real or all in Lori's head.It's a surreal film that I found worth the hour watch - not great but a fun watch! 5/10

MartinHafer I saw an extended version of "Necromancy" that is available to watch on YouTube. The introduction claims that deleted footage was restored in this version--making the film more complete and coherent. So, when you see some reviews that hated the movie, it is possible they saw the shorter version. As for me, the film I saw was MUCH better than the current 4.2 and this could be because it's more the director or writer's original vision.Pamela Franklin stars as Lori. While Orson Welles gets top billing, she was clearly the focus of the film...and I assume they billed Welles first to improve marketing or as part of the contract to get Welles to appear in the movie. Lori recently had a miscarriage and her husband Frank (Michael Ontkean) has taken a job near the town of Lillith. However, the folks offering the job had a lot of strange questions--questions about his and his wife's religious beliefs. While these sort of questions are illegal to ask, he responds that they are both atheists and that seemed to make the employer happy...or so Frank says.When they get to Lillith, they find the place is a hellhole....and that really isn't an exaggeration! The folks are all members of a Satanic cult led by Mr. Cato (Welles) and Lori naturally wants to leave. But Frank inexplicably blows off her worries and seems to like the place and the strange people. So why did they REALLY come here and why are the folks so interested in Lori?This movie is above all, creepy...with a dark, brooding atmosphere throughout. The story, though sometimes confusing, was also pretty interesting...but suffers some because of its close similarity to "Rosemary's Baby". In other words, if you've already seen this earlier film it's pretty easy to guess what's going on in "Necromancy". Not a great film but food if you would like a few chills.

fedor8 Is it me or has Orson put a fake nose yet again for this movie? He did it at least once before, in "Touch of Evil" for example, so I wouldn't be surprised if he dood it again. Perhaps that was one of the conditions for appearing in this low-budget Bert I. Gordon nonsense. "Alright, I'll do it, but under several conditions, the first one being that I can use a fake nose." Pamela Franklin is in nearly every scene. This means that even if this were the dumbest supernatural thriller around, it would still be at the very least an easily watchable movie. Those eyes! The lines that come out of Pamela's beautiful mouth and her behaviour are a cross between goofy, ditsy, and absurd. She and her hubby Ontkean have a road accident, she witnesses the death of a woman in the other car, and yet they drive on as if nothing had happened. She even takes a "souvenir" from the crash-site, the dead woman's doll.Plenty of nudity here. On occasion "The Witching" feels like it'd been produced by Hugh Hefman, with the notable difference that all the breasts featured here are real. The movie looks like a 70s flick (which it is) but the occasionally synthesizer-orientated soundtrack is very much 80s. That is a little strange.The ending is just about as stupid – because totally devoid of ANY twist – as any that I'd ever seen. We had been told beforehand that Pamela has to become a witch in order to bring back to life Orson's dead son, after which she will take his place in the grave. We are told this 20-30 minutes before the end. And guess what happens? That's exactly what happens. I don't remember ever seeing a horror film with such a dead-end crappy ending without a point. If the writer is too lazy to come up with an end-twist (even if it's totally cliché) then he should at least not reveal everything that the viewer will ever find out, already a half-hour before the conclusion. Duh.Many idiotic things occur, such as a total lack of explanation as to why Franklin willingly became a witch. There was no indication at any point that she wanted any of this, and yet when the time came she took part in the ceremony without any hesitation. Duuuh. The ceremony was to take place only if she became a witch of her own accord. Well, why she accorded of her own accord to join the according chord, this is never accordingly accorded. But this IS a Bert I. Gordon flick, after all, so let's be grateful for little things."The other condition that I accept this role is that I win and Pamela loses. And that there is no surprise twist at all." Hmm, perhaps it's all Orson's fault.

sol- A curious low budget horror film, it has two very talented performers at the head of the cast: Pamela Franklin, of 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' and Orson Welles, of many great films. The script does not give either of them the opportunity to maximise their acting potential though, and in fact, the whole story is fairly predictable, quite ordinary or worse. Still, there are a number of atmospheric segments in the film, with fitting music and camera-work setting the mood. It is excessively dark, the odd sound effects are jarring and the cheap special effects do it no good. However, there are some effective moments in the mix. It is not a very good film overall, but it does have some interesting elements. And, for what it is worth, Franklin's acting at times is quite natural.