Virgin Witch

I've heard a lot of word-of-mouth about this British movie over the years -- people talked about how exciting and racy it was. Well, frankly, I was sort of disappointed with it. It IS true that there is a strong occult atmosphere, and a fair amount of suspense, tension, and nudity, but the movie overall is badly hampered by a low budget and a half-baked plot. Also, the acting is all over the place; some of the players are skillful and convincing, while others are clearly amateurs who do a silly job of performing. The basic premise is that these two young ladies are hired by a modelling agency, to pose for some fashion photography at a country estate. But, of course, the woman who recruits the two girls, who happen to be sisters, is actually the high priestess of a coven of witches. And the owner of the estate is the high priest of the coven. Also, for some reason, the high priestess comes to the conclusion that one of the young women is a virgin! How she could possibly know this is anybody's guess. But, very conveniently, the coven just happens to need a virgin for a special empowerment ritual. The high priest will take her virginity, and this will release a burst of magical power for the coven. And that, pretty much, covers the whole, rather simplistic, plot. It's definitely not Shakespeare. There is also a minor sub-plot, where it is revealed that the high priestess is a lesbian, and there is some narrative tension and conflict about whether the priestess will "desecrate" and "ruin" the young girl before her empowerment ceremony. I have to agree with several other reviewers that there is definitely a homophobic undertone to the movie; the attitude toward the priestess is clearly hostile, simply because she is a lesbian (or bisexual). But, of course, this film was made way back in 1972, and it's bound to reflect some of the unsophisticated attitudes of that era. Nevertheless, it's a weak spot in the movie. From this point on, in the plot, there is a lot of ritualistic chanting and dancing, the invocation of spells, and partial or full-frontal nudity. As a matter of fact, there is even full-frontal nakedness of some of the males, which is rare in 1970's British movies. Typically, in films such as Blood On Satan's Claw (1970), Vampire Circus (1971), or Twins Of Evil (1972), the women are naked or scantily clad, while the guys wander around fully dressed. It must be part of the British cinematic aesthetic (and censorship), as well as a feature of the 70's. There are also scenes of simulated sex, and background characters swaying back and forth in the nude. But, frankly, it all comes off as rather silly. These scenes are more comical than erotic. I found myself laughing out loud, here and there. As far as the cast is concerned, there are no big names here. This is certainly not a Peter Cushing-type film. It's far cheaper than that. In fact, the movie is like a bare-bones, bottom-of-the-barrel, cheapo Hammer production. And i mean cheap! But I will have to say that there are a few memorable special effects scenes. One in particular, where a photo of the high priestess is burned, and it magically transforms into a different photo where the priestess is screaming -- instead of smiling -- is actually pretty startling and creepy. Those kinds of scenes were cool, and unsettling. Returning to the cast, though, I do have a memory of seeing actors Keith Buckley and James Chase in a British sci-fi TV series, when it was shown late at night on PBS, way back when. All in all, this movie was fairly entertaining, but very uneven due to the limited budget and the mediocre acting. In fact, some of the acting was laughably bad, especially from the two young ladies. I did enjoy the supernatural aspects; they seemed to be occasionally based on some actual witchcraft practices. But the movie as a whole was somewhat weak, and sloppily put together. If you are a serious fan of British witchcraft movies, or just want to see a little skin, this film is mostly OK. But younger viewers may find it tedious, and very crudely made. It is definitely several clicks below the quality of a typical Hammer Studios production. I give it a low four stars.

Cult actress Patricia Haines is the real fun for this viewer in VIRGIN WITCH. As ruthless lesbian High Priestess Sybil Waite, Haines sneers, leers and jeers her way through every scene with deliciously arch aplomb. Sybil is summed up thus by an acquaintance to his friend, who has his eye on one of the sisters who are the putative heroines of this romp: "I'm telling you, her models have to wear armor-plated panties. She's down to the ground lezz." Ah, the Seventies.WITCH is somewhat unusual in that the screenplay, by Beryl Vertue CBE, actually turns the typical explo girls-stranded-on-remote-country-estate-terrorized-by-Satanists scenario on its head. Director Ray Austin made a name for himself as stunt director on the 1960s classic series, THE AVENGERS. His work on this is competent and shows just the right touch with material that is giving itself the old "nod is as good as a wink." Noteworthy is the groovy early 70s score by the obscure but effective Ted Dicks (the perfect name for somebody scoring a film titled VIRGIN WITCH, don't you think?)Lots and lots of breasts on show, starting with the title credits. If you enjoy British cult sexplo material of the era, you'll have fun with this. Not much in the way of occult thrills on hand and while a couple of the actresses show full frontal nudity, the "action" is strictly soft-core

Sisters are wooed by a secret witch coven while modeling at a castle in this skintastic 70s Gothic British horror. Granted the horror takes a backseat to nude shenanigans but I'm not complaining too much.

