Im Banne des Dr. Monserrat

I was really impressed with Michael Reeves' third (and final, he overdosed shortly thereafter, still only in his mid-20s) film 'Witchfinder-General' so I was really curious to see his previous effort 'The Sorcerers'. It was made on a considerable smaller budget, but it has an interesting concept, good acting and is pretty dark in tone. Horror legend Karloff plays an elderly scientist who has invented a technique which enables his wife (Catherine Lacey) and himself to experience the thoughts and emotions of a young man (Reeves regular Ian Ogilvy). Ogilivy doesn't know they are doing this and eventually loses control of his mind and body after there is a battle of wills between the old couple who are vicariously living through him. The three leads all put in strong performances, and there is a cool swinging 60s background which makes this one a real rough diamond. And keep an eye out for an early appearance by 70s sex symbol Susan George ('Straw Dogs', 'Dirty Mary Crazy Larry'). Recommended to all fans of 60s horror.

Those commenters who have lamented the invisibility of Michael Reeves's second feature will be glad to know it was networked on Britain's biggest channel, BBC1, on 7 January. "The Sorcerers" is one of the movies that makes one feel a fresh evaluation of Tony Tenser's Tigon (and of Amicus, the other little brother of Hammer in the spooky and gory area) is overdue.

No need to exaggerate the merits of this prentice work by the 23-year-old Great White Forlorn Hope. It has the budget and look of a made-for-television movie (Euston Films, maybe?) and falls somewhere between "Peeping Tom" and "Performance" in its conflation of traditional horror/fantasy and Swinging London elements. The first scene of Karloff sparring with a newsagent recalls Miles Malleson poring over dirty postcards in Michael Powell's masterwork. Ian Ogilvy's eternal triangle in and around a nightclub-- interrupted by the increasingly criminal forays on which he is sent by the mind-controlling Montserrats-- has a touch of James Fox's peregrinations as the hoodlum whose brain is warped by contact with Mick Jagger and Anita Pallenberg.

Like Fox, Ogilvy was a public schoolboy (Eton) here convincingly playing rough trade. His junk shop, cheekily named "The Glory Hole", is in Lisson Grove, not far from the infamous Bayswater pad of "Performance". A comparison of Reeves and Donald Cammell as sceptical observers of the Flower Power era might keep a film studies thesis-writer busy.

However, the film belongs to Karloff and Catherine Lacey, the puppetmasters of mesmerism. Boris, aged 80, is doing his last work in his native land. He is clearly tired and spends most of the runtime sitting or sprawling. He is in his mellow, "Targets" phase: bearded, gaunt, hollow-eyed and lined, that beautifully sepulchral voice still able to veer from sinister implication to moral authority within a few syllables. After a career of kindly spinsters, Miss Lacey must have relished her Grand Guignol, orgasmic turn as the wife who has to dominate her hubby before she can possess a younger male psyche and make Ogilvy into a serial killer.

Connoisseurs of Britflix will enjoy spotting Gerald Campion, the former Billy Bunter of BBC TV, as a queer customer of The Glory Hole; Susan George, junior sexpot, just 17 and already acting like a hardened good time girl; Meier Tzelniker, stalwart of the Yiddish theatre and singer of "Nausea" in "Expresso Bongo", as a café owner; Alf Joint, veteran stuntman, as the repair shop foreman; and Ivor Dean as the archetypal CID man with belted mac and pipe.

There will be inevitable comparisons to The Sorcerers and Witchfinder General(from the same director), from personal opinion Witchfinder General is the better film, technically and dramatically but The Sorcerers is the more entertaining one, Witchfinder is very shocking even now(easy to see why it was banned at the time) and while both have great atmosphere The Sorcerers a little more so. The Sorcerers is not the perfect film, but you don't really expect that, the first 10 minutes did come across as gaudy and trashy which will put put anybody off, while Estelle's descent into madness could have taken longer to develop and been less abrupt and the script-while mostly solid- can have a tendency to be turgid and overly silly. The Sorcerers is decently shot and the evocation of the 60s hippie era is effective and accurate. There is a great soundtrack, and the atmosphere is both fun and creepy. The story can have some dull spots but has a good sense of terror, suspense and thrills. Michael Reeves, who died tragically far too early, directs assuredly, while the acting is good by all. Ian Ogilvy, Victor Henry and Susan George hardly disgrace themselves in support, but they are outshone by both Boris Karloff and especially Catherine Lacey. Karloff is very dignified, menacing and adroit, even when not as active and towards the end of his career he still has what made him a good actor in the first place. Lacey overdoes it a tad at times but that doesn't matter at all when she is such fun to watch and is as scary as she is. In conclusion, atmospheric and entertaining, the first 10 minutes are a turn-off but if you stay with it you'll find a film, even with its imperfections, that is much better than it's given credit for. 7/10 Bethany Cox

In London, the merchant Mike Roscoe (Ian Ogilvy) and his girlfriend Nicole (Elizabeth Ercy) go to a nightclub to dance. When they meet their friend Alan (Victor Henry), he dances with Nicole while Mike goes to a nearby bar. Meanwhile, the hypnotist Prof. Marcus Monserrat (Boris Karloff) has developed a piece of equipment for controlling minds and decides to seek out a guinea pig on the streets to test the device. He meets Mike in the bar and invites him home, where he introduces his wife Estelle Monserrat (Catherine Lacey) to the youngster. They test the system on Mike, controlling his mind and sharing his feelings. However the wicked Estelle enjoys the sensation and decides to use Mike in evil acts, and Marcus is incapable to control his wife. What will Estelle do with Mike and will Marcus succeed in stopping his deranged wife?

"The Sorcerers" is an atmospheric horror movie with an original story. Catherine Lacey has an impressive performance in the role of a wicked old lady that becomes addicted in sensations of the youth and transgressions. Susan George has a minor part in the beginning of her successful career. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Sob o Poder da Maldade" ("Under the Power of the Malevolence")

There's something that suggests world domination in Boris Karloff's first description of his technique to hypnotize young people but this is soon dispelled by a surprising performance in a rather average film. Interestinglyly pieced together, the director tries hard to portray the idea of control which only sometimes works, but nevertheless does get better as the film nears a climax. Predictable in plot but still violent enough to present a challenge to those expect a little more from their Karloff movies. Great just to see Karloff in an argument in a newsagents at the very beginning - not a usual scene from your run-of-the-mill fantasy thrillers!