Night of the Witches

I don't know what they were thinking when they made this horror cheapie but it turned out to be unique and fun. I haven't seen this movie in many, many years but I remember it fondly for its goofiness. It was shown on late night TV in the late 70's or early 80's. For some reason, I still recall the lyrics to the main character's countryish theme song:

"He's a man of many pleasures, He's a man who's got the time, He's the man who told the preacher where to go - oh - oh ... He won't talk behind your back, He's no ordinary jack, He's a man of many pleasures, don't ya know" -- Has this film ever been released on DVD or VHS? If anyone can point me in the direction of a copy, please e-mail me!

-B O N G O"

Preacher Keith Larsen travels around Mexico using religion to seduce women. I've recently watched "The Ballad of Cable Hogue" in which David Warner plays a similar preacher character. Both films are from 1970 so that was thing for preachers in those days. It's only unrealistic in that they would prefer same sex relationships in real life. Anyway, Larsen is on the run from police for theft of an automobile and no doubt, several outstanding rape charges, when he finally makes it to a coastal mansion occupied by several women. Boy, is he in Heaven! Or has he actually arrived at Hell?

The big house is run by a coven of witches who worship astrology and, in their own way, are doing mankind a favour by killing people who are due to die painfully, by killing them off early. Kathryn Loder (Cassandra) is the High Priestess who controls the group and she is committed to her work.

The film is a comedy horror which thankfully doesn't have any gore. It's colourful and kookie but unfortunately, the quality is not good. It's a crazy storyline that is punctuated with a chorus that sings "Amen" at the end of each piece of philosophizing or prayer by our vicar. This film is definitely different. It's trashy entertainment – not sure it's very good, though. I guess that's the point of being trashy. It's a camp-fest.

Night of the Witches is a psychedelic seventies horror movie with some pretty interesting moments! A coven of witches lead by a woman named Cassandra, living in a cliffside mansion in California, sacrifice unsuspecting wanders based on what the zodiac decrees! Plenty of Bond Girl outfits and scantily clad witches! Despite a few "Keystone Cop" chase scenes, this low budget film delivers incredible atmosphere and some gritty guitar songs! Fans of the psychedelic drive in movie era will scream in delight! Think along the lines of "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things!"

Seeing this movie for the first time, one just might think they are viewing another low-budget piece of silliness. The sets and costumes are so dated, and the location screams Santa Barbara, California.

But there is more than meets the eye!

1) The villain is a phony preacher in a Model T causing mischief wherever he goes. Possibly a nod to "Night of the Hunter"?

2) The location is not Southern California, but rather some nondescript coastal area of Mexico. We never really find out.

3) In spite of the year, there are no typical hippies or drugs. Instead, we find witches and other bizarre things awaiting.

Though the movie does not take itself too seriously, the storyline holds its own very well. There is no excess violence or vulgarity. A real gem!

Sporting a movie-western badman's black hat, a Bible-beating preacher (Keith Erik Burt, a.k.a. The movie's director, Keith Larsen) interrupts a fisherman and his girlfriend during their ocean-side picnic. After instructing the boyfriend to catch another fish for him, the preacher seduces the girl and steals their jalopy. A pair of cops chase the preacher, who eludes them in a dirt-and-mud town. In his flight, the preacher stumbles upon a house of vaguely Satanic witches, led by the astrology-spouting Cassandra (Kathryn Loder).

In a concurrent development, a real estate salesman named Frank (Ron Taft) investigates the disappearance of his middle-aged boss, who earlier had infiltrated the witches' domain and was last seen as a willing participant in one of their demonic dance parties.

Frank and the preacher arrive at Cassandra's abode around the same time. Frank falls in love with one of Cassandra's dippy followers and ends up protecting the witches from the encroaching police. The preacher attempts to blackmail the witches, which as you might guess is a mistake.

A frequent denizen of the late-late-late show during the early years of Turner Broadcasting's Superstation, NIGHT OF THE WITCHES is an unfunny comedy that also tries to be a horror movie and a mild sex romp. In its favor, NIGHT OF THE WITCHES is ripe with snatches of psychedelic hippie dialog, a baffling mixture of sets and costumes from different eras (from the Old West to modern-day gangsters), and a car-chase first, in which a Model T outruns a big General Motors V-8 sedan.