Someone is killing young women, draining all their blood, and leaving a "hex mark" on their bodies. Into this "swampy nowhere" we get Alvy Moore (Mr. Kimball from Green Acres) as Dr. Ralph Hayes a psychic investigator along with him is a crew of experts including "sensitive" Anastasia aka Tasha (played by German/Norwegian/American/Canadian bombshell Thordis Brandt) and reporter Victor Gordon (Anthony Eisley). Here they are investigating the story that these murders may have something to do with a witch.
Our killer from the first scene, Luther the Berserk (John Lodge), cast some sort of "Spell of the Stones" on Tasha, but it only makes her scream. He is apparently a "Sabbat Master" so he summons Old Jessie (wow, that sounds SO familiar) played by Helene Winston to help he convert Tasha to their coven, which they pronounce like "k-OH-ven." They make a deal together. Luther gets Tasha and Jessie gets to be young again (she is 200 now).
Back at the swamp cabin, they try to get a fix on the location of the psychic emanations. Tasha reaches out and Jessie takes control of the vision and makes Tasha scream.
Later Jessie makes Tasha lure poor student Sharon (Robyn Millan) out to the swamp where Luther kills her. Her virgin blood now drained Jessie begins the spell to transform her back to youth (becoming Warrene Ott in the process).
We get a lot of semi-academic exposition from Dr. Hayes that is not too bad really...if this was a documentary and not a horror movie. The acting here is not great though so it all comes off as a bad lecture.
Luther and Jessie get Tasha to lure out Owen where they kill him and Tasha gets initiated as a witch. When later confronted about Owen's death she spontaneously casts a spell. Something that is ignored almost as fast.
The summoning of the witches and warlocks is really fun. The Luther stuff feels like a different movie to be honest. The cabin folk are so dull and all the witches are wonderfully animated and evil.
The plan is subistiute wild pig blood for Maggie's blood so when the witches go to drink it, it is poison to them. This way they take out all the witches except Luther. They manage to get him out into the swamp where the quicksand gets him.
In the end Tasha turns the tables and kills Victor. She is a full witch now!
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I am going to forego the usual game application notes here because...I think I already have. I think I have seen this movie. It had to be a long time ago but there is too much here that I vaguely recall. For example, I always have used ogres and trolls as lackeys for Makava hags like Luther and Jessie. Speaking of Jessie, I used the same name with a slightly different spelling as the witch that introduces Larina to witchcraft in one of my earliest books. She also can change to a younger version of herself, much like the Jessie in this movie.
Luther the Beserk would be called a Beserker in most D&D games. His good-alinged cousin appears as a Warden or even a Witch Knight in my books.
There is also the "Tasha" connection, but that is pretty flimsy to be honest.
The posters for this are just too familiar to me. I am sure I have seen it, but I am going to count it as a First Time View.
October Horror Movie Challenge 2022
Viewed: 14
First Time Views: 11
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