Simon, King of the Witches

This is a enjoyable little film that has Andrew Prine as a warlock who lives in the storm drain underneath the city. He meets a hippie who takes to a rich guys party and he encounters adventures and later wages war on the entire police force. Lots of great scenes, and Prine give a real honest performance. Character actors Normann Burton and Angus Duncan also are good. Recommended.

What IS going on in this film? I dunno, but I kinda liked it. Andrew Prine (BARN OF THE NAKED DEAD) is a storm drain-dwelling modern-day warlock who uses his powers to do bad things. He becomes involved with the district attorney's daughter and low-life drug dealers. In one scene, he faces the QUEEN of the Witches. If you like '70s pseudo-witchcraft nonsense served with a nice dose of psychedelic visuals, incoherent plotting and some nudity, SIMON KING OF THE WITCHES might be well worth your time.

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.

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.

It is a very odd 70's movie and I watched (parts of) it again recently after many years. What makes it unique is that it is the only movie that portrays the life of a magician in a realistic way. This is especially true for those who have been into the occult for a long time. Besides from that, it was also well acted and the story quite interesting in other ways. So it's highly recommended for those who wants to now what the life of a occultist is really like. How it becomes, the pitfalls, and the consequences that can follow from doing certain things. The name of the character is also a hint of what kind of magician he really is. Still one (at least I did) roots for him for most of the movie.