Shipped fast. Good quality. Thanks!

First and most important things first - the Redemption disc is CHEAPLY made of thin-feeling, brittle Mylar, and the case seems to be flimsy plastic (possibly recycled, but that's no excuse for shoddy construction). It's so bad that the first version of this disc I purchased, I wasn't able to get the disc out of its case the first time without BREAKING it (a combination of a spindle that's designed to hold the disc too tightly in place, and a disc that's not very durable)! I sent it back to Amazon for a refund, then re-ordered - being forewarned this time, I C-A-R-E-F-U-L-L-Y removed the disc and put it in a separate case that's better-constructed.The movie itself? I'm not sure how much help "remastering" can be with a film this slapdash, but I'll bet it's been a long time since this movie looked this - "good" is too strong a word, but credit where it's due, the colors certainly pop and it there are a lot fewer scratches or jump-cuts than you'd fear. It's a pretty typical Eurosleaze Horror Potboiler, full of (very) softcore sex (a lot of it lesbian), music that's ridiculously out of place for a film of this type, acting that ranges from mediocre to laughable, and a plot that - well, I think it's about a young innocent model being seduced into a cult of witches...only she's not that innocent after all!

I watched this when it was included with Prime, and for horror it's a fairly typical movie of the time. There is a lot of nudity, which I have no problem with, but it does rely heavily on dated, homophobic tropes. One of the characters is presented as dangerous and predatory, not because of what she does, but because she's a lesbian. There's definite judgement in the movie's presentation of her, and that prevented me from really enjoying the film.

i ike the movie it reminded me of times watching these kinds of movies as a teen. The thing I liked the least about it very few special features. Would have loved a commentary from someone on the film.

Aspiring model Christine and sister Betty (real sisters Ann and Vicky Michelle) get drawn into a witch’s coven which, alongside hints of lesbianism from Patricia Haines, allows for good opportunities of nudity throughout the film’s 89 minutes running time. Amazing how times change though: originally banned by the BBFC, the board not caring for the mix of nakedness and witchcraft. Now, some 50 years later, it all seems pretty tame and hardy likely to corrupt or encourage anyone to take up this ancient form of worship. Rather slow moving and, as a horror movie, hardly horrific.Based upon a novel by Klaus Vogel (a pseudonym for tv soap writer Hazel Adair), the film receives a good BluRay restoration and is attractively packaged in a solid box with six lobbycard reproductions and a reprint of the complete novel.

This new restoration has the film presented in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio with LPCM mono 2.0 sound. The disc has 3 special features:- Image Gallery; Hazel Adair Crossroads Of Terror - feature on the woman behind The Virgin Witch; and an Original Theactrical Trailer.The sturdy slipbox packaging houses a red slimline Elite disc case contains 6 postcard-sized lobby card reproductions. The box also houses a very nice reproduction copy of the film's tie-in novel.The disc packaging states this is a Region ABC disc. A very nicely put together release, unfortunatly Screenbound do not provide any subtitles for their releases.NB Tempted buyers note Amazon’s purchase price keeps yo-yoing between £14.99 and £17.99.

Sex and sorcery in the suburbs as sisters, Ann and Vicki Michelle, are initiated into a witches coven. Ostensibly, about the occult, it's basically, soft porn - although, it's about as erotic as a poke in the eye - and should really be filed alongside sex comedies because it's [unintentionally] hilarious especially some of the sleazy performances and the riotous, 'ceremony'. The fact that there are so many pseudonyms on this - Hazel Adair as writer, Klaus Vogel, Kent Walton as producer, Ralph Solomons - would indicate that no one wanted to be associated with it when it was being made and now, it's on blu-ray for the first time, neither do the Michelle sisters. If you must watch a film about Home Counties witchcraft, try, Night of the Eagle [1962]. Novelisation of film. Postcards. Gallery. Trailer. Interview with Charles Marriott, the son of Hazel Adair [33 mins]. NO English subtitles.

Poor witchcraft movie.

A nice box set. Great art, stands out on the shelf. Nice quality box. The included novel is a very good quality print. The lobby cards are good quality. Would have been nice to have the option to reverse the sleeve on the Blu-ray but this isna minor gripe.The movie is pretty trash lol but anyone looking to buy this probably already knows this. If you have to have them all then this special edition will sit nicely with your collection