Simon, King of the Witches

Talented veteran Andrew Prine is featured here in one of his delicious starring roles in 1970s exploitation. This is bizarre, trippy stuff certain to appeal to cult movie enthusiasts. Granted, it's pretty talky stuff, but it's still rather fascinating.

Written by a real-life practicing warlock, Robert Phippeny, it casts Prine as Simon Sinestrari, a charismatic "magician" who lives out of a storm drain. Simon is the real deal, and takes himself quite seriously. Seriously enough that when people dare to mock him or mess with him, he takes his revenge.

As directed by Bruce Kessler, this is truly offbeat from beginning to end. It saves all of its credits for the final few minutes, a practice that was far less common back in the early 70s. When Simon first makes his entrance, he addresses us directly, although this device is dropped right afterwards. It's got a deliberate pace, but Phippeny's dialogue is truly something to hear. There is a heavy dose of humour at times, especially when Simon has to help his eager young friend Turk (George Paulsin), who's gotten overly stimulated, if you know what I mean. Highlight sequences include Simon mocking the participants in a Wiccan ceremony, and the wonderful finale which pulls out all the stops.

The main attraction is a fantastic central performance by Prine, who commits deeply to his role. Co-starring are Brenda Scott (to whom Prine was actually married) as Simons' love interest, Norman Burton as her attorney father, and Gerald York as aging hipster Hercules, with underground celebrity Ultra Violet also making an appearance.

This is just enough of a curio to keep you watching. Undoubtedly it's very much a product of its era, but that's part of what makes it fairly compelling. You sure don't see stuff like this getting made nowadays.

Seven out of 10.

I found this movie a little disappointing because I fell for the original advertising and was under the impression that 70's cult actor Andrew Prine would be playing a Manson-like cult leader. Instead Prine's character, Simon, is an actual warlock, although obviously not a very good one since has to live in the LA storm sewers. He also doesn't have much of a cult, just one dumb kid who follows him around like a puppy. At one point he does seduce a rich politician's daughter, but he is mostly interested in using her to cast a spell and has sex with her only as an afterthought. There is also a surprising homosexual subtext for a movie made at that time (although it is balanced out with abundant female nudity).

The movie is really only half-serious. The tone is often pretty campy. Prine is good, but he often seems to be poking fun at his own character. He is actually much more entertaining when he plays these kind of characters straight. Technically, this is probably a better movie than "Centerfold Girls", "Nightmare Circus" or other Prine vehicles, but I still maintain Prine would have made a great Charles Manson.

While in jail, Simon (Andrew Prine) meets a man and takes him back to his homey storm drain (!), and introduces him to the dark arts. In return, the man takes Simon to a party where he sells trinkets and amulets to the guests and bewitches a woman.

When someone tries to rip Simon off, he uses his hoodoo on him, which ultimately escalates into Simon's one-man war against the police, the mayor, and the entire city.

SIMON, KING OF THE WITCHES contains: #1- Hocus pocus AND mumbo jumbo! #2- Chicken AND human sacrifice! #3- A magic mirror! #4- Effluvium! #5- Awesome silk robes AND red underwear! #6- Full-frontal female nudity! #7- Hippie lingo! #8- The floating, red glob of doom!

BEST BITS: #1- The red glob of doom killing a man with a flower pot! #2- Simon's bizarre visit with the Queen of the Witches!

This is all supremely, insanely good fun!...

It's always a delight to discover a new obscure film. Even if from 1971. I'm discovering that the films of the 70's are some of the best and this is one of them.

The film is about Simon, a modern day warlock who takes his witchcraft very serious. He may be homeless but he was born with power and challenges others who are skeptical of his skills as a witch.

The film is vibrant, colorful, earthy, and isn't afraid to touch on many topics that back then were a bit taboo. I can imagine some people probably thought this was quite bizarre when they first viewed it. Of course, today young people would be put off by the low budget optical effects, and they are a bit dated, but there is no denying Andrew Prine's mesmerizing performance and his belief in this character. Many actors today cannot achieve this deep committed level of concentration for their character.

It isn't a perfect film. There are a few moments that feel made for TV and as I mentioned the optical effects are dated. But there is no denying the interesting characters and the commitment everyone made on this film. I can't wait to watch it again.

Simon, King of the Witches is a real gem. This must be the most unusual movie of its type I have seen. I was captivated at the start when Simon introduced himself. There is so much going on in this movie you really need to see it more than once to understand the storyline, events and eventual ending. The team of Andrew Prine and his then wife Brenda Scott was fascinating and it's not the first time they have acted together. Brenda Scott has always impressed in the more unusual dramatic story lines but sadly this time the film let her down. Prine has charisma and Scott has beauty and both go well together. The only criticism I would make is that Prine "owned" this film. It was almost as though he needed to be in every scene to make sure it was a success. There could definitely have been more story lines for his co-stars but maybe that's the way it was intended. This movie is said to be hard to get and indeed my thanks go to the person who shared this on Youtube.