mstomaso Well-filmed, well-scripted and mostly well-acted, this supernatural mystery thriller action film by Tasmanian director Don Sharp tells the story of the culmination of a family feud which appears to date back to Medieval times in s small English town. The film starts out with a front end loader demolishing a cemetary while members of the Whitlock family, led by Lon Chaney Jr., protest. The demolition opens the grave of a powerful witch (Vanessa Whitlock - Yvette Rees) who had been buried alive 300 years ago. And guess what, she's not quite dead, and she's decided to gather her descendants into a new coven to finally carry out the extermination of their mortal enemies, the Laniers. Rees and Chaney, though their roles are fairly modest in terms of screen time, drive most of the tension in this creepy little story. Chaney is menacing, Rees is just plain cold evil. Most of the action focuses on their would-be victims, the Laniers. The sets, decent - if simple - characterization, and the clever use of plot devices to retain an element of mystery and to grow suspense are what sustained my interest throughout the first 3/4ths of this film. I don't write spoilers, so suffice to say that the last 1/4 of the film, as it transforms into an action-oriented thriller, is where I started to lose interest. Still, the film was worthwhile enough to affect my dreams. I watched it in two sittings and slept between them. I dreamt an ending for this film which would have, I am convinced, been much better - though a lot more disturbing - than the one the film settled for. Bottom line - a fun one, but don't expect too much!

andrew-350-797610 Aged fifteen, I first watched this film on late-night television in the autumn of 1970 and, like several other reviewers, found it both entertaining and frightening, especially with regard to Vanessa Whitlock's two appearances in the Lanier house! Having seen the film only once or twice since, I recently acquired the DVD and, in common with the majority of the film's previous reviewers, was very pleased to see how well the production stands up more than fifty years after first being released. Several of your previous reviewers have recorded succinct and lucid synopses of the plot of 'Witchcraft', and my purpose in adding this review is to point out a small way in which I feel the production could be improved. 'Witchcraft' depicts, a little clumsily to my mind, THREE generations of Laniers and I feel that, in the interests of taut and precise characterisation and plotting, these could profitably have been reduced to TWO. Given the ages of the actors and actresses involved, Malvina Lanier could quite easily have become Bill's and Todd's MOTHER rather than grandmother and Helen Lanier could almost as easily have become an older, unmarried sister to the two sons. Such an adjustment of relationships would also, I feel, have given more dramatic impact to the stated suicide of Bill's and Todd's father, as such a device could logically and sequentially have been employed as the reason for the reclusiveness of Malvina Lanier. As the film stands, Helen's father and Bill's and Todd's mother are somewhat airbrushed out of the proceedings. However, 'Witchcraft' remains a film that I would thoroughly recommend.

Harold_Robbins When I finally caught up with it, this turned out to be a nice little mid-1960s thriller, made very much in the style of a Hammer Films production (indeed, as such it makes a suitable double-feature with the film it's paired with on DVD, DEVILS OF DARKNESS)- it makes good use of settings, has a decent script and quite adequate acting (especially a typically hammy late-career performance from Lon Chaney Jr), and evokes a very effective atmosphere of evil. What I was most surprised about (and impressed with) was the striking black-and-white photography and lighting, which really contributed to that atmosphere, particularly in its use of the reawakened witch. Definitely a fun, creepy movie for a rainy Saturday afternoon!

bensonmum2 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.